It's no secret I'm common, in fact a friend recently LOL'd "you should really make some work about being from a council estate" now before this blog post gets a bit Kidulthood and we get some knifes out and talk about 'struggle' I want to tell you about my non-claim to working class fame.
Paraded as a working class hero who still manages to own huge houses and ethics, Morrissey is a strange but charming man known for his exploits in The Smiths and animal right-on activism, my claim to Morrissey fame isn't at all related through my exploits in show business, in fact my Grandad and Mum are more Morrissey famous than I am.
When I was very young my Grandad was a gardener for a posh private estate in Camden, keeping it in the family my Mum would clean some of the posh houses that my Nan couldn't manage. The estate inhabited some of the 90's most famous faces, the man from Cheers that's in The Hunger Games (yawn), the model that was married to one of the Gallagher's and the man himself - Morrissey.
According to Grandad Moz was abit of a bizarre character (who knew?), he would always make sure his driver slowed down so he could say hello to my Grandad and despite constant questioning would never reveal his real name - "your mother must have given you a name man?". My Grandad said Moz was never one for tipping at Christmas or Easter, he also has many a scandalous story about the company he would keep but I'm not interested in having the wrath of #mozarmy upon my social media. Moz was interested in my Grandfather I think because they shared a difficult relationship with Irishness, he would often speak with my Grandad about being Irish and living here but they also both suffered from depression.
My Mum became the official Moz cleaner in the early 90s and tells me he was 'a really nice bloke but he didn't say much, the last time I saw him he just had some new cream carpets laid and I spilt a cup of tea, he wasnt pleased' - this I think is a true claim to fame that would have even the I-bought-a-Smiths-tee-in-Camden fans well jel.
In Janurary 2011 Amy Lamé asked me if I'd direct her new one woman show based on the man himself, over the next 12 months we threw jam around, hit ourselves with lipstick, punched birthday cakes, cut off our hair and visited the Morrissey home in Manchester, during which time we visited to Salford Lads Club and got a personal tour of the Smiths room that Morriessy helps fund to keep the space open for local young people. Fans are allowed to leave messages for him and so I left this...
The show we have been devising opens in London (Camden Peoples Theatre) in May and a regional tour follows. If you love, hate or want to be Morrissey you should come.
London dates and tour info
Unhappy Birthday on FB
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