Thread by @wenevermade

40 years since #TheSmiths exploded, I think it's about time Joe Moss had his right of reply to Morrissey's damning claims. After my Dad died, I found some words written about him on Morrissey fan sites, a portion of these fans were dissing him, calling him names

That's hard to read, people dissing your dead parent, people who don't know him, people following the lead from Morrissey, who barely knew him, but decided to immortalise him anyway by writing negatively about him, so casting my Dad that way in the eyes of the Morrissey faithful

Pretty nasty stuff, and we've never replied to it, but the gist was, among other things, that Joe Moss wanted to replace Morrissey in the Smiths. This does seem ludicrous and paranoid, but what if it were true? why would he want to get rid of Morrissey?

what could Morrissey have done that warranted his replacement? Surely there were reasons, I'd love to know what Morrissey thinks about this? #TheSmiths #Morrissey

In a twist of fate, it turns out that there are two lines of Morrisseys in our family genealogy, the Grandchildren of Joe Moss are Morrisseys down 2 grandparent lines, so is this an ancient Tipperary quarrel? I'd love to know what he thinks about this? See, when Johnny, Andy...

and Mike were living together in my Dad's house in. Heaton Chapel, Morrissey was distant, oft found on the other side of town, Altrincham and Sale way, pursuing his interests, driving in his car, hanging out with a guy who I met later on, who was the same age as me at the time

so i never got to know him, my Dad didn't want me to get to know him at the time, he told me not to get too close to Morrissey, i was a bit shocked, i wanted to get close, but i heeded his words, which is sad as I was/am a massive fan. Now I'd just love to find out why SM wrote

what he did about my dad without any evidence, damning someone on a whim without anything to back it up. I have my evidence as to why, potentially, there may have been some issues around Morrissey's character, but it would be cruel to dump them without some balance and context?

but of course Morrissey did this to my Dad, damned him, and when he died, strangers insulted him, spitting on his grave for Morrissey, who daren't come close. What was it Morrissey? You're a pale man and paling still, the least my father deserves is a right of reply

It's true that my Dad was heartbroken when he left the Smiths fold, I don't blame Morrissey, or anyone else, for that, that was his own doing, but as I said, reading insults from people who didn't know him, insults bequeathed by Morrissey, who barely knew him, is really hard!

he certainly wasn't a saint, but he was an angel to the Smiths for a time, Morrissey knows and should be grateful, he wrote endless gratitude to Joe and Janet once upon a time, but then pissed on that sentiment by writing poisonous lines, creating a negative image of Joe Moss

Thankfully Johnny did the Joe Moss hagiography, for balance, for justice, so we get the 2 sides, the angelic Joe that Johnny knew or the demonic Joe that Morrissey barely knew. I think if you write about people who aren't yourself or your family, you're cursing yourself too

tbc

i mean, the curse can also be a charm, words are so powerful that way, what I mean is, if you choose to damn someone in prose, immortalise them in a text you claim to be definitive, you're also cursing them and so invoking a curse against yourself. Be charming!

I'm an archive and archivist, I have so much data about The Smiths, and also the physical evidence that my Dad, also an archive and an archivist, left to us. He left me with many insights and quotes, opinions and moods, but I'd never just drop something without consideration...

there has to be a connection to the universe. I could quote my father on The Smiths, and Morrissey, but I'd have to fit that into an exploded drawing of everything, give it life and meaning, and be sure to write with love uppermost, so I'd never do what Morrissey did to my Dad...

and this tweet thread is a part of that exploded drawing

I saw and heard what Joe Moss brought to The Smiths, have you seen early photos? The Smiths visual style evolved through my Dad who was all about style, who had clothes shops and a factory, who walked around Paris getting style ideas from the Parisian youth..

he was influenced by preppy fashion, 50s teen fashions, Beatnik style, the French New Wave, the situationists, Warhol and the Factory, but more than the knowhow was the ability to dress, and to dress others

his record collection was full of the roots of the sounds that inspired the Smiths, once they had access to that collection, the sound became historic

he bankrolled them too, we have all the receipts, even the bill for the daffodils so many artefacts, a lovely letter from Morrissey's mum to my Dad, thanking him for all he'd done for her son. He wasn't rich, things were sold off, policies cashed in, favours bartered...

and The Smiths happened.

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