From Kate Sullivan's interview with Morrissey:
It was January 1989, and it was a very bitter winter. I went with three friends onto Saddleworth Moor in the north of England, which is the most barren, desolate, desperate place . . . a place of many, many murders throughout British history — many bodies were dumped [there] because it was so hostile.
There’s nothing for miles, and it’s very easy to lose your way. We had driven through darkness even though it was only 6 p.m. — you can only see as far as your headlights. At one point, we tried to step outside the car and the wind was so ferocious, a bitter chill of winter. You can’t see lights for miles, because there’s nothing there, just peat and heather. Very, very unfriendly terrain.
And suddenly, as we turned onto a side road, from the side of the road, from the heather, somebody pleaded to the car.
It was a boy of maybe 18 years, and he was totally gray, and he had long hair in a sort of 1970s style, one of those strange feather cuts, and he wore a very small anorak and nothing else; he was completely naked. He just emerged from the heather and pleaded to the lights, and we drove past because we all instinctively knew that this was a spirit.
So, we went to the nearest phone box in the nearest village, and we called the police, and we said, “We have just driven down the Wessenden Road on Saddleworth Moor, and somebody has emerged from the side of the road and pleaded to the car.” The police said, “Keep an open mind [mimes hanging up a phone].”
It gets better. Barring any miracles, I won't be at his concerts this weekend at the Rose Bowl. But if you're going, bless you. Here's a link about William E. Jones' documentary on Latino obsession with Morrissey, "Is It Really So Strange?" And Gustavo Arellano's 2003 piece on Morrissey tribute band The Sweet and Tender Hooligans. * Image above from "Viva Morrissey" photos of L.A. Moz heads.