Long lost footage of Morrissey performing with two of his former Smiths bandmates a year after their split has been posted online.
The gig was organised in 1988 just as Morrissey was about to launch his solo career. Johnny Marr, whose departure in ’87 led to the end of The Smiths at the height of their powers, didn’t perform at the Wolverhampton gig, but bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, along with guitarist Craig Gannon, did appear.
“Exactly 365 days after he’d last worked with them, Morrissey (or rather his lawyer) phoned Marr, Joyce and Rourke and suggested a gig,” a 1998 Uncut feature explains.
“The band played the material they’d recorded with Morrissey a year earlier and a handful of Smiths songs never played live. However, the backstage environment brought the curious occasion of a group whose entire membership was suing the singer. According to Joyce, ‘It wasn’t mentioned’.”
Check out it out via YouTube: