Morrissey

Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959), better known simply as Morrissey, is the former lead singer of the highly influential English pop band The Smiths. When the band broke up in 1987, Morri

Steven Patrick Morrissey, (born May 22, 1959), better known simply as Morrissey, is the former lead singer of the highly influential English pop band The Smiths. When the band broke up in 1987, Morrissey began a successful solo career and has the distinction of having had British top ten singles in three separate decades.

Morrissey was born in Manchester, England to Irish immigrants Peter and Elizabeth Morrissey who moved to England just before his birth. He grew up in the working-class area of Stretford, Manchester, England. While his parents were married for most of his childhood, he had an unusually strong attachment to his mother, a librarian. Perhaps because of this relationship, he developed a number of interests as a child that marked him out among his working-class peers: '60s girl groups, particularly Sandie Shaw, Marianne Faithfull and Cilla Black; films from the 1950s and 1960s; and Oscar Wilde. His saving grace was his athletic ability, which saved him from bullying; however, he describes his adolescence as very lonely and depressing.