Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey (born 22 May 1959), known by the stage name of Morrissey from his surname, is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He helped form and sang lead for the English band The Smiths from 1982 to 1987. After the band's breakup, he went on to become a successful solo artist. Morrissey has had many Top 10 hits. In 2013 Morrissey released his autobiography. Morrissey is known for his support of animal rights.

Morrissey
Morrisey, the lead singer of The Smiths in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Steven Patrick Morrissey
Born	(1959-05-22) 22 May 1959 Davyhulme, Lancashire, England
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, vocalist, lyricist
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1978–present
Labels	1982–1987: Rough Trade/Sire 1988–1994: HMV/Sire 1995: RCA/Reprise 1997: Mercury 2003–2007: Attack/Sanctuary 2007– : Decca
Website	It's Morrissey's World

Early life

Born at Park Hospital in Davyhulme, Morrissey grew up as a Catholic as his parents were Irish Catholic immigrants. His parents had emigrated to England just before Morrissey's birth and, along with his only sibling (elder sister Jackie) they created a new life for themselves within the Manchester district of Hulme.

The Smiths

See the main article: The Smiths

The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Morrissey and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter, Maher later changed his surname to Marr to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer. During the five years of The Smiths, Marr and Morrissey produced four studio albums, one live album as well as nineteen singles, along with the two other band members, bass player Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.

Each of their four albums The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead and Strangeways, Here We Come were in the top two of the UK Albums Chart, with Meat Is Murder was number one. Their live album Rank also peaked at number two in the album charts. To date seven compilation albums have been produced with an eighth due for release.

Solo career

Following the split of The Smiths, Morrissey produced and released nine studio albums under five different music labels. His ninth album, Years of Refusal, was released on 16 February 2009. The album got good reviews from music critics.

Solo discography

• Viva Hate (1988)
• Bona Drag (1990)
• Kill Uncle (1991)
• Your Arsenal (1992)
• Vauxhall and I (1994)
• Southpaw Grammar (1995)
• Maladjusted (1997)
• You Are the Quarry (2004)
• Ringleader of the Tormentors (2006)
• Years of Refusal (2009)
• "World Peace Is None of Your Business" (2014)
• "Low In High School" (2017)

Personal life

Morrissey has been vegetarian since he was 11 years old.

Health

In early 2013, Morrissey was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer. In March 2013, he had double pneumonia. In June 2014, he had a respiratory infection. In October 2014, he said that he had treatment for cancer.