Love Morrissey? Love dancin'? Love gladioli? Love meeting fellow fanatics? Confused about what to do with your second dose of bank holiday weekends? (Oh May, you will insist on spoiling us.) If you're like me, and have sheepishly answered yes to all of these questions, you'll be delighted to learn that the planets have truly aligned to bring all these elements together to create one night of Morrissey lovers' heaven: the Mozarmy meet-up. Julie Hamill, organiser and Mozarmy co-founder reveals all:Can you explain what the Mozarmy is in a few sentences? How did the whole concept of the Mozarmy come about?
The Mozarmy is a Twitter fan club devoted to all things Morrissey and the Smiths. The whole thing started one night when during a conversation about lyrics with other enthusiasts I suggested we hashtag our tweets #Mozarmy and it quickly caught on, with more and more people around the world joining in and starting conversations in a matter of weeks. [For more FAQ, Julie's blog explains a few things here.]
What kind of an important part do you think social media has played in recent years in bringing likeminded people from fandoms together? Would there be a Mozarmy or a meet-up without Twitter?
I'm sure the Mozarmy could have existed (or even does exist, with many other names!) without Twitter; but the nature of this type of social media has meant that using the hashtag makes it easier to find and follow/converse with other individuals who have similar interests. In this respect, Twitter has played a crucial part in providing the environment for people to form relationships via the vehicle of a hashtag.
There’s also a Mozarmy quiz on Twitter every Friday night. How did that start?
Again, the quiz started because we were all quizzing each other from our own accounts, guess the lyrics, etc. So we set up a dedicated account (@hatfulofharper) to use as a central quiz head office, one place to go every week that's easy to find. It works because people love quizzes, and the beauty of this is that anyone can have a turn at being the host, as winning it guarantees that you can host the next week!
So, the first Mozarmy meet-up takes place on May 26 in Manchester. What can everyone expect from the night?
On the night people can expect a disco, a life sized cardboard cut out of Morrissey to photograph with friends, badges, an audience Q&A with Morrissey collaborators Jonny Bridgwood and Andrew Paresi, a chance to meet Craig Gannon, a quiz and Mozeoke from performer Amy Lamé, more disco, more fun, and of course more mingling (or standing on your own—standard for Mozarmy).A lot of the special guests are people you’ve interviewed for your Fifteen Minutes With … series. Was it easy to persuade them to come along? Do you think they’ll enjoy being among the über fans kind of atmosphere?
I really think that Andrew, Jonny, Craig and Amy will enjoy the environment and the evening, and I know that they are looking forward to it. After all, they enjoy the music that they contributed to and Amy is an excited fan too (so much so, she wrote a play about it—tickets available!) Morrissey/Smiths fans are respectful, gentle, and kind, very much like our guests. It will be a mutual pleasure to be in similar company.
There was Smithsfest in March—how is the Mozarmy meet-up going to be different from that?
There will be a similar group of fans in attendance as there was at Smithsfest, but the meet won't have the cultural slant of movies, exhibitions, etc. This is fundamentally a chance for fans to meet other fans that they may have been talking to on Twitter for years, but have never met. It is a celebration of thirty years of Morrissey, the Smiths, the music and a coming together of the fans, just as we do at gigs.
Why Mozarmy and not Smithsarmy? Will there be more of a solo Morrissey flavour to the meet-up, or is it an all-encompassing Smiths/Morrissey extravaganza?
Morrissey is the common denominator of both, and Mozarmy sounds better. We still go see him, and we love his entire body of work, Smiths and solo work included. We love Johnny Marr too, but Morrissey is kinda special.
As mentioned above, you write a series of interviews with people who have worked with Morrissey and well-known people who happen to be big fans. How did that come about?
A desire to write about what I love was the initial drive, as was my long-standing admiration for a Smiths in Scotland programme/set of interviews I have kept since I was thirteen. And an avid love of the '80s pop bible Smash Hits. But the interviews came about when Mark Nevin said, 'Yes, Julie, I will meet with you!'
Have you encountered any problems from people who aren’t perhaps willing to discuss their time with Morrissey?
I haven't encountered any problems. Everybody has been lovely, even those who have declined have done so with good grace.
Do you have a particularly favourite interview?
I have many favourite interviews, but Clive Langer is a bit of a hero, so meeting him and talking about his work was an entirely great pleasure that I was lucky to experience. I had to write him a letter and the next day I got a text. We met twice for the interview and have since stayed in contact. He's a legend, in the greatest and most respected sense of the word, and kind, kind, kind.
Who would be your ideal interviewee?
Morrissey. So one day, if you're bored ...
How would you persuade a non-Moz fan to give the guy a try? Do you have a go-to album/song?
I wouldn't try to persuade a non-Moz fan to give him a try. I shouldn't need to. But if I had to, I'd tape their mouths and play 'Now My Heart is Full,' 'I Know it's Gonna Happen Someday', and 'Come Back to Camden' at maximum volume. Following which, I'd force them to watch me flail about to 'William', then set them free, telling them to never speak of this again.
What’s your favourite Morrissey/Smiths-related memory?Favourite memory is seeing the Smiths at the Glasgow Barrowlands in 1985 and again in 1986. Morrissey at the London Palladium in 2006 and Santa Barbara Bowl in 2002 were also mind blowing.
What’s your favourite flavour of crisps?
I like very flavourful crisps like Worcester Sauce or Marmite. I love to find a 'folded over' one. I like Ready Salted crisps too. I don't like crisps that are 'meat' flavoured. Horrible. Generally speaking though—the chances are, if you offer me a crisp, I'll take it, then ask for your bag.
If Morrissey was to walk into your house right now and say ‘Alright, Julie?’ what would you say?
'Can I have a cuddle now?'
