Music fans have queued throughout the night with sleeping bags to get the best spot at a Morrissey gig this evening.
Fans arrived at the Apollo, on Stockport Road near Manchester city centre, from 9.30pm last night - almost 24 hours before he's set to take to the stage. Morrissey, the ex-Smiths frontman, is playing a rare hometown show at the venue, which has sold out.
Originally from Stretford, Morrissey has legions of devoted fans — and has since he partnered up with Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce, and Andy Rourke to form The Smiths in the early 1980s. After a successful few years together, the band split at the end of the decade and ‘Moz’ went solo.
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Despite the singer behind ‘This Charming Man’ being 63-years-old now, many of the fans outside were under 30. One of those was 25-year-old Hamish Williams.
“I got here at half nine last night,” he told the MEN. “It was a long night. I’m here because it’s Morrissey. How do you put him into words? He is back home and he is still the man.
“We are meeting new people and some of the newer fans. There’s been a bit of booze to take the edge off. It’s been a long day,” Hamish, originally from Hull but had travelled from Norwich, added.
From further afield was Luke McCormack, 20. He was on his fourth Morrissey show of the tour, and had come over from Dublin.
“We have been on the last four shows in Kerry, Blackpool, Doncaster, and Glasgow. It’s a big night,” he explained.
When asked why he had stood in the cold for so long, he said: “I think it’s the endless fascination with the way he operates and the way he carries himself. I think he is very clever in the way he talks about life.”
Some fans in the queue, which had roughly 25 people in just before 1pm on Tuesday, had only joined that morning. They included Jess, 16, and her dad Gareth.
“Since I got into him this is the first time he has played Manchester,” the teen explained. “I saw him once in Blackpool but that was seated. I like his personality. I think his music has done a lot for me. I hope he plays half a person.”
Gareth, 50, faithfully accompanied his daughter, adding: “We are just trying to keep warm with some star jumps. The other guys have been really sociable and kind and friendly.”
Tickets for the Morrissey show have sold out.
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