Moz doesn’t mince words with Perth meat ban

Jun 14 2011 by Denis Brown, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

MORRISSEY may be a national treasure but he does not mince words when it comes to his devout vegetarianism.

Ahead of his sold-out gig at Perth Concert Hall on Wednesday – the venue’s fastest ever selling event – former Smiths’ frontman ‘Moz’ has issued a stern warning that no meat is to be prepared or consumed on site that day.

If the outspoken and often controversial star, whose 1985 album with The Smiths was titled Meat is Murder, gets even a whiff of a ham sandwich, it is not inconceivable that he will pull the plug.

In 2009, the staunch animal rights campaigner famously stormed off stage midway through his set at the Coachella festival because he could “smell burning flesh”.

Organisers of this summer’s 10-day Lokerse Feesten music festival in Belgium have bent over backwards to meet Moz’s strict conditions, ensuring only vegetarian fare is sold by stalls on the day he performs.

Meanwhile, venues in Scotland where the singer, real name Steven Patrick Morrissey, is playing on his current tour, have also had to toe the line when it comes to carnivorous cuisine.

A source at Perth Concert Hall said Moz’s minders have requested that nearby restaurant Pacos – which offers a mouth-watering range of burgers and steaks – does not serve meat on the night of the gig.

But Concert Hall management say they are more than happy to accommodate Morrissey’s wishes.

“Morrissey has a life-long commitment to animal rights and vegetarianism, so understandably does not like the smell of cooking meat when preparing for or indeed performing a gig,” explained Ben Jeffries, director of marketing and communications.

“We are delighted to be welcoming this fantastic artist to Perth and, as with all our artists, Horsecross will do the best we can to make him feel right at home and comfortable here in Perth Concert Hall.”

Moz (52), is also understood to ban his employees from eating meat and pre-orders vegetarian meals for his roadies when on tour.

One long-time fan of The Smiths and Morrissey – whose 2006 album was titled Ringleader of the Tormentors – said Moz’s meat ban was not exactly a surprise.

“Anyone who knows Morrissey or anything about him knows his views about eating meat,” he said.

“He has a reputation for being something of a diva in the past but he remains a maverick and a poet, and although he’s getting on a bit in years now is someone who keeps it real and sticks to his principles, which is something to be admired.”

Back in the mid-1980s when the vegetarianism movement sprouted legs across the UK, The Smiths song, Meat is Murder, was adopted as an unofficial anthem.

Hard-hitting lyrics includes the verse: “And the flesh you so fancifully fry is not succulent, tasty or kind, it’s death for no reason and death for no reason is murder.”

More recently, the sharp-witted crooner sparked controversy when arguing that eating meat was on the same moral level as child abuse.

“It's the same thing, animals are like children, they look to us for protection. We should protect them,” he said.

"I really feel quite smug about mad cow disease and foot and mouth and so forth, and I just think 'Well, what do you expect’? People have been saying it for years.”