Letters written by The Smiths’ frontman to a pen pal as a teen reveal him tearing into Ringo, soul singer Barry White, rock star Patti Smith and punk legends the Sex Pistols
Morrissey was savaging fellow musicians as a pre-Smiths teen – moaning Ringo Starr was ‘very overrated’ and he did not ‘like his beard’.
Letters penned by the This Charming Man singer as a boy have emerged five decades on – and reveal the controversial star has always bleated about fellow performers.
As well as Beatles’ drummer Ringo he takes pot shots at punk legends The Sex Pistols, soul singer Barry White and Because The Night singer Patti Smith.
Morrissey wrote in April 1975, when he was 15: “Ringo Starr is very overrated and I don’t like his beard. A Barry White gig would be murder.
“Patti Smith is disgraceful looking.”
He shared his disappointment after seeing the ‘pathetic’ Sex Pistols live twice at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976.
“As for the Pistols…they were pathetic,” he wrote.
“I take back all that I’ve said about the Pistols. They are just plain bad. Period.”
One person he did have a high opinion of was himself. He announced he was ‘all set for superstardom’ after joining his first band The Nosebleeds in 1976.
“I’m in showbusiness,” he wrote.
“I’ll spring on this unsuspecting world yet! But then, I’ve always been a star, haven’t I?”
In another letter he wrote: “’I always said I was a genius but nobody listened.”
Weeks later he wrote: “One thing I won’t do is record for the sake of it. I’m all set for superstardom. But then, I’ve always been a star, haven’t I?”
The musings are contained in a collection of letters that then-Steven Morrissey wrote to his Birmingham poet pen pal Simon Pitt between 1974 and 1979.
A total of 66 letters Morrissey penned to Pitt, who died last year, are being sold by his family at Dawsons Auctioneers, of Maidenhead, Berks, and could fetch more than £22,000 when they go under the hammer in August.
In them, Morrissey shared a snapshot of working-class life in Manchester and revealed his dream of moving permanently to America. In the first letter, written when he was 14 in 1974, Morrissey said he was already dreaming of stardom.
“My ambition is to be a rock ‘n’ roll star or an actor or a writer,” he said.
Morrissey sent a passport photo of himself with a 1977 letter and wrote: “Poseurs of the world unite!”
He bemoaned Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 General Election win, writing: “Did you vote? Labour, I hope? God knows what tortures that miserable Thatcher has prepared for us working class folk.”
Some of the letters reveal a couple of performers he did admire – including American Pie star Don McLean and All The Young Dudes’ singer Ian Hunter of Brit rock band Mott The Hoople
“Wouldn’t mind going to see Don McLean,” he said.
“Ian Hunter has a hit on his hands.”
After forming The Smiths with guitarist Johnny Marr in 1982 the band released a string of acclaimed albums before their break-up in 1987 after which Morrissey pursued a solo career.
The 67-year-old has been the subject of various controversies over the decades due to his outspoken comments on national identity and the monarchy.
Peter Mason, auctioneer and senior valuer at Dawsons, said: “It is exceptionally rare for an archive of this depth and intimacy to emerge.
“These letters offer a previously unseen insight into the formative years of one of Britain’s most distinctive and influential lead singers, years before he found international fame as the frontman of The Smiths, one of the defining and most influential bands of the 1980s.
“What struck me most was just how funny Morrissey is.
“Running through almost every letter is a wonderful sense of humour and genuine warmth that makes him an incredibly endearing character.
“Alongside the wit and unmistakable literary voice that would later become synonymous with Morrissey, the correspondence also captures Britain at a fascinating moment in its cultural history.
“Through his observations on punk, music, politics and everyday life, the letters offer a vivid snapshot of the changing British music scene and political landscape during the 1970s while documenting the emergence of a remarkable young talent long before the rest of the world knew his name.”