Hard News: MORRISSEY

Pop idol Morrissey died last night after being electrocuted on the set of Top of the Pops.  Millions watching at home saw the former lead singer of cult band The Smiths collapse when a 500 volt current passed through the microphone he was holding as he performed live on the show.

Fans screamed in horror when it became clear the singer was seriously injured and unconscious

Sobbing Tracey Jenkins, 15, described what she saw from the studio floor where she had been among an audience of two hundred watching the hit singer’s act:  “He just didn’t stand a chance.  As he was lying there we could see smoke coming from the top of his head.”

The 29 year old singer was rushed by ambulance from BBC Television Centre in West London to University College Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly before 9pm.  A medical statement said he had failed to respond to resuscitation techniques.

Police were called in to investigate but no cause for the incident has yet been established.

In a bizarre twist Morrissey’s voice, to which he had been miming, continued to sing his latest hit record ‘I’m So Despondent’ as the singer lay dead on the stage.

The lines “My mum’s in hospital / So I’m trying on all her cardigans / ’Cos there’s no one else here to wear them” echoed eerily through the silent studio before BBC staff moved in.  Studio manager Robin Thompson denied reports that the singer was not given the kiss-of-life because his reputed gay lifestyle led staff to fear AIDS infection.

“He was given every possible treatment,” Thompson told reporters angrily at a news conference after the tragedy last night.  “We are not in the business of ghettoising gays or HIV sufferers.  I loved Morrissey - though not physically I hasten to add - and I am absolutely shattered by his death.”

Morrissey, born Norman Hughes, was known for his trenchant views on fellow stars: of Madonna he was quoted as saying, “she’s a bitch”; Pretenders’ lead singer Chrissie Hynde he described as “a tart”; of Kylie Minogue he said, “she’s a slag”.

The doomy Mancunian was widely loved and respected in the music industry.

15 Nov 1991