Steven Morrissey was born in Manchester on 22nd May, 1959. His parents were both Irish immigrants. His father worked as a hospital porter, and mother as a librarian. His mother had introduced him to his most influential muse, Oscar Wilde, who can be found lurking in many of the Smiths/Morrissey-Solo works. Steven had a great appreciation for the popmuzik of the time.. Bowie, T-Rex, and other glam rockers - along with girl singers like Twinkle. He spent most of his teenage years avoiding work and living on the dole. For extra money, he wrote two books. One was a James Dean biography - the other a New York Dolls biography. (Both are still in very limited print..)
In the late 70's, he found his way into the punk scene, joining the bands The Nosebleeds, and Bowie-influenced, Slaughter & The Dogs. He was only the temporary singer for both bands, and there is no known of recordings of the material. In the early 80's, Steven was approached by Johnny Mahir (later Johnny Marr) to join his band as the singer. Along with bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, they decided on "The Smiths", because it sounded inoffensive. Steven dropped his first name, now just shortened to Morrissey, to forget the old "clumsy and shy" Steven - clamed his celibacy and stood up for vegetarianism.
Morrissey's lyrics usually dealt with things on the morbid side of life, with the occasional hint of humour thrown in. Singing ironic anti-love songs with gender bending plots and the reoccurring flavour of Oscar Wilde - While Johnny Marr's guitar playing has yet to be beaten by any standards. They had a huge indie success - and a large cult following. Together, they were one of the most influential duos of the decade, which all came to a bitter end in 1987.
Morrissey wasted no time starting a solo career, releasing "Viva Hate!" the following year. It did very well, scoring a #1 chart position in the UK - and very successful singles. "Bona Drag" (1990), was the next effort to be put out. It was a compilation of the released singles, b-sides, and harder to find tracks. His next studio album, "Kill Uncle" (1991), is said by many to be his not so best effort.. (Ed: I tend to disagree though. :P). Followed by the distortion-drenched guitar riffs of the Mick Ronson produced, "Your Arsenal" and the live compilation, "Beethoven Was Deaf", came his slumping career's face lift - "Vauxhall and I". This album did very well in both the States and the UK. It spawned, probably, his most well-known song to date - "The More Your Ignore Me, The Closer I Get". Another compilation followed with "World of Morrissey". The next effort was the "progressive" "Southpaw Grammar" and "Maladjusted". Neither album did terribly well. Two more compilations followed.. And we haven't heard from the Mozzer since. Other than the 2000 Oye Estabon! Tour :)
Currently, Morrissey is the world's most popular unsigned artist. He does have an album to record.. With the working title of "Irish Blood, English Heart", which he promises to be the best yet...