The Smiths - 1983-07-06 - Manchester, UK (DVDfull pro-shot)

(DVDfull pro-shot)

Source: VHS (unknown gen) > DVD.

01 - You've Got Everything Now
02 - Handsome Devil
03 - Reel Around The Fountain
04 - What Difference Does It Make?
05 - Wonderful Woman
06 - These Things Take Time
07 - I Don't Owe You Anything
08 - Hand In Glove
09 - Miserable Lie
10 - Accept Yourself

This was the first hometown gig where the Smiths were headliners.
As the band came on stage Morrissey greeted the fans "Hello you little charmers... we're the Smiths, how d'you do?" then launched into "You've Got Everything Now". Throughout the show, in one song out of two (faster numbers), Morrissey - who still looked ill at ease on stage at the time - had something to shake in his right hand while with the left one he held the microphone. In "You've Got Everything Now" the bouquet of flowers Morrissey had carried on stage was shaken to the beat until there was nothing left, all the flowers and broken stems littering the stage. After this Morrissey simply said "So there!" and introduced the next song, "Handsome Devil!". For this one, the flowers in Morrissey's free hand were replaced by a tambourine.

The following song was introduced as "This is your new anthem if you but knew it, 'Reel Around The Fountain'... grab it!". The song was already becoming a favourite of the four that were broadcast on John Peel's programme, hence the comment. For "What Difference Does It Make?", Morrissey picked up the tambourine again. "Wonderful Woman" was gradually getting formed into the version that would eventually be released, but at this point in time Morrissey still sang "Ah answer me, what to be done with her?" instead of "I ask myself, what to be said of her?". During "These Things Take Time" Morrissey used maracas to occupy his free right hand.

The next track was dedicated to the Buzzcocks' ex-manager and head of the Manchester New Hormones label: "If nobody objects, a slight request... to everybody's favourite neighbour, Richard Boon... happy 312 Richard... 'I Don't Owe You Anything'." Then "Hand In Glove" (for which Morrissey used two maracas!) was incorrectly introduced as "Miserable Lie". After the song the mistake was corrected and Morrissey used the opportunity to throw a little sales pitch: "That wasn't 'Miserable Lie', it was 'Hand In Glove'... and if you bought 'Hand In Glove', why not buy it again?... This is 'Miserable Lie'."

The encore was introduced with the line "Accept yourself... if you can...". At some point into the song, while Johnny had his back turned, Morrissey pretended to hit him on the back of the head with the two maracas he was shaking. After the song, Morrissey simply shouted "Goodbye!", as he had done just before the pre-encore break, and the band left the stage.

This concert was professionally shot from various camera angles. The footage was at some point intended to be released on video by Factory Records. Plans fell through, but the footage has since made it into the hands of bootleggers. It can be found on VHS and DVD.

An audience recording of the whole set minus the first song is sold and traded under the title "Little Charmers". This has found its way onto file-sharing networks. However collectors might prefer an untitled audio transfer of the video recording because it sounds better and includes the whole set.