Is Morrissey A Closet Kopite?
By Dickie Felton
Music legend Morrissey has been walking on stage to a rather un-Manchester song...You’ll Never Walk Alone.
On each night of his 'Years of Refusal' tour the singer has appeared to a dramatic Nina Simone piano version of our anthem. It’s gone down dramatically well on most nights of his world tour which has taken in 19 different countries.
At the end of last May’s Liverpool Empire gig Morrissey even referred to YNWA as he departed the stage and changed the words: “When you storm through a walk...hold your head up high.” Xabi Alonso was in the audience to witness the Moz that night. Earlier that day one fan stalked Morrissey at the Empire stage door and gave him a Justice sticker.
The fan said: “Morrissey please don’t buy The Sun”.
Morrissey’s reply was classic: “Thanks, I never do.”
On his 2006 tour Morrissey played a Smoking Popes version of YNWA on his intro tape. It nearly caused a riot during his Manchester concerts. Trying to appease booing Mancs, Morrissey swiped: “This song is not just about Stevie Heighway you know...”
I don’t know what stunned me most. The fact that my hero was prepared to play a 'Liverpool song' in Manchester or his knowledge of our 1970s winger.
Eight years ago I made a Liverpool FC banner with Morrissey lyrics on it: “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.” I thought the words summed up the Eternal Flame and a fight to never give up. We’d take the flag to LFC matches and Morrissey concerts. When Morrissey spotted it at his Dublin Castle gig in 2004 he said: “Hello Bootle!”
After Istanbul we made a second LFC/Morrissey banner. Featuring five stars symbolising our European Cups, it's emblazoned with the title of his then latest album “Ringleaders of the Tormentors”. Morrissey saw it at his May 2006 Philharmonic Hall gig and sent his best friend Linder (a Scouser) looking for me in the crowd to explain what it meant.
I’ve just written a book about Morrissey and in particular his most obsessive fans. “The Day I Met Morrissey” features an account of my brushes with the iconic singer over the last two decades and stories from fans who’ve also come face to face with the man.
Morrissey apostles see a meeting with The MozFather as a religious experience. They go weak at the knees. Think of it like you or me ever meeting Shanks or Bob Paisley and you get the general idea.
This November Morrissey will snub Mancunia to return to Merseyside for the finale of his UK tour. He will play the ECHO Arena on Saturday November 7th... a few days before the Reds host Birmingham City. I hardly expect to see Morrissey’s quiff and jawline strolling around Walton Breck Road before kick off, but the star’s affection for the city and its people seems to grow and grow.
Dickie Felton, 36, from Crosby is a Kop season ticket holder. His book “The Day I Met Morrissey” is for sale in the Justice shop for £15 (all sales of book in there go towards Justice Fund). The book is also available in shops, Amazon and Dickie’s website www.thedayimetmorrissey.com
We Had Dreams And Songs To Sing
By Keith Salmon
How did a young lad from north Liverpool end up as a Bank Manager in the middle of the Irish Sea? How did he end up writing a book about his life? Well read on and find out the answers to the questions and find out why the book is different to anything you may have read before.
‘We had dreams and songs to sing’ charts my journey and follows my life and passion for Liverpool Football Club. The story takes you on a journey from the innocence of youth through nearly 40 years of passion, success, disappointment and desolation ending ultimately in a life of triumph with the Mighty Red men never far away and always in my thoughts.
The book was born on a train rattling through the plains of northern Greece the day before the best night of any Liverpudlians life (football-wise in case the wife’s reading). I didn’t want to forget anything in a hectic journey that was like the film Planes, trains and automobiles, so a number of bullet points were noted down when I was sober, not so sober, downright drunk and thoroughly hung-over. Now that I live in the Isle of Man the journey was a little tougher, especially as I didn’t have a ticket to start with. In order not to ruin the story for you I will just tell you that I took 6 days with 5 planes, 4 trains, a coach and a couple of taxi rides to see Dudek save a penalty some time the other side of midnight.
The book took shape over four years and I fell upon an engaging way of writing in which the reader came on the journey with me and people just loved my experiences of one magnificent night in Istanbul. Buoyed by great feedback and the idea from my wife that I should write more I embarked upon the book, which was to become my life story. The book grew outwards from Istanbul and I had to search the memory banks of years of joy and hurt culminating in that night. I also took the opportunity to document new memories of stunning Liverpool victories on foreign soil with wonderful nights in the Nou Camp and San Siro. My story prior to Istanbul has meant that I had to revisit visions that had been filed away for many years under “Do Not Open”. You will walk with me on a disturbing evening at Heysel and through the despairing events on that April day 20 years ago at Hillsborough, a chapter that I am told has moved many to tears. It is a very personal account of what happened to me. As a result of my experiences I am pleased to be able to donate some of the monies from the book to the Hillsborough Justice Campaign and all books sold at the HJC shop receive a £3 donation for each copy purchased.
Hillsborough certainly changed my outlook on life and with a renewed lust for life I changed my world. I eventually left my home city and joined the staff of a professional football club, Peterborough United. Here I was lucky to play an integral part in the development of young talent and growing the local supporter base. With one of the finest youth development programmes in the country at the time and we had wonderful talents on our books such as Simon Davies (Fulham and Wales) Adam Drury (Norwich City) Mathew Etherington (Stoke City) and the man who dumped us out of the FA Cup Luke Steele (Barnsley). Working in the football club gave me a unique insight into the game and actually soured football for me for a while. I had the opportunity to see Joe Cole at 15 and also I was reminded the other day a young Steven Gerrard. Our youth teams were winning trophies all over Europe and our Under 11 team beat Man U 6-0 in Manchester and life was sweet. Until I was made redundant whilst I was on my holidays, and life changed completely. No jobs in football were forthcoming and I became a Financial Adviser back in Liverpool, needing a whole new skills set. When I was working in football I had missed out on the Reds the fixture lists always clashed. My return to the Kop Family was never an issue, you are accepted back by your own unconditionally, and following the boys home and away became a natural thing to do yet again.
Three years on and when redundancy struck again I ended up settling in the jewel of the Irish Sea, the Isle of Man where I found a new life with my wife and our little boy, and we are now expecting an imminent arrival completing the set of little Liver‘s. As life changed I am no longer able to spend as much time watching my beloved Reds but the passion burns as strongly as ever. I have now become a tourist, I have to watch for most of the season via Sky or the internet and get my little fix of LFC as and when I can. Life goes on though and what a life! I travel the world with my work and I have taken the opportunity to catch up with Liverpool Supporters worldwide, most notably Dubai and South Africa and tell them my story. You wouldn’t believe how passionate those guys are thousands of miles away from Anfield Road and what a warm welcome they give you too.
Writing the book has also allowed me recall and recount amazing memories of following the Reds around England and Europe with a magnificent band of brothers, and whilst the book appeals to Reds fans it also appeals to a wider circle of football fans. Once a much maligned breed now everybody wants to be us, but you can’t buy the passion of a Liverpool Supporter. Others have tried but it’s always fake. I for one am proud to be of that rare breed. Follow my story of passion and belief which is bound together by love of Liverpool FC. Written in an engaging style, I want to take the reader on my journey through my eyes and allow them to see how events unfold as though they were with me.
There is a little piece of you in my story!
You all have friends like mine and great experiences to recall. Maybe you will trigger memories that have been hidden for many years; football is about camaraderie and belonging.
For further details check out my website:
www.wehaddreamsandsongstosing.co.uk
The book can be purchased at the Hillsborough Justice Shop, HMV outlets across Merseyside, Waterstones and securely via PayPal at:
www.wehaddreamsandsongstosing.co.uk
To keep up with modern technology an updated version can be downloaded at www.skoobestore.com or in America on the Kindle at www.amazon.com you can read ‘We had dreams and songs to sing’ on the move on an ipod or on your computer at home.