The Smiths/Morrissey Cover Stars

[BadCoverVersion]

I posted a topic on the brill CULT flick that is 'Blow-Up' in General just a couple of hours ago...one reply from Romero and it got me thinking about some of the fucking AWESOME peeps that The Smiths (+'The Moz') have paid tribute to.

Hemmings & Redgrave in 'Blow-Up' to kick us off...

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Shelagh Delaney...Salford lass and author of 'A Taste Of Honey', one of the FINEST books I've ever read, and a top film also...

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Candy Darling, no explanation required..."I said hey sugar...take a walk on the wild side"...

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The truly beautiful Sandie Shaw! Stunning girly, stunning voice...

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UberCOOL Terrence Stamp...who initially objected to the use of his image as the boys hadn't even approached him! Morrissey went on to re-create the original pose when a hoo-hah ensued, but Stamp was more than obliging in letting the lads use HIS face when they finally decided to courteously ASK for his permission.

Tsk, tsk boys...

http://www.oz.net/~moz/images/zwhatdif.gifhttp://www.oz.net/~moz/images/whatdmoz.gif

"Yet another great bastion of english decadence" said Morrissey. It's Charles bloody Hawtrey of course...

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Yootha Joyce of George & Mildred. I imagine this one was completely lost on the US audience, but WHAT A WOMAN!

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...and a shitload of other majorly ACE dudes and dudettes including Billy Fury, Diana Dors, James Dean, Presley and MANY more.

So, any favourites folks?

[Romero&Juliet]

The "iconography Of The Smiths" is an endless sourse of dorky enjoyment.

seriously, I've been debating buying the singles just for the cover art..

the cover of "Strangeways..."(an old prison in Lancashire, I believe?) was originally supposed to be of Harvey Keitel.. however, harv hadn't the faintest of who they were, so the rights were declined and an alt was chosen..

Moz's Kill Unlce tour, however, sported a fourty foot cyc of the man's head..

My favorite is probably... ermmm.. the re-shoot from the promo still of "The Collector" (moz on a cover is soo very un-moz-like), or Elvis on the cover of Shoplifters Of The World Unite.

There's also a French "promo" single of There Is a Light That Never Goes Out with a cute little blonde kid eating a popsicle.. Legend has it, this was a planned cover since the get go, but the Moz could never find the right place to put it. During the Queen Is Dead tour, giant blow ups of the poster were sold at merch. I'd GIVE MY LEFT NUT FOR ONE OF THOSE!





BTW, I read A Taste Of Honey and I swear to god that I spotted about fifty lines that were directly ripped off by the moz..

Scored me a few points with my theatre teacher, too~!

~"I dreamt about you last night..."

~"Oh, really"

~"Yes.. and I fell out of bed twice."

[Romero&Juliet]

Moz on putting Candy Darling on a single cover (Sheila Take A Bow, I believe.. I wonder who that was written about?)

"Putting her [Darling] on the cover is just another example of my very dangerous sense of humor."

[Romero&Juliet]

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My guess is that the model is a throwback to the other famous "unknown" sported on the Hanf In Glove single:

http://foreverill.com/disc/glove.jpg


these and the re-shoot of "What Difference Does It Make?" were the only pictures that weren't hand chosen by the moz... well, they weren't a part of the "iconography..". Apparently it was dumb luck to have stumbled upon the latter.

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by Romero&Juliet
the cover of "Strangeways..."(an old prison in Lancashire, I believe?) was originally supposed to be of Harvey Keitel.. however, harv hadn't the faintest of who they were, so the rights were declined and an alt was chosen..

Stangeways (on Bury New Rd., Salford) is still very much alive and kicking. It's about a 10 minute walk from my humble abode and I pass it every day on my way to work.

A couple of my old skallywag school-mates reside there ;)...and a fucking huuuuuuuuuuuge RIOT broke out there in 1990 (I was 11)...I remember seeing them on the roof and everything...'twas CHAOS!

Here's some info from BBC.CO.UK, it's a pretty fine read actually...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/690000/images/_693442_rioters150.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/695000/images/_695907_roof300.jpg

The worst riot to hit the British penal system began on 1 April 1990 in the unlikely location of the Victorian prison's chapel. It raged for 25 days, claiming the lives of two men and making headlines around the world.

The wave of destruction commenced shortly after 10.25am, when the Reverend Noel Proctor found himself facing an unusually large and restless congregation at his Sunday service.

As he delivered his sermon, one of his 300-strong audience, Paul Taylor a 28-year-old Liverpudlian, snatched the microphone and set into motion the events which would cause more than £60m worth of damage.

"This gentleman has spoken about the blessings of the heart," said Taylor. "He has spoken about how Jesus can take away the hardness from your heart. I would like to touch on how prison brutalises you." Minutes later Strangeways was in the hands of the prisoners, angry at their treatment by the authorities.

With only 100 guards to control up to 1,647 inmates, the struggle was one-sided. Fires were started in parts of the building as dozens of prisoners scrambled onto the roof.

As a helicopter hovered overhead, police reinforcements were met with a bombardment of slates.

Before long attention was turned to the prison's C and E wings, home to alleged sex offenders awaiting trial.

Sex offenders were seen as the lowest of the low among prisoners - they were "beasts", "monsters" or "nonces".

Cries of "kill the beasts" were heard as the alleged paedophiles were beaten and kicked.

Later, rumours circulated suggesting many had been tortured, killed and dismembered. In truth, only one prisoner, 46-year-old David White, lost his life as a result of injuries received in the purges.

On the second day, as the world's press gathered outside, prisoners wearing blankets and balaclavas returned to the roof to establish what was to become the siege's stronghold.

Below, officers in riot gear fought to gain control of four of the nine accommodation wings.

On the third day violence gave way to negotiation with many inmates beginning to talk of surrender.

An independent observer, Mike Unger, editor of the Manchester Evening News, was allowed into the building to verify that reports of widespread carnage had been exaggerated.

As the days progressed a steady trickle of prisoners gave themselves up, until only a hardcore of protesters remained.

Taylor, now identified as the ringleader, used a traffic-cone megaphone to broadcast his messages to the world.

Quoting erratically from Marx, Byron and Shakespeare, he lambasted the "arrogant and ignorant attitudes" of the staff and defended the protest which he insisted had only been planned as a peaceful sit-in.

He also issued a message of condolence to the family of Walter Scott, a prison officer who had died of a heart attack.

The authorities responded by cutting off the electricity supply, spraying the roof with cold water and playing loud pop music non-stop to wear down the prisoners' resolve.

But they held out for almost a month, continuing to hurl both missiles and abuse.

The last five men to surrender were eventually carried from the roof in a hydraulic "cherry picker" on 25 April.

As Taylor, the last man down, climbed aboard he raised a clenched fist in a final gesture of defiance.

He was later given more time in jail after being convicted of rioting.

When the dust had settled two men were dead, 194 inmates and staff had been injured, the prison - which has since been renamed HMP Manchester - was gutted and needed rebuilding at a cost of £55m.

That story is CRYING out for a movie adaptation!

Nice to hear you read 'A Taste Of Honey'...under-appreciated little book that it is.

[BadCoverVersion]

Originally posted by Romero&Juliet
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Now that is 'The Business'...the kid is experiencing a shitting IMMENSE brain-freeze there!

[Romero&Juliet]

That's crazycrazyCRAZY, BadCover...!

wow..

You know, you're totally right.. that story BEGS for a screenplay adaptation.

[Romero&Juliet]

Originally posted by BadCoverVersion

Nice to hear you read 'A Taste Of Honey'...under-appreciated little book that it is.

your influence, I assure you.. I had actually been looking for the movie, too, but I shot craps on that one.


What's REALLY something is that Shelagh was like.. 19 when she wrote that..? The Lady's got a head on her.



Feel free to gimme annnny of the names of her contemporaries. :) I luves dat stuff.