Daily Archives: April 27, 2009

Man of the World

Sheen as Clough

I finally got to see the film version of David Peace’s The Damned Utd and it was well worth the wait. Tom Hooper’s The Damned United is a fine adaptation of its source material and is the best film that I’ve seen about football. Like the novel, the film is a fictionalised account of Brian Clough’s brief tenure in charge of Leeds United in 1974. And, like the book, episodes from 1974 are alternated with flashbacks to Clough’s previous stint in charge of Derby County

The film is very funny and this is due to a combination of Peter Morgan’s script, its direction and a brilliant cast. Michael Sheen is impressive as usual in the central role of Brian Howard Clough. Sheen is used to playing fictional versions of actual people, most notably his depiction of Tony Blair in The Deal and The Queen. His performance in The Damned United makes you forget his other roles as he gets Clough’s accent and delivery, his appearance and mannerisms, and his whole persona down to a tee. Clough was a larger-than-life character who would have been the centre of attention wherever he went and Sheen is exactly the same in the film. Colm Meaney also does a great job throughout the movie as Clough’s nemesis, Don Revie. Other notable performances include Timothy Spall as Clough’s sidekick, Peter Taylor, and Jim Broadbent as the Derby County chairman. The actors playing the Leed players are less effective, but this may be because their parts are merely caricatures and are not so well-written

The early seventies is captured quite well through the use of archive footage, street shots, interior decor, the use of lighting and the clothes and hairstyles on view. The film depicts a far more parochial football world than the modern one of the Premiership where the manager now has more power. The film also chronicles Clough’s love-hate relationships with two men: Don Revie and Peter Taylor. He constantly tries to emulate and ultimately outdo Revie while he finds that he needs Taylor as much as Taylor needs him. The total running time of the film comes in at under 90 minutes and I enjoyed every second of it

Leeds United – Amanda Palmer

Amanda Palmer‘s Leeds United appears on her solo debut album, Who Killed Amanda Palmer (2008). Palmer is singer, pianist and lyricist with The Dresden Dolls. I’m not sure what this song has to do with Leeds Utd and the lyrics don’t provide any clues

Leed United – Luke Haines

Luke Haines‘s Leed United appears on his Off My Rocker at the Art School Bop (2006). Haines has previously been a member of The Auteurs and Black Box Recorder and has just published a book entitled Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part in its Downfall. Leeds United was released as a single and Haines performed the song at book signings for David Peace’s The Damned Utd

Bigmouth Strikes Again

Morrissey Symposium UL

Last night I returned home from the best part of two days spent at The Songs That Saved Your Life (Again), a symposium for an English singer named Morrissey that took place at the University of Limerick. It was not uninteresting and it got me out of the house for a couple of days. I got to hear some interesting talks about the Mancunian singer, his passionate fans and his songs. I watched a number of documentaries of variable quality and saw a Smiths tribute act of questionable quality. I also met some fans of The Smiths/Morrissey as well as some less fanatical individuals

The weekend began with the European premiere of Passions Just Like Mine by Kerri Koch. This documentary looked at the huge following that Morrissey has amongst the Hispanic community in Los Angeles. It featured interviews with many of these fans and with some of the members of a couple of Hispanic cover bands who play the music of The Smiths and Morrissey. The film was a bit too long and repetitive and some of the interviews suffered from poor sound and lighting. Additionally, a lot of it was unintentionally funny as the interviews gushed about their love of Morrissey and his music. Attempts to uncover the reasons why Morrissey is so popular amongst this community were unsuccessful

The symposium’s second film was shown later that night just before the tribute act took the stage at Dolan’s. The World Won’t Listen featured sixty minutes of Indonesian youths singing karaoke versions of Smiths’ songs. A couple of the versions stood out, but this was way too long, extremely repetitive, and quite pointless. The third and final film of the weekend, Is It Really So Strange? was shown on two small screens at a bar following the final paper on Saturday. It seemed to cover much the same ground as the first film and even featured some of the same interviewees. I tuned out after a while and drifted to the bar and chatted to some of the other less fanatical attendees

The first night closed with a performance by a Smiths covers band called These Charming Men. I must admit that I’m not a big fan of tribute acts unless they are absolutely terrible. These guys were merely adequate. The guitarist was the best of the lot, the rhythm section was poor, and the lead singer reminded me more of Johnny Rotten than Morrissey. Nevertheless, the group got progressively better with each pint I drank and some of their songs were better than others

The highlights of the weekend for me were the various papers that were presented on the second day. Some of the topics covered included representations of the working class in Morrissey’s songs, fanaticism, and the influence of other works in his songs. I particularly enjoyed two of the presentations. Kieran Cashell delivered his paper on the philosophy of suicide in relation to a number of songs by The Smiths and interviews that Morrissey has given in the past. He began by looking at suicide from a philosophical perspective and then showed how these views are present in Morrissey’s interviews and in a number of his songs. He provided an excellent analysis of a Smiths’ b-side entitled Asleep and, due to time constraints, a shorter analysis of their single, Shakespeare’s Sister. It was a well-written paper and it was delivered passionately by its author

The presentation that I enjoyed the most was given by an American who now lives in New York City, although he grew up in Denver, Colorado. In the Haze of a Drunken Hour by Dan Jacobsen focused on a weekly Smiths party that takes place every Sunday at a venue in New York City. Jacobsen’s description of the venue, the people who attend it and the events that occur there every week was wonderful. He described it in great detail with humour and wit and he certainly had the audience’s attention throughout. He spoke about the cynicism of many of the hipsters who attend not from a love of the music, but to take the piss out of the genuine fans who show up each week. Additionally, he traced the roots of one of The Smiths more popular songs, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out, back to an early Marvin Gaye single, Hitchhiker. He revealed that this is part of a larger project that will culminate in a book about the venue and The Smiths

All in all, it was an enjoyable and interesting few days and a nice introduction to Wednesday’s Morrissey gig in Galway. Many of the people who attended were huge Morrissey fans, but I met a good few who were, like me, simply music fans. Here’s a few songs that I wouldn’t mind hearing on Wednesday

Bigmouth Strikes Again – The Smiths

Shakespeare’s Sister – The Smiths

Suedehead – Morrissey

Everyday is Like Sunday – Morrissey