Newcastle (UK), Metro Radio Arena
PanicThis was an excellent gig in a soulless venue. Morrissey was at his best, he was in a very chatty mood, but apparently at times a little put off by the sound because he made faces and kept looking at his microphone with disgust. He also seemed to be underwhelmed by the crowd's lack of enthusiasm. They were enthusiastic during the opening few tracks, but not so much after. But what was probably more annoying was the presence of one or two hecklers who shouted things like "Where's Johnny Marr?" when Morrissey introduced his musicians. There was no change in the setlist.
First Of The Gang To Die
The Youngest Was The Most Loved
You Have Killed Me
Disappointed
Ganglord
William, It Was Really Nothing
Everyday Is Like Sunday
Dear God Please Help Me
Let Me Kiss You
I've Changed My Plea To Guilty
In The Future When All's Well
I Will See You In Far Off Places
Girlfriend In A Coma
Irish Blood, English Heart
Life Is A Pigsty
How Soon Is Now?
I Just Want To See The Boy Happy
The National Front Disco
/Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want
Morrissey's first banter of the evening came as "You see, I can sing... I can... I can... I can... I can... I can..." At the end of set opener "Panic" the man pulled his tie up as if he was hanging himself to highlight the "hang the DJ" chorus of the song. Then before going into "First Of The Gang To Die" he shouted "Thank you Newcastle, we hope to God we're interrupting!" In "Everyday Is Like Sunday" he slightly changed a line to "Everyday is silent and grey at least when you're on your own". As had now become tradition, "Life Is A Pigsty" was bridged to "How Soon Is Now?" with the beautiful traditional song "Auld Lang Syne" played by Michael on the piano.
Morrissey's most significant banter of the evening was delivered after "Dear God Please Help Me": "I don't know if any of you were watching the television last night, but I think that's very likely... there was somebody on television last night who said that they hated me... Did you see it? And his initials are B.O. (crowd:'Bill Oddie!') Yes that's quite correct, yes... Bill Oddie! Bill Oddie this short round creature said he hates me. Now, if some of you don't know who Bill Oddie is, (giggles) he had a hit single in the mid-seventies called 'Black Pudding Bertha' (crowd cheers) which was (crowd shouts)... shut up!... which was certainly a cultural high point of my life... and he's obsessed with great tits, and he crawls through bushes looking for small animals to mate... weird... and he hates me! So you see Julia, it's very strange but some people can't stand me (crowd boos)... and, what could the reason be? (crowd shouts reasons)... Forget it..."
A few songs down the setlist Morrissey returned to the subject of Bill Oddie. He started by saying that at some point he had moved into a house "... and the previous occupant was... Bill Oddie! So unfortunately Bill Oddie and I have sat on the same lavatory... that's why he hates me!" Towards the end of the show Morrissey asked a fan how he afforded to go to every show. The fan had attended many dates since the beginning of the year, and Morrissey had already asked him how he did it on an earlier one. When the fan replied that he still didn't have an answer, Morrissey said "Well you have had long enough!".
Morrissey messed up in set closer "The National Front Disco" by singing the final chorus instead of the second one. When he realised his mistake, in true Morrissey fashion he said "As Kristeen Young said, this is the end". The band looked confused but continued to play. Morrissey told them "You can stop now", which they promptly did - mid song. He then walked off and many people in the audience feared that he would not return. But he did and performed an excellent "Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want" as an encore, as if nothing had happened.
A performance of "First Of The Gang To Die" and a soundcheck of "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" from this concert as well as an interview conducted backstage were shown the following 9 December on British television programme The Culture Show.
This concert is not circulated on any bootleg at this point in time. The Culture Show programme including footage from this date is circulated as video files on the internet.
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