Palladium, Cologne, Germany18th June 2025
Morrissey
MORRISSEY’s musical legacy is undeniable: As the lead singer of THE SMITHS, he played a defining role in shaping British Pop music and is considered one of the most influential figures and most significant lyricists of his generation. The four albums with THE SMITHS and his thirteen solo studio albums have made MORRISSEY one of the most renowned voices of the past four decades, creating a sound that continues to resonate today. Five years after his last Germany performance, the former THE SMITHS frontman now returns for four German concerts, starting off in Cologne, and followed by Berlin, Leipzig, and Munich.
MORRISSEY’s musical journey began in the early 1980s as the frontman and lyricist of THE SMITHS, a band whose poetic melancholy and jangly guitar sound became a defining voice of British Alternative music. After the group’s breakup in 1987, MORRISSEY launched a solo career marked by both critical acclaim and controversy. Albums like ‘Viva Hate’ and ‘You Are the Quarry’ showcased his distinct blend of wit, vulnerability, and social critique, while his unmistakable baritone and often stark lyrical content continued to divide and captivate audiences. Over four decades, he has built a body of work that resists categorisation - oscillating between introspection and provocation, between Pop grandeur and minimalist despair - cementing his status as one of the most singular figures in modern music. https://www.morrisseycentral.com / https://www.facebook.com/Morrissey
Music & Performance
This was an evening of pathos, poetry, and protest at a sold-out venue with an artist of conviction and presence. MORRISSEY, once the voice of iconic indie pioneers THE SMITHS, proved last night at Cologne’s Palladium that his relevance in 2025 remains unshaken. With no support act - instead opening with a 40-minute video collage of provocative, nostalgic and artistically charged footage - the evening began as idiosyncratically as only MORRISSEY can manage. A risk, but one his audience fully embraced.
At 8:40 p.m., the 65-year-old took the stage, holding five striking bird of paradise flowers like a fan between his fingers - an almost surreal image that encapsulated the tone of the entire performance: stylised, eccentric, poetic. Behind him, a shifting panorama of visuals and lighting set the mood for each track like a moving canvas. On the bass drum: “War is old, art is young” - a slogan that distilled MORRISSEY’s pacifist and culturally critical worldview into a single phrase.
This concert was a journey through past and present. The set opened with the upbeat ‘You’re the One for Me, Fatty’, brushing off melancholy with ironic swagger. With the second song, ‘Shoplifters of the World Unite’ - a classic from THE SMITHS era - MORRISSEY had the crowd fully on side. The blend of solo material and THE SMITHS favourites felt less like a nostalgic checklist and more like a curated journey through his artistic legacy.
‘I Wish You Lonely’ and ‘Rebels Without Applause’ demonstrated his ongoing critique of modern isolation and social absurdity. ‘Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings’ emerged as a live high point, immediately followed by the biting sarcasm of ‘All You Need Is Me’, met with raucous applause. Particularly moving was ‘I Know It’s Over’, where MORRISSEY stood almost motionless in a solitary spotlight - a stark reminder of the emotional fragility that often lies at the core of his songs. Then came ‘Everyday Is Like Sunday’, beginning with a two-minute piano intro before erupting into a crowd-wide singalong, turning the venue into a cathedral of shared melancholy.
Morrissey remained visually expressive throughout, speaking volumes even in silence. During ‘Life Is a Pigsty’, he tossed a handkerchief into the front row - a small, ritualistic gesture. On ‘The Loop’, he played maracas and hurled them in opposite directions from the video screen - a gesture that seemed to defy symmetry or predictability.
Before ‘The Bullfighter Dies’, he introduced his band members while footage of bullfighters being gored played on the screen - a graphic statement underscoring his long-standing animal rights activism. A lifelong vegan, MORRISSEY continues to use the stage not just as a musical platform, but as a moral one. In ‘Scandinavia’, his eccentric humour shone through as he mused: “I’ve had some trouble with snot... germs, where do they come from...” - a line that perfectly summed up his blend of absurdism and detachment.
With ‘Jack the Ripper’ (performed amid thick smoke) and ‘I Will See You in Far-Off Places’ (walking off stage with his jacket folded over his arm), the concert approached its symbolic end. MORRISSEY exited quietly - only to return moments later for a two-song encore. ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’ felt like a final confession of existential loneliness, before ‘Irish Blood, English Heart’ brought one last defiant burst of energy. As the song ended, MORRISSEY tore his shirt in half, tossed it to the left side of the crowd, and exited the stage quickly - wordless, sharp, deliberate.
MORRISSEY isn’t here to please the masses. He’s not a conventional Rock star. He is a performer with a conscience, a moralist, a singer of sorrow and splendour. Last night in Cologne, he delivered one of his strongest performances - provocative, poetic, unapologetic. More than a concert - it was a declaration of individuality.
Setlist
01. You’re the One for Me, Fatty
02. Shoplifters of the World Unite (The Smiths song)
03. I Wish You Lonely
04. Rebels Without Applause
05. Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings
06. All You Need Is Me
07. One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell
08. Istanbul
09. I Ex-Love You
10. I Know It’s Over (The Smiths song)
11. Everyday Is Like Sunday
12. Life Is a Pigsty
13. How Soon Is Now? (The Smiths song)
14. The Loop
15. The Bullfighter Dies
16. Scandinavia
17. Jack the Ripper
18. I Will See You in Far-Off Places
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19. Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me (The Smiths song)
20. Irish Blood, English Heart
All pictures by Daniela Vorndran (http://www.vorndranphotography.com / http://www.facebook.com/blackcatnet)
