Derby, England 1983-12-06 (The Smiths concert)

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Tour poster
The Smiths Live Concert
Tour Pre-Album Shows
Date December 7, 1983
Venue Assembly Rooms
Location Derby, England
Opening Act


Set List [1]


Concert Notes

"This concert was a very wild one, the crowd was very energetic and constantly shouting requests. It all ended in chaos (read further). After shushing the audience, "Pretty Girls Make Graves" was introduced with "A little quirk... a little quirk friends... pretty girls make!" During "Reel Around The Fountain", Morrissey gave one of the bead necklaces he was wearing to someone in the crowd. In "What Difference Does It Make?", he changed a line to "I think i can rely on me." At some point during "Miserable Lie", Morrissey was hit in the eye by a flower, dropped his microphone to the floor and left the stage. The band finished the song mostly as an instrumental. Morrissey came back on stage on time for the ending of "I need advice, I need advice", adding at the end "and so do you!" for the rowdy audience. He remained playful despite this, but Johnny Marr later said in interview that this was his most embarrassing moment. Actually in the 1985 programme for the Meat Is Murder tour, he said this concert was his 'greatest embarrassment'.

"Just before "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" which came next, Morrissey shushed the audience again and shouted "No! This!" In the song Morrissey changed a few lines, like "this night has opened my eyes and I will never see again", "The dream has gone, the crying is real" and "And I'm never happy and I'm never sad." "Hand In Glove" was introduced by a high pitched shout of "Hand In Glove!!!" During that song someone made it on stage and hugged Morrissey, making him miss a few lines. After "These Things Take Time", Morrissey just shouted "Goodbye! Stay handsome... goodbye..." and the band left.

"They were soon welcomed back by a big collective cheer. They launched into "You've Got Everything Now" but it wasn't long before the stage became crowded with fans. Band members disappeared from view and Morrissey could barely sing his lines. He tried as best he could but made strangling noises as he was pulled left and right and tried not to get drowned in a sea of dancing fans. The stage got filled with as many fans as was physically possible. It was one of the Smiths' first major stage invasions (including a small child!).

"The gig might have taken place on 6th of December instead of the 7th, or it might have been planned for the 6th but pushed back one day. "Back To The Old House" was also on the setlist but it seems like it was not played ."These Things Take Time" was originally scheduled to be performed at the very end, but it seems to have been brought up the setlist.

"This concert was recorded for The Old Grey Whistle Test and first broadcast the following Friday and Saturday. Some later rebroadcasts were shortened to seven songs, leaving out amongst others, the near-instrumental "Miserable Lie"." [2]


Live Recordings

Unofficial Recordings

Cover
Cover

Many live recordings of this show exist. Devils Charm is a double LP featuring this entire show. The Handsome Devils silver press CD also contains this entire concert.

""Handsome Devils" and its reissue in a better sleeve "Live In Derby Dec 7th 1983" are the most common. They are on compact disc but the sound quality isn't as good as on the LP bootlegs mentioned further down. The complete show is coupled on these cds with seven tracks from 21 April 1984 in Amsterdam.

""Sorrow's Son", "Devil's Charm" and "Derby Assembly Room" are on LP but the sound quality is better than for the previous cds. The latter two are nearly impossible to find but "Sorrow's Son" was transfered on homemade CD-Rs and is reasonably easy to find as such if one knows where to look. Other very good fanmade recordings can be found under the titles "The Old Grey Whistle Test" and "Life Is A Miserable Lie". The recording available on "Devil's Charm" is paired with a concert from 19 December 1983." [3]

This show was recorded on video and has been broadcast. Recordings exist on various torrent sites as well as YouTube.


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Related Items

References And Notes

  1. Set List provided by Passions Just Like Mine
  2. Concert Notes provided by Passions Just Like Mine
  3. Bootleg description provided by Passions Just Like Mine