A Scots university academic claims Morrissey is the greatest song writer in British pop history in his new book about the iconic singer.
Morrissey: The Pageant of His Bleeding Heart, by Dr Gavin Hopps of St Andrews University, is the first academic study of the singer and will be launched in his home city tomorrow.
The book compares Manchester's most famous son to literary luminaries like Samuel Beckett and Oscar Wilde, as well as comedy greats Frankie Howerd and George Formby.
Dr Hopps is one of the few academic experts focusing on the work of former Smiths front man Morrissey, 50, who recently collapsed on stage needing hospital treatment.
In the past he has claimed the lyrics of Madonna, Elton John and George Michael are pointless and the artists are more interested in being celebrities than musicians.
He also believes there is no such thing in life as "normal".
"He's a bone in the throat of popular music, and is valuable precisely because he is disturbing," said Dr Hopps, a research fellow in the University's interdisciplinary Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts.
The book looks at the poetic qualities of Morrissey's writing, and discusses the idiosyncrasies of the singer's voice, his fondness for whimsy, innuendo and camp.
"Being embarrassing is a positive feature of Morrissey's art as it is in the TV series The Office, which alienates us even as it invites identification," added Dr Hopps.
"This is, of course, a matter of comedy like Les Dawson's piano playing or Frank Spencer's mishaps though it also involves a de-familiarising effect, which in tickling us encourages critical reflection."
The book will be unveiled to the sounds of leading tribute band The Smiths at a special Morrissey-themed event at Blackwell’s University bookshop in Manchester’s Oxford Road.
Last updated: 06 November 2009, 15:29
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