THE DIANA-MORRISSEY PHENOMENON (© All Rights Reserved)
PART 1:
Diana's Death Foretold in the Work of Morrissey
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In 1986 - eleven years before the death of Princess Diana - Morrissey and The Smiths released the album
THE QUEEN IS DEAD.
For the cover of this album whose title announces the death of a royal female, Morrissey chose a photo of
a French man named Alain,
(actor Alain Delon).
The first public announcement of Princess Diana's death was made by
a French man named Alain,
(Dr. Alain Pavie, head of the Cardiology department at Paris' Hospital de la Pitie Salpetriere).
Morrissey named THE QUEEN IS DEAD after a chapter title in the Hubert Selby novel
LAST EXIT TO BROOKLYN.
BROOKLYN is the largest of the five boroughs that comprise the city of NEW YORK.
Diana's fatal car crash occurred in an underpass tunnel in which she was headed toward the
EXIT TO THE AVENUE DE NEW YORK.
Morrissey started THE QUEEN IS DEAD with audio from the film THE L-SHAPED ROOM
about a woman - played by actress Lesley Caron - who moved from France to England.
Diana's body was moved from France to England.
Lesley Caron was born on July 1st.
Diana was born on July 1st.
The audio from THE L-SHAPED ROOM selected by Morrissey to start THE QUEEN IS DEAD
is a woman leading a sing-along of
'TAKE ME BACK TO DEAR OLD BLIGHTY'.
'Blighty' is slang for England.
Apart from the fact that
Diana's body had to be taken back to dear old Blighty for burial,
the significant thing here is the name of the character leading the sing-along: Mavis.
[Remember that her name is Mavis.
We'll return to this point later.]
The following song is from the album titled THE QUEEN IS DEAD:
THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT
Take me out tonight
where there's music and there's people
who are young and alive
driving in your car
I never never want to go home
because I haven't got one
anymore
and if a double-decker bus
crashes into us
to die by your side
such a heavenly way to die
and if a ten-ton truck
kills the both of us
to die by your side
the pleasure and the privilege is mine
and in the darkened underpass
I thought Oh God, my chance has come at last
(but then a strange fear gripped me and I
just couldn't ask)
Oh, there is a light that never goes out
there is a light that never goes out
Morrissey's lyrics to THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT from THE QUEEN IS DEAD concern:
two people
on a date
at night
in the city
driving in a car
fantasizing about getting killed in a car crash
gripped by fear in an underpass
Over a decade later we have Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed:
two people
on a date
at night
in the city
driving in a car
getting killed in a car crash
in an underpass
In 1987, this very same song - THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT from THE QUEEN IS DEAD -
became the 'A'-side of the only Smiths single ('B'-side: HALF A PERSON) in the lifetime of the band to be
released exclusively in France.
Princess Diana died in France.
In 1995, this very same song - THERE IS A LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES OUT from THE QUEEN IS DEAD -
wound up as the last song on the last Smiths album before Diana's death:
[Released eight years after the breakup of The Smiths, the last Smiths album prior to Diana's death
was a retrospective compilation of their singles, titled "SINGLES".]
For the cover of this final Smiths album before Diana's death,
Morrissey chose a photo of an actress named Diana
clutching a pillar
in the film YIELD TO THE NIGHT.
Princess Diana
crashed into a pillar
just minutes after midnight.
The 'Diana' on the album cover is actress Diana Dors.
Diana Dors' real name was MAVIS Fluck.
MAVIS was the name of the character from THE L-SHAPED ROOM
whose singing of TAKE ME BACK TO DEAR OLD BLIGHTY
was chosen by Morrissey to start THE QUEEN IS DEAD.
[Remember?]
In the summer of 1997, Morrissey released his final single before Diana's death:
ALMA MATTERS
So, the choice I have made
may seem strange to you
but who asked you anyway?
it's my life to wreck
my own way
You see, to someone somewhere
Alma matters in mind
body and soul
in part and in hole
So, the life I have made
may seem wrong to you
but I've never been surer
it's my life to ruin
my own way
Because to someone somewhere
Alma matters in mind
body and soul
in part and in hole
Morrissey's lyrics to ALMA MATTERS refer us to an unnamed
'someone somewhere'
to whom
'Alma matters in mind
body and soul
in part and in hole'.
One month after the release of ALMA MATTERS,
Princess Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris, in the underpass beneath
Le Place d' ALMA.
[Does Morrissey's unexpected spelling of 'hole' in ALMA MATTERS
refer to the underpass beneath Le Place d' ALMA?]
To date, there had been more than 100 different Smiths/Morrissey record releases worldwide,
but there had never been one with a car on the cover until ALMA MATTERS:
On the front cover of ALMA MATTERS Morrissey is leaning on the hood of a car.
One month after the release of ALMA MATTERS,
Diana suffered fatal injuries in a car
in the ALMA underpass.
In January of 1998, an interview was published in which Morrissey was asked about Diana:
How did you react when you heard of Princess Diana's death?
Morrissey: It was so predictable. It was expected.