six months pass...
21 July 1976 - ??? (UK)
Under the headline "Ramones are rubbish", Morrissey writes: "The Ramones are the latest bumptious band of degenerate no-talents whose most notable achievement to date is their ability to advance beyond the boundaries of New York City, and purely on the strength of a spate of convincing literature projecting the Ramones as God's gift to rock music. They have been greeted with instant adulation by an army of duped fans. Musically, they do not deal in subtlety or variation of any kind, their rule is to be as incompetent as possible. For a band believed to project the youth of America, New York - suburban life, anti-conformism, sex and struggle, or whatever, they fail miserably. And in the sober light of day their imperfections have a field day. (...). The New York Dolls and Patti Smith have proved that there is some life pumping away in the swamps and gutters of New York and they are the only acts which originated from the N.Y. club scene worthy of any praise. The Ramones have absolutely nothing to add that is of relevance or importance and should be rightly filed and forgotten. Steve Morrissey, Kings Road, Stretford, Manchester."
25 September 1976 - Sounds (UK)
This issue has two letters by Morrissey. A first under the pen name Morrissey where he mentions that it is "a joke that the Dolls should be compared to such notoriously no-talents as the Ramones and the Sex Pistols". Another letter under the pen name 'Steven' talks about Patti Smith: "Horses by Patti Smith has virtually no competition as the most exciting rock album of the year and it shows more potential than just about any other release in recent memory. There is no 'beat on the brat' nonsense. Patti is intriguing without being boring and every track is laced with her own brand of sardonic humour."
11 November 1976 - Melody Maker (UK)
This issue also includes two letters by Morrissey. A first about the state of punk includes: "The likes of the Sex Pistols have yet to prove that they are only worthy of a mention in a publication dealing solely with fashion, and if the music they deliver live is anything to go by, I think that their audacious lyrics and discordant music will not hold their heads above water when their followers tire of jumpers and safety pins". In a second letter he adds: "British punk rock is second to the New York equivalent, in that it does not possess the musical innovation. The New York Dolls, Patti Smith, The Ramones and Jobriath can withstand accusations of novelty value because, although a great deal of their act was based on image, they also had the musical professionalism and variation to suitably recompense for their image-conscious inclinations. However, although British punk bands are emerging by the truckload, even the most prominent are hardly worthy of serious musical acceptance."
?? November 1976 - NME (UK)
Another letter about the New York Dolls includes: "Methinks that The Dolls weren't the damp squid that Nick Kent would have us believe because if you look closely at the increasing number of British punk bands emerging by the shipload you will see in each one, a little bit of The Dolls. You know it makes sense."
?? December 1976 - Sounds (UK)
The ads section includes one where "Dolls / Patti fans wanted for Manchester-based punk band".
― Curt1s Stephens, Wednesday, 10 October 2007 04:39 (eighteen years ago)
three weeks pass...
one month passes...