{"id":17160,"date":"2026-07-25T22:00:50","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T17:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17160"},"modified":"2026-07-25T22:00:50","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T17:00:50","slug":"morrisseys-unseen-teenage-letters-predicting-he-would-become-a-rock-n-roll-star-are-going-up-for-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=17160","title":{"rendered":"Morrissey&#8217;s unseen teenage letters predicting he would become a \u201crock \u2019n\u2019 roll star\u201d are going up for auction"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A collection of previously unseen letters written by\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/morrissey\">Morrissey<\/a>\u00a0as a teenager, in which he predicted that he would become a \u201crock \u2019n\u2019 roll star\u201d,\u00a0is going up for auction.<\/p>\n<p>The archive comprises hundreds of handwritten pages sent by the future <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/the-smiths\">Smiths <\/a>frontman to his Birmingham pen pal Simon Pitt between 1974 and 1979, when Morrissey was aged between 14 and 20.<\/p>\n<p>Titled\u00a0<i>Before\u00a0The\u00a0Smiths: The Morrissey Letters<\/i>, the collection is being offered across 65 lots by Dawsons Auctioneers on August 26, with a combined estimate of more than \u00a322,000.\u00a0See\u00a0further\u00a0details\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dawsonsauctions.co.uk\/auction\/details\/dawson10272-before-the-smiths-the-morrissey-letters\/?au=368\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The earliest surviving letter was written in March 1974, when\u00a0Morrissey\u00a0was just 14. In it, he declared: \u201cMy ambition is to be a rock \u2019n\u2019 roll star or an actor, or a writer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It is accompanied by Pitt\u2019s original pen-pal application, which Morrissey later annotated with the words: \u201cAnd to think it all started here.\u201d The lot is expected to fetch between \u00a3300 and \u00a3500.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_3958973\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3958973\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3958973\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one-1392x928.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_one-1068x712.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3958973\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morrissey\u2019s early letters going up for auction. CREDIT: Dawsons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Another early letter features the characteristically confident statement: \u201cI always said I was a genius, but nobody listened.\u201d That lot, which also includes Morrissey\u2019s account of an unsuccessful job application to\u00a0<i>Disc<\/i>\u00a0magazine, has been valued at between \u00a3400 and \u00a3600.<\/p>\n<p>The letters chart Morrissey\u2019s development from a music-obsessed schoolboy into an aspiring performer during a pivotal period in Manchester\u2019s musical history.<\/p>\n<p>He wrote about attending both of the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/sex-pistols\">Sex Pistols<\/a>\u2019\u00a0legendary\u00a01976 shows at Manchester\u2019s Lesser Free Trade Hall, before dramatically reversing his\u00a0initial\u00a0support for the group.\u00a0\u201cAs for the Pistols\u2026 they were pathetic,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI take back all that\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0said about the Pistols\u2026 They are\u00a0just plain\u00a0bad. Period.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The archive also\u00a0contains\u00a0Morrissey\u2019s recollections of meeting\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/patti-smith\">Patti Smith<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/johnny-thunders\">Johnny Thunders <\/a>and Jerry Nolan, as well as visiting New York\u2019s CBGB and unsuccessfully attempting to join <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/the-clash\">The Clash<\/a>\u00a0before they found fame.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_3958974\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3958974\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3958974\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two-1392x928.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_two-1068x712.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3958974\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morrissey\u2019s early letters going up for auction. CREDIT: Dawsons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>In one missive, he claimed that guitarist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/mick-jones\">Mick Jones<\/a> recognised him from the numerous letters he had sent to the music press. The document, which also discusses the emerging punk scene and Morrissey\u2019s encounters with members of the Sex Pistols, is expected to sell for between \u00a3300 and \u00a3400.<\/p>\n<p>Another section captures his excitement at becoming the vocalist of Manchester punk group The Nosebleeds, marking his first experience as a band frontman. \u201cI\u2019m in showbusiness!\u201d Morrissey wrote. \u201cI\u2019ll spring on this unsuspecting world yet!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Weeks later, he was already\u00a0anticipating\u00a0greater success, adding: \u201cOne thing I\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0do is record for the sake of it\u2026\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0all set for superstardom. But then,\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0always been a star, haven\u2019t I?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the highest-valued lots is a five-page letter from 1977\u00a0containing\u00a0the only known photograph of Morrissey in the archive.\u00a0Underneath\u00a0a\u00a0passport image, he wrote: \u201cPoseurs of the world unite! S.M. in the\u00a0UK\u00a01977. Or, if your glasses\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0fit then why should your face?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter also\u00a0contains\u00a0his thoughts on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/blondie\">Blondie<\/a>, Patti Smith, the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/ramones\">Ramones<\/a>\u00a0and the Sex Pistols, alongside an eyewitness account of the Ramones\u2019 concert at Manchester\u2019s Electric Circus. It carries an estimate of \u00a31,000 to \u00a31,500.<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_3958975\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3958975\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3958975\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three-1392x928.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_three-1068x712.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3958975\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morrissey\u2019s early letters going up for auction. CREDIT: Dawsons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Following Margaret Thatcher\u2019s 1979 general election victory, he asked Pitt: \u201cDid you vote? Labour, I hope? God knows what tortures that miserable Thatcher has prepared for us woikin\u2019 class folk. I dread to fink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The final surviving letter finds Morrissey abandoning plans to study A-level English after receiving an offer from an unnamed group.\u00a0\u201cA group in London asked me to join them,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThey have a recording contract and all that rubbish.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That letter marks the conclusion of five years of correspondence, three years before Morrissey met <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/artists\/johnny-marr\">Johnny Marr<\/a>\u00a0and formed The Smiths in Manchester in 1982.<\/p>\n<p>Pitt preserved the letters for more than four decades. He went on to become a poet, storyteller and performer, serving as Birmingham\u2019s Poet Laureate in 2000. He died in 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Mason, auctioneer and senior valuer at Dawsons, described the archive as an \u201cexceptionally rare\u201d account of Morrissey\u2019s formative years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat struck me most was just how funny Morrissey is,\u201d he said. \u201cRunning through almost every letter is a wonderful sense of humour and genuine warmth that makes him an incredibly endearing character.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He continued: \u201cAlongside the wit and unmistakable literary voice that would later become synonymous with Morrissey, the correspondence also captures Britain at a fascinating moment in its cultural history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><figure id=\"attachment_3958972\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3958972\" style=\"width: 2000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3958972\" src=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four-800x534.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four-696x464.jpg 696w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four-1392x928.jpg 1392w, https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_letter_four-1068x712.jpg 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\"\/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3958972\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Morrissey\u2019s early letters going up for auction. CREDIT: Dawsons<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p><i>Before The Smiths: The Morrissey Letters<\/i>\u00a0will go under the hammer in an online sale on August 26.<\/p>\n<p>Morrissey released his 14th solo album, \u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/morrissey-shares-title-track-announces-first-album-in-five-years-make-up-is-a-lie-3922193\">Make-Up Is\u00a0A\u00a0Lie<\/a>\u2019, in March, marking his first new record in six years. It reached Number Three on the UK Albums Chart.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this month,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/morrissey-says-diversity-is-a-lie-as-he-hits-out-at-bbc-for-not-playing-single-3955353\">he criticised the BBC for not playing his single \u2018Notre-Dame\u2019<\/a>, after the track reached Number Six on the Official Singles Sales Chart.\u00a0\u201cThe public wants to hear the song, but the BBC will not play it,\u201d he wrote, before claiming that \u201cdiversity is a lie\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/morrissey-announces-2026-european-make-up-is-a-lie-tour-buy-tickets-3941502\">He is currently touring Europe in support of \u2018Make-Up Is\u00a0A\u00a0Lie\u2019<\/a>\u00a0and is due\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/morrissey-announces-winter-2026-uk-tour-3945580\">to return to the UK for five arena shows in December<\/a>, visiting Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool,\u00a0Glasgow\u00a0and Leeds.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/news\/music\/morrissey-shares-lengthy-attack-on-johnny-marr-accusing-him-dividing-the-smiths-audience-into-factions-3953075\">Morrissey also recently launched another attack on his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr<\/a>, accusing him of dividing the group\u2019s audience into \u201cfactions\u201d over an upcoming BBC documentary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script>\n  !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n  {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n  n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n  if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n  n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n  t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n  s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n  'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n  fbq('consent', 'revoke');\n  fbq('init', '370979561341328');\n  fbq('track', 'PageView');\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A collection of previously unseen letters written by\u00a0Morrissey\u00a0as a teenager, in which he predicted that he would become a \u201crock \u2019n\u2019 roll star\u201d,\u00a0is going up for auction. The archive comprises hundreds of handwritten pages sent by the future Smiths frontman to his Birmingham pen pal Simon Pitt between 1974 and 1979, when Morrissey was aged&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17161,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.nme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/morrissey_1984.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}