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  • Autobiography

  • By: Morrissey
  • Narrated by: David Morrissey
  • Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (460 ratings)

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Autobiography

By: Morrissey
Narrated by: David Morrissey
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Summary

Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Manchester on May 22nd 1959. Singer-songwriter and co-founder of the Smiths (1982-1987), Morrissey has been a solo artist for twenty-six years, during which time he has had three number 1 albums in England in three different decades. Achieving eleven Top 10 albums (plus nine with the Smiths), his songs have been recorded by David Bowie, Nancy Sinatra, Marianne Faithfull, Chrissie Hynde, Thelma Houston, My Chemical Romance and Christy Moore, amongst others.

An animal protectionist, in 2006 Morrissey was voted the second greatest living British icon by viewers of the BBC, losing out to Sir David Attenborough. In 2007 Morrissey was voted the greatest northern male, past or present, in a nationwide newspaper poll. In 2012, Morrissey was awarded the Keys to the City of Tel-Aviv. It has been said 'Most pop stars have to be dead before they reach the iconic status that Morrissey has reached in his lifetime.

David Morrissey is one of the most versatile actors of his generation. He is also a screenwriter and director.

©2013 Morrissey (P)2013 Penguin Audio
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Critic reviews

"Five stars. With typical pretension, Morrissey's first book has been published as a Penguin Classic. It justifies such presentation with a beautifully measured prose style that combines a lilting, poetic turn of phrase and acute quality of observation, revelling in a kind of morbid glee at life's injustice with arch, understated humour ... It is recognisably the voice of the most distinctive British pop lyricist of his era." (Neil McCormack, Daily Telegraph)
"The Best Music Biog Ever ... In the world of rock autobiographies, Morrissey's is nigh-on perfect." (Ben Hewitt, NME)
"A brilliant and timely book ... What is so refreshing about Morrissey's Autobiography is its very messiness, its deliriously florid, overblown prose style, its unwillingness to kowtow to a culture of literary formula and commercial pigeon-holing ... Autobiography is a true baggy monster, a book in which a distinctive prose style is allowed to develop ... A rococo triumph ... Overwhelmingly this is a book to be thankful for ... In the ways that matter, Autobiography reads like a work of genuine literary class" (Alex Niven)

What listeners say about Autobiography

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Beautiful...

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Beautifully written and beautifully narrated - a detailed insight in both to Morrissey and Manchester life.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Sublime eloquence

This book must be heard to be fully appreciated, and I can’t imagine doing a better job than David Morrissey. Brilliant.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Morrisey

The world is a better place with you in it!
The Smiths 1985 Brighton Dome and forever more! Viva Morrisey

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Morrissey's bears his Mancunian soul

A book worthy to be labelled a Penguin classic. An enjoyable and addictive listen, please don't hesitate.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want

Morrissey is brutally honest about himself, the world as he experiences it and his views on the issues he cares about. (David) Morrissey reads with pathos, insight and a deep understanding of Morrissey's life situation. This means that after a short while it really feels as if you are listening to Morrissey himself.

The writing is evocative throughout, with brilliant set pieces over the various phases of Morrissey's life from tough school days, feelings of alienation at various stages, as well as a blow by blow account of the court case. Other reviews say the trial details were a bit over-extended, but as ever it feels as if Morrissey is describing his first person experience, and the whole episode is a cautionary tale for all bands starting out, to think clearly about ownership and rights.

Morrissey is a Marmite character, and your position on Marmite / Morrissey will likely determine your experience of this audiobook. For fans, it allows a deeper understanding of the man behind the music. Wherever you stand, this is a great piece of writing, brilliantly bought to life with many lessons and plenty of (usually dark) humour.

Well worth spending the day in bed to listen to ... my opinion is that Morrissey is much more sensitive than he appears, and he has the resilience and courage to keep going in the face of much misunderstanding and negative press, so that he can stay true to himself and his message to the world.

A must listen for Morrissey fans, and lots to learn for all of us about living true to our essence, values and beliefs, whether or not we like Marmite :)

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Morrissey - Warts (and all) Not Included

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I'd recommend this book to fellow Morrissey fans, thought probably not to anyone who just wanted to read a good, solid music autobiography. For the most part it's an enjoyable read, but we don't really discover anything much that we didn't already know and there's a bit too much dwelling on the court cases and nastiness that has been documented so many times before.

What did you like best about this story?

His language and turn of phrase. Nobody could pass off a ghost-written autobiography for Morrissey. His use of the English language is what has kept many of us hanging off his every word for all these years and it's here in abundance.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Moz is God

loved it. Read brilliantly. A glimpse into the life of a private man loved by millions

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not someone you’d like to meet...

nor someone who has anything ever good to say about mostly everybody.
I’m not personally a fan of his work but was intrigued and drawn into his character. A lot of his thoughts and musings are emotionless. A flaw of mental disorder hangs over his inability to participate in the here and now.
But does he tell a good story? Yes!. But flawed as one might expect leaving the listener all but rolling their eyes.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

As always, Morrissey soars above the rest ..

A truly humble and immensely talented artist. A huge fan since the very beginning, what a ride!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Brilliantly written and fantastically told . The truth of a brilliant singer songwriter . Let’s start the back catalogue again!!!

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