Morrissey Takes Dublin By Storm

Hot Press sharpshooter Kathrin Baumbach was front and centre - check out the photo gallery here.

Morrissey cut a characteristically uncompromising figure at Dublin's 3Arena, on an otherwise gloomy Monday night.

'The Queen Is Dead’ and Viva Hate's ‘Suedehead’ were rolled out at the beginning, much to the delight of fans, both old and new. Otherwise, however, the set leant heavily on Steven Patrick's latest opus World Peace Is None Of Your Business with a whopping ten tracks featured in all. He must have been pleased to see impressively large pockets of the audience singing along passionately to every word on newer material such as 'Kiss Me A Lot', 'Istanbul' and 'Neal Cassady Drops Dead’.

The good news is that, recent health issues notwithstanding, Morrissey looked and sounded in great shape throughout, and though he kept the soundbites to a minimum, the Fuck Harvest Records t-shirts donned by the members of his band offered its own telling invective.

It wasn’t all easy-looking. Morrissey unleashed a graphic animal slaughter video to accompany 'Meat Is Murder', prompting many to look elsewhere: some home truths, it seems, are just too uncomfortable.

'Mountjoy' proved a highlight, triggering a hearty roar at its mention of Brendan Behan's name, while an encore of 'Asleep’ (originally the b-side of The Smiths’ ‘The Boy With The Thorn In His Side) and a superb 'Everyday Is Like Sunday' brought the curtain down in fine style. A stirring night...