Kill Uncle Tour

The "Kill Uncle Tour" was a concert tour by Morrissey in support of Kill Uncle. The tour was memorable because it was Morrissey's first concert tour with his solo backing band. Besides one gig back in December 1988 in Wolverhampton, Morrissey had never toured in support of any of his solo work. For this tour, Morrissey hired Alain Whyte, Boz Boorer, Gary Day, and Spencer Corbin, as his backing band. Unlike the studio versions, the songs from "Kill Uncle" were given more of a punch as a rockabilly tone was added by the guitar duo Alain Whyte & Boz Boorer. Although it was a brand new tour with brand new material, it took a some time for the band to properly master the songs none of them had either written nor recorded.

And Morrissey was still very popular, as most concerts ended in chaos, ending with massive stage invasions, keeping the tradition from The Smiths' days very well alive. Keeping with more tradition, fans brought flowers and threw them onto stage. One notable new tradition was whenever "Our Frank" was played, fans threw cigarettes at Morrissey to highlight a line in that song.

In the US, Morrissey's popularity had soared since his last visit with The Smiths in 1986, even without the help of massive-scale promotion. This was accounted for the fact that most of the dates in North America sold out quickly, breaking sales records everywhere. The popularity was immense everywhere, as most of the dates sold out, especially in the UK and Europe, even in Japan. Evidence includes the fact that Morrissey's first night of the tour at Dublin's National Stadium, where all 1,500 tickets sold out in 47 minutes. In the US, notable feats were reached, sales-wise. At the June 1 concert in Costa Mesa, CA, all 18,000 tickets sold out in one hour. At Detroit's June 26 concert at the Meadowbrook, all tickets sold out in one hour as well. At the final concert of the first North American leg, at New York City's Madison Square Garden, all 20,000 tickets sold out in one morning, breaking the ticket sales record, and breaking the most merchandise sold record at a concert, a record previously held by U2 since 1987. But in Los Angeles, the excitement reached its peak, as the June 2 concert at the Great Western Forum sold all of its 14,000 tickets in 14 minutes.

Setlist

Setlist-wise, the band focused heavily on "Kill Uncle" and it's b-sides, not so much. Songs that frequently made the setlist were the staples: "Sing Your Life", "Our Frank", "Asian Rut", "King Leer", and "Mute Witness". Most of these songs were kept on for the entirety of the tour, excluding "Sing Your Life" and "Mute Witness", the first being dropped in the middle of Morrissey's second UK leg, and "Mute Witness" being dropped after the first date (October 28) of Morrissey's second North American leg. Other songs from "Kill Uncle" included "(I'm) The End of the Family Line", "There's a Place In Hell for Me and My Friends", and "Driving Your Girlfriend Home". "(I'm) The End of the Family Line" was only performed once on the first date of the tour, then performed for the first handful of shows if the North American leg, but then dropped permanently. "There's a Place In Hell for Me and My Friends", was performed regularly until the second UK leg, when it was dropped permanently. "Driving Your Girlfriend Home" was only performed on the last two legs, as a setlist staple. Other songs performed included early singles, "The Last of the Famous International Playboys", "Interesting Drug", "Piccadilly Palare", and "November Spawned a Monster". "The Last of the Famous" was performed throughout the tour, keeping a steady position as a setlist staple. "Interesting Drug", like "The Last of the Famous", was performed heavily throughout the tour, but then dropped after the October 28 concert in Vancouver. "Piccadilly Palare" was a setlist staple throughout the course of the tour, where it was performed on its own, until later Morrissey decided to segue into the New York Dolls cover, "Trash". "November Spawned a Monster", an already popular song, was kept on for the entirety of the tour, positioning itself towards the middle of the setlist, until the final North American leg, where it was selected as the new setlist opener. The setlists also included covers, such as "Trash", "Cosmic Dancer", and "That's Entertainment". "Trash" was added as a tribute to recently deceased Johnny Thunders and Morrissey's fascination with the New York Dolls. "Cosmic Dancer" was added as both Morrissey and guitarist Boz Boorer's mutual respect for the 70's glam rock band, T. Rex (band). It was tagged on for the beginning of the tour, until it was dropped after the first handful of US dates. Soon, in late 1991, the beginning of the song and its first verse were played as a tease, until the band abruptly changed into "Disappointed". It was keep in this fashion until the end of the tour. One notable performance, was when David Bowie joined Morrissey for a guest duet. This kicked off the pair's rocky friendship. "That's Entertainment" was performed heavily, usually at its place towards the middle, but then added as main set closer. The song was gradually dropped after the Pacific leg.

Tour dates

Support acts

• Phranc (Apr. 29 - Jul. 3, Jul. 20 - 28, Sep. 29, Oct. 6 - 8)
• Melissa Ferrick (Jul. 5 - 13)
• Wellington Reigonal Ochestra (Wellington)
• The Johnson Family (London & Kilburn)
• The Planet Rockers (Oct. 28 - Nov. 11)