As one of the editors of the book referred to in this post I wish to point out the following factual errors.

1. Morrissey's nephew did read a statement referring to a SINGLE issue which he disagrees with in one of our book's chapters. He did NOT refer to "various factual inaccuracies" in the book.

2. The author was not ashen-faced as you report. The author who is a contributor to the edited book was not even present.

3. The night did not grind to a halt. There were more questions and even some humorous comments made following the statement referred to above. Book launch events usually finish with some questions and answers.

As someone who saw The Smiths play and is a lifetime Morrissey fan I and my colleagues are not, as you say, "self-appointed Morrissey experts". Your description of These Charming Men as being as 'Dull as Dishwater' is obviously an opinion not shared by the audience who clapped and cheered their 6 songs.

...to be my favourite thread of the year.

Regardless of the spat the launch, I can't say that sounds like a book I'll be rushing to buy.

Morrissey's nephew might have said when he reported back
"I really went in for the kill, uncle."

(s)

... you'd be the first away.

I didn't realise that you wrote Counter Hegemonic Representations of the Working/Underclass in the Works of Morrissey,
I didn't realise you wrote such bloody awful Counter Hegemonic Representations of the Working/Underclass in the Works of Morrissey.

but he now sounds like he's doing that thing you do to your throat when you're impersonating Morrissey.

Yes, it does hurt after a while. No wonder he's so grumpy.

...essential book as soon as possible. I can't wait to read 'Girlfriend With A Comma: Irony And Meta-Textual Dialectics In The Prism Of Morrissey's Intervention In Our Factual Inaccuracies'... and a further revision six months later to include 'Waterstones, It Was Really Nothing: Exploding The Myth About This Kind Of Drivel Being Worth The Effort'...

...to be fair: I haven't seen the book and for all I know it contains interesting and worthwhile insights. And yes, there's no reason why popular music shouldn't enjoy the same academic scutiny as other art forms. That said... I suppose I'm basing my flippancy above on having read a number of academic books on various slabs of popular music and also academic books on literature that I like.

There are very few (not none, but few) indeed in my experience of such works that aren't half-baked, unnecessarily stodgy or just pseudo-intellectual. Sometimes good ideas and insight can be bogged down in an over-egged desire to couch everything in academic-ese. Hiding behind a lot of tenuously relevant citations, an aloof writing style and a £43.50 cover price on a book published by the Second University Of Utah or wherever is absolutely no passport to having a book that's automatically worth anyone's time and money.

But, in a spirit of generosity, I wish the book and Morrissey and all his relatives well. In my defence (or maybe it'll be held against me), I did once produce a Morrissey cover (posted here a few weeks back, but here tis again) in a bluegrass style-ee.

I'm available to write a contribution for the next edition of the OP's book. Shall we say:
'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out (In A Shack Up In Them Thar Woods, Bubba): Cornbread, Moonshine And Hillbilly Music In Morrissey's Deep-Southpaw Grammar'...?

.....an academic tome on Morrissey.
Dumbing down?
Never!
.....still, if the country doesn't actually 'make' anything anymore.....

Let's just hope none of these bods (60s dodgers, presumably) try the same thing on Chuck Berry, Gene Vincent or Eddie Cochran.

Your Arse (nel)!

and the dramatic intervention of Morrissey's nephew (not sure how the OP knows that but am prepared to accept it) was most entertaining. It was one of those odd moments when no-one quite knows how to react.

I went to a symposium on The Fall a few years back at Salford Uni which had a similar moment; at the evening do one of Mark E Smith's sisters turned up to harrangue Mick Middles during a talk he was giving. I spoke to her afterwards and even thought I was "lit up like a firework" she terrified me. MES's Mum was there too and she was a lovely old lady.

I enjoy pop music being taken seriously and being studied in new ways but, for me, some of the speakers on Friday to be just too far up their fundaments. There were some interesting and entertaining speakers, such as Eoin who posted above. There was also talk of Nietzschean concepts of high art and the philosopy of Adorno that I cringed at. My wife couldn't stand any more by that point and walked out. I remained though because a). I'm a Morrissey nut and didn't want to miss a minute of it and b). even the pretentious stuff was an entertaining spectacle. And I'm glad I stayed now, knowing I've witnessed the full force of the Morrissey clan in action.

I thought I'd be able to buy a book on the way out but they were nowhere to be seen. Looking forward to reading it but it looks like I'll be buying my own copy though - my wife was horrified when I said I wanted it. IIt's not worth putting it on my Xmas list.