Posted on 06/07/2004 12:58:56 PM PDT by KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle
MANCHESTER music legend Morrissey sparked controversy when he announced Ronald Reagan's death live on stage during a concert - and then declared he wished it was George Bush who had died instead.
Thousands of fans at Dublin Castle, in Ireland, cheered when the ex-Smiths frontman made the announcement that the former American president, who had battled with Alzheimer's Disease, had passed away.
And an even bigger cheer followed when Morrissey - who is no stranger to controversy - then said he wished it had been the current President, George W Bush, who had died.
Fan Tony Murray said: "He commented about the death of Ronald Reagan and when he wished that it was George W instead the crowd went wild."
The Dublin concert was the latest leg of Morrissey's European tour, which began at the M.E.N. Arena last month when the ever-popular performer made his first appearance in the city for 12 years.
He is due to appear at the Move festival at Old Trafford cricket ground next month.
A spokesman for Morrissey's record label, Sanctuary Records, said: "We do not have a recording of the gig, but as far as we can tell, Morrissey was just alerting the audience to the fact that Ronald Reagan had died.
"He then simply followed that up with his comment about George Bush, which was his own opinion. He is no stranger to controversy."
Isn't Ireland the place where everyone is alcoholic, and proud of it?
Morrisey? Who's that? Oh, I remember he's some euro-fag one-hit wonder...
Liberal scum is liberal scum. They are sick, unhappy puppies. It must be terrible going through life with so much hate in one heart.
He can come over to my place, and I'll introduce him to "THE WESSONS" :)
> Who or what is "Morrisey"?
Apparently he's a big fan of Dick Cheney, wants to see him President...
[/sarcasm]
(These yahoos never seem to think things through...)
He IS however a stranger to good manners.
LOL Good one!
What a fag..... hehe no pun intended
Hey, Kent!!!
Nothing against you posting the article..but, who cares what these entertainers think about the world scene...They should stick to their trade and keep their mouths shut. Because everytime many of them try to act like great thinkers they always put their feet in their mouths.
Maybe the mental midget didn't know Ronnie was Irish:
Irish Town Marks Ronald Reagan's Death
BALLYPOREEN, Ireland (AP) - June 3, 1984. It was the day that Ronald Reagan rediscovered his Irish roots - and overcame his reluctance to hold babies.
The people of Ballyporeen fondly remember the Reagan visit. He was there to see documents that proved his great-grandfather, Michael Regan, had been born in the small hamlet in County Tipperary.
"He was here for four hours, drinking beer and chatting," Mary O'Farrell, who with her husband John runs O'Farrell's bar in the main street, recalled Monday. They had renamed the establishment the Ronald Reagan Bar after the favorite son was elected in 1980.
"He was very easy to talk to and he went way past his schedule and his staff were shouting, 'It's time to go, Mr. President,'" O'Farrell said.
The O'Farrells presented their four-week-old baby daughter, Catherine Nancy - named for the president's wife - but were careful not to ask the president to hold her, since his staff had advised he would not.
"Mrs. Reagan held the baby while he signed the visitor's book, but then she needed to sign and I said, 'Mr. President, why don't you hold the baby?'" Mrs. O'Farrell recalled. "And he did. And he was charming."
The O'Farrells were saddened to hear of Reagan's death of pneumonia on Saturday - but they had received a personal note of warning.
"He wrote to us four times after coming here, the last time about 10 years ago when he said he was suffering from Alzheimer's," said Mrs. O'Farrell. "I think it must have been very hard for Mrs. Reagan."
O'Farrell's bar is now for sale, but the new owners are likely to retain the Reagan connection, which is also highlighted at the Ronald Reagan Center, home of Ballyporeen's tourist office.
Former chairman of Tipperary South County Council, Con Donovan, was the first person to formally welcome Reagan when his helicopter landed in a local sports field.
"I remember him on the podium throwing out his arm and saying, 'There is no place in the universe I would rather be than here in Ballyporeen,'" Donovan said.
Addressing the crowds who crammed into Ballyporeen, Reagan tried a bit of Gaelic, thanking "the muintir na hEireann" (people of Ireland) for welcoming him to his ancestral home.
"I know at last whence I came," he declared. "And this has given my soul a new contentment. And it is a joyous feeling. It is like coming home after a long journey.
"I can't think of a place on the planet I would rather claim as my roots more than Ballyporeen."
Reagan said his great-grandfather - who left Ireland in the 1860s, a time of great poverty - had gone "seeking to better himself and his family."
For a long time, Reagan had known little about his ancestry because his own father had been orphaned in childhood, he said.
"From what I'm told, we were a poor family. But my ancestors took with them a treasure, an indomitable spirit that was cultivated in the rich soil of this county," Reagan added.
The president joked that he had learned from genealogists that all Regans and Reagans belonged to the same clan, and "that in it those who said 'Regan' and spelled it that way were the professional people and the educators, and only the common laborers called it 'Reagan.'
"So, meet a common laborer," he said, to laughter.
One hit wonder with How Soon Is Now. Shut Up And Squeal.
Limited Rock & Roll PING (the full list is down for now)
Or gay sex, or lousy, depressing music.
Jim Morrison was in the who?
I have said it before..I will say it again:
A "Pop" star's opinion on politics is about as enlightening as the opinion of your manicurist on your heart condition.
Jim Morrison was in the who?
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