Town Hall, Cheltenham
First Of The Gang To DieThis was another very successful gig in an intimate venue. Morrissey seemed genuinely happy, he was chatty and feeding off the positive vibes of the crowd. For once security was not aggressive and spent their time looking after the crowd. There was very little change in the setlist. "On The Streets I Ran" was reintroduced and the song order remained the same.
Still Ill
The Youngest Was The Most Loved
In The Future When All's Well
To Me You Are A Work Of Art
Girlfriend In A Coma
You Have Killed Me
I Will See You In Far Off Places
Let Me Kiss You
Ganglord
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
At Last I Am Born
How Soon Is Now?
On The Streets I Ran
I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now
Life Is A Pigsty
/Irish Blood, English Heart
As was now custom Morrissey entered stage with his shirt tied in a knot in the centre. He and his musicians made a line at the front and bowed before going to their respective positions and launch into opener "First Of The Gang To Die". Morrissey's most significant banter throughout the evening concerned animal rights. He commented about the Countryside Alliance/Farmers ruining the English Shires. He also mentioned that he was playing next in Oxford, "the centre of Animal Terrorism" or words to that effect. His comments about the subject on said next date would actually stir some controversy.
The show included the customary band introduction which started with "Some boys are nicer than others, and here is Boz Boorer..." Guitarist Jesse was introduced as the "eyelash fluttering Jesse Tobias". At some point Morrissey informed the audience: "Before you go to sleep tonight, when you're in your jim-jams, remember, remember: life is but a moment." When he threw the sweat-drenched shirt he was wearing into the audience and it brought fans into a fight for a piece of it, some other fans shouted to not throw anything else. Morrissey then replied "Take my shirt off? That's a little forward of you! I don't think I can, I'm not wearing anything under here!", which obviously got some screams out of portions of the audience. Besides this Morrissey also had a few words with his favourite fan and semi-official webmaster Julia.
"Panic" was heard soundchecked before the show. It would be played live by Morrissey without the Smiths for the first time 4 days later in London and become a setlist regular for the rest of the tour.
An audio recording of the concert (taper: Pete Ratcliffe) is circulated on the internet.
Do you have information about this concert? Or do you own an uncirculated recording of it? If yes please contribute and get credited.