In case you had doubts, it’s now clear that Morrissey’s sarcastic, witty, and tragicomic persona in The Smiths was never an act. Even back in 1980, three years prior to the band’s beginnings, the 21-year old Moz penned an ever misanthropic response to a fellow (lonely) music lover’s personal ad.
The transcript of his short letter, written on the back of a James Dean postcard, reads like a series of sardonic Smiths one-liners:
Dear Person,
So nice to know there’s another soul out there, even if it is in Glasgow.
Does being Scottish bother you? Manchester is a lovely little place, if you happen to be a bedridden deaf mute.
I’m unhappy, hope you’re unhappy too.
In poverty,
Steven
This letter is just the first of many (available for your reading pleasure here) that then known as “Steven Morrissey” would continue to write to his newfound Scottish pen-pal over the next eighteen months.
