Morrissey’s fans still ardent decades later

It’s 25 years since Morrissey, his quiff intact, emerged from the wreckage of The Smiths with his first solo album, 1988’s Viva Hate. To celebrate, the singer has released a live concert film, Morrissey 25: Live, which documents a recent, intimate show in his adopted home town of Los Angeles.

The film runs at the Irish Film Institute this week and at Triskel Christchurch Cinema, Cork, in early September.

At the IFI, Dr Eoin Devereux, of UL, will talk on ‘Morrissey and Fandom’ on Aug 26. The sociologist has convened symposia, and co-edited a book, on Morrissey. The singer is a figure of devotion, says Devereux, because, “as an artist, he writes and sings beautifully about human experience and all its highs and lows. Morrissey appeals to his fans on many levels. Consistently, his fans refer to how his songs helped them through very difficult and dark days. He appeals to gay and straight, and to male and female fans with the same levels of intensity.”