"Please help the cause against loneliness" : the importance of being a Morrissey fan

Abstract

In May 1983 The Smiths released their first 7’’ single “Hand in Glove”, which peaked in the UK charts at 124th place. Little did the world know that in 20 years, this band which existed merely 5 years would be selected the most influential band ever by New Musical Express (NME). This thesis is about the people who contributed to this selection, who keep the music of The Smiths alive and who makes sure its former vocalist, lyricist and icon Morrissey has been able to enjoy a solo career throughout the nineties and up to this very day. To the fans in this project, being a Morrissey fan and being a Smiths fan is pretty much the same thing. With his lyrical brilliance and strong opinions, Morrissey’s persona came to be associated with the overall opinion of The Smiths. This persona persists; there is no need to divide between the Smiths-era and the post-Smiths-era Morrissey. Being a fan is no doubt an emotional thing. In this thesis I have aimed to highlight the emotionality and subjectivity inherent in fandom. Fandom cannot be rationalised, it must be studied from the point of view of the irrational, the illogical logic of emotion. This view is combined with the claim that fandom should be studied in relation to the specific object which is at its centre. For instance, music fandom and sports fandom is both emotional, yet the specificity of the genres makes the content and fan activities different. I have studied Morrissey fandom from three different analytical viewpoints. First I explore the relationship between the fan and the fan object. The fan object is here interpreted as being not only the man himself, but also lyrics and music. This is one of the specificities about music fandom; one is fan of the man mostly through being fan of the music and lyrics. The second point of view is the relationship between the fan and the rest of the world. This is based on an assumption that the fan uses his or her fandom to express personal significance. I have chosen to focus on the perspective of the outsider, which I see as an important aspect in the fans’ stories. This is combined with a gender perspective, as I explore how the views expressed by Morrissey related to gender is taken up and used by the fans in their every day lives. The last part of analysis considers the relationship between the fans in the fan group. Again I claim that the outsider-perspective in Morrissey fandom makes this relationship an ambiguous one. Most of the fans enjoy meeting fellow fans, yet they would like for this group to be as small and exclusive as possible. These three perspectives seen as a whole makes out what I see as the three most important relations within fandom. When it comes to Morrissey fandom, the stories of the fans reflect that they in many ways identify with Morrissey’s views, and that this makes them talk about their fandom in specific ways.