Watch Morrissey perform The Smiths classic for the first time in almost 30 years
Morrissey returned to the stage on January 10th, dusting off a Smiths classic for the first time in 29 years.
After cancelling his first two shows of the year, the former frontman of The Smiths performed at the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas.
Notably, he didn’t perform his new single, ‘Make-Up Is A Lie’, explaining to the crowd that it will become part of his set “when we’ve learnt how to play it”.
However, Morrissey’s set did surprisingly include ‘Paint a Vulgar Picture’ from The Smiths’ classic album Strangeways, Here We Come. It was last performed by Moz on December 11th, 1997, in Chester, according to Setlist FM.
The show in San Antonio also saw Morrissey deliver other iconic Smiths tracks, including ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’, ‘How Soon Is Now?’, and his set closer, ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’.
Morrissey has upcoming shows later this month in Oklahoma City, St Louis, Atlanta, St Petersburg, and Hollywood, before he’s set to return to Europe for a headline tour next month, which includes a lone UK date at London’s O2 Arena on February 28th.
His huge date in the English capital is set to take place a week before the birth of his new album, Make-Up Is A Lie, on March 6th, 2026.
Upon announcing the album last week, along with sharing the title track, Morrissey told fans, “I hope you consider ‘Make-up is a Lie’ to be worth the attention that you give it. Many of us, here, and in France, Turkey, Poland, The Netherlands, Denmark, Greece, America, England … we have waited because our belief is unchallengeable: let the squawkers squawk.”
The post on his official website concluded, “What survives beyond their grasp is love. I insist on being myself in spite of much discouragement, and this new music is a valid portrait of much more to come in 2026. Born, then born, and born again. I am your lover-to-be, MORRISSEY.”
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