The World's Loneliest Man

Whether you’re clung to him like Wilde to a book or have become the ‘First Of The Gang To Die’ from his controversial music, Morrissey is without a doubt one of the most ambiguous and enticing musicians on the planet. Birthing hits like ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ seems highly plausible to say that he embraces the lonesome aspects of a person’s life.

Heavily mistaken for bleak or dismal music, I believe Morrissey simply opens the gate to a more palpable reality. He allows you to think your most sombre thoughts, through taking your mere frustrations and propelling them into a pessimistic pit of gloom and sorrow. Moz’s words and harmonising melodies form a quiff-shaped hole in your heart as we have all ‘Spent The Day In Bed’ at one point in our lives. He is the only singer who puts his whole heart on a table for us to explore and warm to, as we often distance ourselves from the immoral reality of pain, heartbreak and darkness, that life thrusts upon us like a deconstruction of the soul. A boulder of melancholy madness knocked into our brains where ‘Viva Hate’ makes his bed. He truly is a compelling individual with some traits I’d desire to have. To be able to be implicitly content with your own company and to live your life entirely devoted to yourself as a companion, is quite admirable. The big question is, will we ever know what Morrissey’s thinking? That is the real mystery...

On the 13th of October 2018, my Dad and I went to visit fifties/sixties English pop singer Vince Eager, at the ‘Rave On’ event in Newcastle. Failing to catch him at the club itself, we were gratefully able to speak with him at the hotel in which he was staying. Vince had a few fascinating encounters with the singer and revealed some amusing stories. Working as a cruise director in charge of all the on board entertainment from 1985 to 1998, Vince would order in ‘The Smiths’ records at the request of the disco’s DJ as they were proving very popular. At this point Vince had no idea who Morrissey was, not even that he was associated with the Smiths. Ten invigorating years later, Vince searched the internet only to discover that, though he didn’t know of Morrissey, Morrissey knew of him and had conjured up a ‘Records To Be Cremated With’ list which entailed tracks that had some sort of value and importance in his life and Vince was amazed to find that he was in Morrissey’s number one spot with his 1960 recording of ‘The World’s Loneliest Man’. Intrigued by what he had identified, Eager was now curious to who Morrissey really was…     

A few years later when Vince visited the UK, to his amazement the song had made yet another reappearance in the rock ‘n’ roll’s star’s life. The well-known Moz track from ‘Your Arsenal’ named ‘Glamorous Glue’ had been released as a single with Vince singing ‘The World’s Loneliest Man’ as the B-Side! Not only was Vince now flattered by another odd yet bewildering contact with this unique gentleman, but was curious to know why? This led to another alluring occurrence…

Vince’s record producer asked him if he knew a man named Boz Boorer who was the musical director for Morrissey. Vince had heard his name but was not sure what he was getting at. He then revealed that when Morrissey travels overseas and does not want people to know who he is, he uses the name ‘Vince Eager’ to check into hotels! Now this really was perplexing and the plot began to thicken.

Finally, a few years later after a series of cryptic engagements with the alternative singer, Vince received a phone call from the producer/director of the documentary “The Sound Of Fury” Mark Sloper, who informed Vince he had recently viewed the 2017 film ‘England Is Mine’ and as the film ended and the credits rolled out, the song used to accompany the credits was Vince’s….yes, you’ve got it, ‘The World’s Loneliest Man’.

The more you ignore me, the closer I get? Perhaps Morrissey’s virtues really do ‘ring true’. No one will ever fathom where Morrissey’s mind and reasoning really lies. Does it really matter? While Moz has created an accumulation of people who loathe and love him, what really makes him so popular is the peculiarity of his ways. However you choose to view his music, one sincerely great thing about Morrissey, is that he’ll always write for himself. He has no desire to live up to expectations that are so brutally thrown at him and he will always be in love with his own achievements. Which really is praiseworthy.  Some days he may perform for an arena filled with admiring fans, and others, he may enjoy a day in his house with bolts securing every door, window and exit, while watching a Rita Tushingham film. It looks like he’ll spend his life walking the floor...   

Article By H.T

Photo By Rhiannon Brown