When I die I want to see every gig I ever went to and every Morrissey-related experience flash before my eyes. Then I can die flat out.
—A Morrissey super-fan or an “irregular regular” on her dedication to the great and powerful Moz.
Though at times the various accents from some the fans featured in Love Bites are difficult to understand, it doesn’t prevent you from clearly seeing how utterly devoted they are to the former Smiths crooner. The documentary is based on a lovely group of people who followed Morrissey around during the early 1990s when he was out supporting his 1992 album Your Arsenal and 1994’s Vauxhall & I in the U.K. The first-hand accounts from the “irregular regulars” is pretty endearing stuff—especially when it comes to how seeing Moz live makes them feel, such as a young female fan who equated the experience to “attending the church of Morrissey.” Many of Moz’s male fans have their hair styled just like their idol and there’s even a guy who tricked out his scooter with pictures of Morrissey all over it. Now that’s love.
I’m not going to share much more about the doc as I don’t want to spoil it. This is truly a heartfelt glimpse into the lives of people who were collectively moved by Moz’s live performances and being. It is also a rather engrossing watch and I found that all 38 minutes of it kind of flew by when I watched it, mostly due to Morrissey’s quippy and quotable hardcore fans. When asked about her devotion to the singer one of them shared the following melancholy thought:
I’m sure he loves us as much as we love him. I’m sure he thinks about us.
And with a quote that was seemingly plucked from Morrissey’s own brooding playbook, I’ll leave you to watch Love Bites.
‘Love Bites.’ An excellent short, endearing documentary on a group of Morrissey fans who followed the vocalist around in the early 90s.
HT: Slicing Up Eyeballs
Previously on Dangerous Minds:
At last night’s Morrissey gig fans mobbed the stage and attempted ‘to mount him like a steed’
Heaven Knows He Was Miserable Then: Morrissey’s first postcard to a pen-pal from 1980
Miserable in Manchester: Amusing letters and music reviews from a young Morrissey
Nothing lost in translation: The ‘acute malevolence’ of Morrissey
Morrissey Fans Are Lazy