Cover, “Hand In Glove”, copyright Rough Trade

Number 3 in our series of blogs on the best ideas The Smiths had, the ones that changed pop and people’s lives forever. In the first blog, we argued that the band’s best idea of all was breaking up and staying that way. By imploding at the peak of their powers – leaving behind the magnificent “Strangeways, Here We Come” – and never returning to the scene of the crimes, they have secured their legacy and made sure it remains unsullied. Blog 2 celebrated the band’s extraordinary b-sides and the way that these semi-hidden treasures strengthened the bond between band and fan.

For this blog we’re looking at two other big Smiths ideas, each related. The first is Morrissey’s revolutionary, ambiguous approach to sexuality. The second, often overlooked, is his delight in innuendo, a talent presumably honed over years of overdosing on “Carry On” films.

Morrissey’s sexuality was a source of debate and confusion from the very moment the band formed – for the man himself as much as his fans, you suspect. Take a look at this web forum, where you’ll find fans furiously disputing whether the band could be described as heterosexual, asexual or “the gayest band ever” (a claim which would surely aggrieve Pansy Division or Scissor Sisters). In fact, Morrissey’s sexual intentions were so ambiguous that the only tabloid scandal the band endured were foul rumours that they celebrated paedophilia, a radical mis-reading of songs like “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle”, “Reel Around The Fountain” and “Suffer Little Children”.

However, there is little doubt that the earliest incarnation of The Smiths – before they were catapulted into mainstream fame – was a distinctly gayer version of the band than the one who later romped on The Tube to “Sheila, Take A Bow”. The evidence ranges from the superficial (the bizarre presence of Morrissey’s flamboyantly gay friend James Maker as a sort of go-go dancer at early gigs, the highly homo-erotic imagery of the first single sleeve and album sleeves, see above) to the substantial (the lyrics).

In their very first single, “Hand In Glove” Morrissey cries “it’s not like any other love!”. While this could be taken as a declaration of sexual difference or simply the way that all couples thinks their love is unique, second single “This Charming Man” was more direct, with its tale of being picked up by the charming man of the title on “a hillside desolate”. Third single “What Difference Does It Make?” even starts out with the declaration “All men have secrets and here is mine so let it be known…” although Morrissey never quite completes the sentence.

And even all of that is coy in comparison to the lascivious “Handsome Devil”. Yes, the “mammary glands” confuse matters (don’t they always?), but it’s difficult to interpret lyrics like “when we’re in your scholarly room who will swallow whom?” or “a boy in the bush is worth two in the hand” without working out that Morrissey’s interest in other men isn’t entirely intellectual.

Continue reading →

Photo courtesy Primero Hora Archives

Just under three months ago a wildly talented, rising young star called Frank Ocean did something utterly extraordinary: he told the world, freely and fearlessly, that he had loved another man. What made Ocean’s announcement particularly inspiring were three things.

Firstly, the grace and the beauty with which he spoke about his experiences. Secondly, the fact that he worked in a world – namely hip hop – not widely known for its comfort with gay or bisexual men. Thirdly, that his career was still on the rise, that he must have been surrounded by advisers telling him he had everything to lose professionally by his “confession”.

We were so inspired by Ocean that he is the main reason this blog was born, with our first entry posted within the next week. This is what we wrote back in July: “Our head spins to think of what Ocean’s honesty will mean to young kids who find themselves drawn to people of the same sex, particularly young black kids, Like Zachary Quinto, another talented, up and coming star who came out last year, his example will shine. Given those huge suicide rates for gay teens, it is surely no exaggeration to say that Ocean and Quinto will have saved countless lives with their courage, and made many more much more bearable.”

Now we can add Orlando Cruz to that list of new gay or bi revolutionaries after he revealed he was gay  to a boxing news website. Like Ocean and Quinto, Cruz is a star on the ascendant. He is currently the fourth ranking featherweight boxer on the planet, and just a game away from a potential world title fight. And like Ocean he works in a macho world where he risks almost certain ridicule from large numbers of his audience. Continue reading →

The case against Twitter. 99% of Tweets are dull, witless crap. It’s full of poisonous bile, rampant egomania and hate. It helps drive the most moronic aspects of our celebrity culture. It’s the enemy of substantial thought. It’s impossible to say anything sophisticated in 140 characters. If Oscar Wilde had been on Twitter all those perfectly phrased aphorisms would have been lost within 4 hours as everyone rushed away to look at a picture of Mitt Romney pulling a face like he is having a shit during a speech. Etc Etc.

The case for Twitter: yesterday we sniped about a sycophantic Guardian article on Rupert Everett which made the claim “Rupert Everett must be the closest approximation we’re ever likely to see of a 21st-century Oscar Wilde”. If so, this century really is in dire trouble. But just when we were feeling depressed we got this from @louilou001:

And everything was amazing again.

Follow us on @poplifer for our own dull, witless crap and rampant egomania.