THE SMITHS: Is 'Panic' Secretly About Jimmy Savile?

[@edwardmulholland7912]

The fact that we are talking about Panic all these years later is an achievement in itself for The Smiths. I’d be very surprised if the band had not heard any rumors about Savile who was still a big name in the media during the ‘80’s. Don’t expect a response from Morrissey - anything he says today is attacked regardless of whether he is right or wrong.

[@kimchi_b]

He was asked about the song being about Savile after the scandal. I am wrong, sorry. He was asked in his first big interview a year or so after the scandal in a magazine, someone has kindly replied that it was Loaded, and he was asked about the scandal, not the song. The reply with the correct info is below. What I did definitely remember is that lots of people were waiting to see what he said about Savile because of this song, and he did talk about the wake of the Savile scandal but (very disappointingly) pretty much dismissed it (to paraphrase) as a ridiculous hunt for skeletons in the closet of ageing pop and rock acts. Cheers!

[@edwardmulholland7912]

@@kimchi_b Where can I find that?

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

​@@kimchi_bReally?

[@kimchi_b]

@@edwardmulholland7912 I was wrong about the question, sorry. I have been corrected below :) Unfortunately he wasn't asked about the song when that was what everyone was expecting, (strangely?) only generally about the scandal, and he wasn't forthcoming.

[@boredmalcontent]

Partly because he's turned into a hideous Britain First racist. Do you think that's OK?

[@MrBonified66]

"Provincial towns you jog round" is so weirdly specific, that's what convinces me.

[@Rumpleforeskin77]

True ..jogging ..he was THE DJ and Leeds ..it's too many coincidences

[@blackjockofmangertonpele]

The sheer banality of it on face value. It's bloody brilliant how it sums that beast up.

[@RavenSelena]

That sells it for me as well. It is just too specific

[@uv77mc85]

Don't be ridiculous. Savillies long dead, why wouldn't morrissey just say it? you seem to want this to be about saville but it isn't

[@pete8222]

Yeah i saw him jogging round Manchester many years ago waving to people as he went. I'd be surprised if the song wasn't about Saville

[@dannybowden5296]

Hi James, I'm not sure if you are aware, but both Morrissey and Jimmy Savile lived in Leeds at the same time for a period. I believe Morrissey lived in Harehills, which is mainly terraced housing with many side streets to slip down. I also believe Savile lived in that area for a while around that time. His apartment overlooking Roundhay Park is within walking distance of Harehills. St.James' Hospital is in Harehills too. I had the unfortunate pleasure of having to deliver mail to his office in the Leeds General Infirmary, situated next to the children's cancer ward, where he'd sit with his feet up on the desk, smoking a stogie and never offer thanks for me doing my job. I should've pushed him in Roundhay Lake when I had chance as a kid. Good riddance!

[@miamibeachboz]

I lived in Roundhay in 1995, where local people in pubs/shops would say "lock up your granddaughters" when Savile rode past on his bike.

[@JohnFletcher-hz1mp]

Yeh well known around leeds that he was the lowest of the low,my 1st girlfriend I had as a kid of 14,told me a few nasty encounters she and her friends had with this beast when they were aged under 10. Ffs.

[@dannybowden5296]

​@@miamibeachboz There were definitely widespread rumours about the horrible get. He once said to me "oh, you're a spotty one!", which hurt as a kid but, in hindsight I'm thankful I had acne if it saved me from his advances.

[@ramshackleotter653]

Didn't Morrissey work as a hospital porter at some point? I don't know whether this would have been in Manchester or Leeds though

[@RW-nr6bh]

​​@@ramshackleotter653 Morrissey was definitely a hospital porter, but I don't know which hospital. I'd assumed in Manchester or Trafford, as I think he lived in Stretford, but maybe it was Leeds.

[@jakestown1952]

20 years ago I worked at the Leeds General Infirmary. Jimmy Saville volunteered as a Hospital Porter, moving patients and the dead around on trolleys. He also had his own office in the building, tucked away on the top 6th floor. Most people who worked there were creeped out by him.

[@alsw7792]

Lol England leave a lot of weird people get away with shite.

[@nicholasthomas3635]

He had master keys to that place as well. Seeing the 'net give up plenty of pix & antics to see his eyes bugged out & depraved was no schtick. BIG time connected to Freemason/coppers that met with regularly. Keeps the dirt covered & compromised w/their oaths taken.

[@ProfessorEchoMedia]

I’m glad you escaped unscathed by him. Others were not so lucky.

[@SomeHarbourBastard]

I'd have thought how odd it was that a volunteer Porter had his own office.

[@ProfessorEchoMedia]

@@SomeHarbourBastard Not if he kicked in a big donation or if the hospital executives were celebrity worshippers. Either way that would explain his private office.

[@Jimdixon1953]

I’ve just realised the possible significance of the line, “Hang the ‘blessed’ DJ” . Savile was a practicing Catholic who met the Pope and received awards from the church hierarchy.

[@fishboy3626]

The pope gave him a papal knighthood

[@MaggieKeizai]

@@paul479 He probably didn't know, but he also directed the massive coverup of pedo priests and made sure they got moved from place to place instead of being held accountable, so maybe he did know and didn't care?

[@leecooper3852]

​@@paul479the BBC knew, and I bet some of the royal family knew BBC heads....so yes, even the royal family would have heard the allegation.

[@Fredders88]

Yes, Coogan's drama focussed a lot on Savile's Catholicism, and focussed less on his connections with royalty and particularly Charles.

[@fishboy3626]

@paul479 where did I say the pope knew

[@josephlambert5413]

Johnny Rottens subsequently censored interview is brilliant.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

He’s a legend and a national treasure

[@josephlambert5413]

Hes one of my favourites and Im not Natioal to England. I love his whole way of thinking of how to write what as songs, like when he wrote the God Save th Queen Lyrics , and how he had the Anarchy In the UK on a piece of paper and was hapy to hear Glens music he played around with and wanted to use it for his idea. Hes motivated me in writing certain ways in the past, and nowadays too.@@JamesHargreavesGuitar

[@markdaly1648]

Depends on who you ask.

[@talesofanasphaltjockey]

What a treasure that man is, he's a true gem.

[@tsl56]

I am still glad that he didn't just shut up, under the usual set of celeb pressures. Not that keen on his claims to be a man of the people, however. That smacks too much of Saville himself. But at least he can never be completely silenced, even on the subject of his own silliness. Most of us learn something from admitting our numerous mistakes. Saville seemed to note his own dodginess, and then do absolutely nothing to modify his own behaviour. So many skeletons in the cupboard, that he ended up silencing himself.

[@andromedwa]

I could never get my head around why he'd be so bold as to want to HANG the DJ even if he wasn't in to pop. Now it makes perfect sense.

[@lennycurtisxo]

Listen to the lyrics, nothing to do with saville, Hang the DJ BECAUSE THE MUSIC THAT THEY CONSTANTLY PLAY, IT SAYS NOTHING TO ME ABOUT MY LIFE based on a radio 1 news report about the Chernobyl disaster & directly after that the DJ playing some nonsensical jolly pop song

[@Wally-H]

The song was written a year before Chernobyl - did you actually watch this video before commenting? @@lennycurtisxo

[@andylornastuff]

@@lennycurtisxoDid you even watch the video? The part when it explains this is unlikely to be true because Panic came out a year before Chernobyl, and had disappeared from the charts long before it even happened?

[@lennycurtisxo]

@@andylornastuff No you are wrong. The Chernobyl disaster occurred 25/26th April 1986. Panic was recorded May 1986

[@andylornastuff]

@@lennycurtisxo You are right and I am wrong, I apologise. The presenter was referring to the Wham single, not The Smiths. I won't do a dirty delete, lest other fools make the same misinterpretation I did! Given the reality, I think it's a huge reach to question the story because the Wham song was released a year before - I understand it was Steve Wright on Radio 1, and although R1 have always played current chart music, it's never been exclusively that, and it's always been common to hear them playing hits from previous years in between more current music. A year is nothing, certainly not 'oldie' territory in pop music terms. Apologies once again. I have learned that I can't concentrate fully on a video while cooking!

[@CLaw-tb5gg]

As other people have said it’s always a bit curious when people describe Savile in retrospect as a “national treasure”. Even before the scandal he was widely regarded at best as a bit embarrassing/cringey/weird and at worst as pretty creepy and sinister. I’m sure he must have had some fans, but it’s not like he was David Attenborough or someone.

[@parallelsuns1]

This is the result of his so called charity work and the fact he'd became the BBC's biggest personality. He was a weirdo but he seemed to get away with it, his bosses didn't have the guts to sack him or report him to the cops

[@ironmonger27]

@@parallelsuns1 and Tory party encouraged him

[@grassygnoll3345]

He wasn't considered as anything as some throwback to the 70's to be honest, I didn't give a shit about Saville because he was from the past.

[@shadesofgray5476]

Didn't some of the royals reach out to him for advice and he also got a title/OBE? Sounds like he was more than just a weird media character. I'm an American but I've watched documentaries about him and it seems like the guy was respected by some interesting people.

[@thepenultimateninja5797]

He certainly wasn't a well-liked national treasure. Everyone thought he was really weird, but sort of grudgingly admired him because he did so much for charity. Turns out even that was basically a cover for his activities, and a tool he used to access vulnerable people. Not many people were surprised when it all came out. Shocked, yes, but not surprised.

[@glennhall8665]

First & foremost Morrissey is a wordsmith/ poet. The placenames Dublin, Dundee, Humberside have a wonderful, internally-rhyming rhythm to them.. (it’s the ‘ugh’ sound). And ‘Leeds Side Streets’ is also a fabulous sounding phrase (when said aloud). He could’ve used ‘Derby, Lincoln & Yeovil’.. but he didn’t. because he’s a great wordsmith & knows how to put words together in an extremely pleasing way.

[@bigmacntings7451]

Morrisey really was a miserable git, but there's no denying his talent for wordsmithery. courtesy of salford......been there, done that. Very Marmite as a performer,but he was the real deal,he told it as it was,if you didn't like it, you didn't have to listen, definitely an atedote to all the fluff that was coming off the production line of pop at the time.,

[@lecochonbleu]

You're right about the poetry of the place names. Morrissey knew what he was doing. If anyone did wish to discuss Savile's rampant, flagrant ubiquity in his abuse they could have chosen literally anywhere. Those place names mentioned all have an "uh" in them.

[@glennhall8665]

@@bigmacntings7451 > Yes, he could be seen as a miserable git but he was hilarious with it. I often think he was channeling a very British humour with its roots in CarryOn films, Coronation Street & the poet John Betjeman. Who else in the UK pop scene ever writes lyrics like: “I dreamt about you last nite & fell out of bed twice”? - & lyrics about falling down onto their bicycle crossbar, Vicars in tutus, & in more recent years about: “Explosive kegs between my legs” etc.

[@JugglinJellyTake01]

@glennhall8665 The word is alliteration.

[@lecochonbleu]

@@JugglinJellyTake01 @JugglinJellyTake01 I think it is more assonance, and some alliteration. I think alliteration is usually used for recurring consonants - the two Ds here - and recurring vowel sounds, here the "uh" sound three times, is assonance.

[@TheErraticCollector]

Johnny Rotten knew all about what was happening because a lot of his friends were prostitutes and rent boys. Thats how he knew about Reginald Bosanquet. Shane McGowan was a rent boy. They were on the front lines of a very seedy underground. Of course Morrissey heard about what was going on. They all knew. I'm sure it goes much deeper than this. I know a writer who was penning a biography of another 80s singer and he told me that he gathered more information that was unprintable than anything he could put in the book. We are naive to what went on back then. The grooming scandals of today are swept under the carpet. The abuse of teenagers in the late 70s is lost in time already as they didn't speak out. The irony now is that both Lydon and Morrissey live within miles of one another in LA and are both outspoken in their views and most of the time are proved to be right. As teenagers in Birmingham in the 70s we would see groups of rent boys gathered outside the Crown next to the mens toilets. We thought it one big joke. My heart breaks now as an adult to think that it was happening and nobody tried to help them. They sniffed glue to take away the memories. Savile was prolific and abused his position but he was far from alone.

[@lecochonbleu]

​@@kimchi_b"There were rumours a big scandal was going to emerge before the fire". You are absolutely right. The rumours weren't really strong and I remember that little cafe in the pre-pizza gate days. However there were always rumours a big scandal was going to emerge and it never did. Savile was allowed to die before the story of the most prolific underage sex abuser in history was released.

[@lecochonbleu]

​Magowan once told me he did rent. I don't know if he meant when he lived in London or later in Dublin, or both. Magowan grew up a private schoolboy in England, and was thrown out of the famous Westminster School, so I wonder if it was around that time or later.

[@lecochonbleu]

​@@kimchi_b"from what I've heard Lydon and Morrissey are in the club so to speak". I certainly wouldn't put it that way though at least back in the 80s in some ways there was no possibility for anyone who was famous to opt out of everything which was going on. I always liked both Lydon and Morrissey, while that kind of world kind of takes no prisoners - or maybe better put, only takes prisoners! It's sad. Nobody would be left unchanged. If you listen to the old interview when Lydon spills the beans on Savile even long, long before there were any of the shelved (and interfered with) police investigations, when he says it Lydon sounds like a nine year old expecting to be caned by the headmaster.

[@TheErraticCollector]

layreadersbookreviews.wordpress.com/2016/10/08/the-dilly-a-secret-history-of-piccadilly-rent-boys-by-jeremy-reed/ Piccadilly Palare was released by Morrissey in 1990. He stated that he found the seedy side of the area an exciting attraction and often caught the coach to London.

[@joshtiscareno1312]

@@DoesntMatter123a Go listen to the old Pogues song "The Old Main Drag". It's written from the perspective of a young man who is living on the streets and prostituting himself for drugs. It would also go a long way toward explaining his legendary substance abuse problems.

[@LongLiveRockAnRoll]

"The train was filled with lovely handicapped children" Jimmy Savile, 1984. Wow, talk about hiding in plain sight.

[@dawnkindnesscountsmost5991]

"... lovely handicapped children, _and they're helpless..."_ That line was probably taken at the time as a statement to garner sympathy from viewers, especially as they were promoting a charity; were they asking viewers for donations, as it seems like that sort of thing, from that brief clip. Completely creepy in retrospect. I was raised in Pennsylvania, USA, and in the 1980s, I occasionally saw a photo here & there of Savile, though I don't remember the specific contexts of each, and in every photo and video clip of him I've seen over the years, he seems completely gross and creepy. Slimy, even. My heart breaks for every child who had the misfortune to cross his path, even the ones he didn't interfere with. I wonder how many children felt uncomfortable about Savile, voiced their discomfort to their parent or guardian, wanted to back out of whatever the plan was, and was dismissed and made to follow through. 💔💔💔

[@samlister7934]

​@@dawnkindnesscountsmost5991he says "their helpers", not "they're helpless"

[@Maliceuk]

Totally. That really was mega cringe. He must of been over the moon.

[@ksmax6310]

@@samlister7934 yeah, but that is very fitting they were helpless stuck there with him

[@thewaronu8842]

That phrase could've been made for Savile, he was always dropping hints. "Jim'll Fix It" an in-joke on his reputation as a procurer I fancy

[@craignightingale8022]

The first two cities mentioned: London and Birmingham. Shepherd's Bush and Pebble Mill, anyone?

[@KovietUnionDefector]

Pebble Mill at one!!...... God I detested that show when I was stuck off school I'll and the TV was on and that show was on, never knew it was in Brum.

[@francishuddy9462]

@@KovietUnionDefector Pebble Mill at One wasn't that bad a programme. It was still better than being at school, and provided some relief from the slight feeling of guilt for having the day off 👍

[@10thplanetmoon47]

@@francishuddy9462 Your comment brought back so many memories I had forgotten, 12 year old me had to be very clever to get a few days of illness past my mom but when it did happen I liked to watch " for schools and colleges" pebble mill and crown court, omg the music from that show still haunts me. A great time to have been growing up. Stafford kid born 66........

[@reggiep75]

@@KovietUnionDefector Yeah, it was tosh but I had the benefit to see the classic episode of Paul Shane's singing. Me and my bro were hysterical.

[@dellafenton2417]

​@@reggiep75Oh my days, I'd forgotten about that. You've lost that loving feeling........😂

[@jdunk6058]

Love or hate him, Morrisey doesn't strike me as the type to be scared of being cancelled by the elite pedos.

[@nickdryad]

It makes sense that he would be elliptical given the power the establishment had to silence criticism. The libel courts would destroy you. Morris’s lyrics had to be cryptic.

[@StephenPickells-bi2ii]

I’m sure he’s not

[@Go7Suarez]

Agree but he probably wanted to avoid slander or libel charges by disclosing true but unproven info.

[@ThatGuy-ky2yf]

​@@Go7SuarezMoz would know all about this later in the 90s in court case over the financial split in the smiths.

[@nicolanicholson4339]

Not so sure.... pretty sure Moz is controlled/compromised in some way... simply for the reason he never even made a single statement/comment/remark at all when the queen snuffed it in the middle of his tour absolutely nothing!.... that spoke volumes to me. A man who literally derided and attacked the royals all his life to suddenly say 'nothing' when the head of it dies mid tour??? He was told it was out of bounds and complied. Ditto Ian Brown who was also touring at the time and said nothing.

[@PeteJones81]

More Smiths, Marr and Morrissey content please! So many great stories I'm sure.

[@bigt3424]

I’d never noticed or thought about this before. However I have always felt that “Mummy’s Boy” by Madness was certainly about Jimmy Savile

[@Ted_Devils]

So glad to see you've done a vid about The Smiths, the band that got me into music. Never even thought about Panic being about Saville, but the lyrics all seem to fall into place. Great video 👍

[@TedGrubersky]

Absolutely agree - same feelings as I had - cannot believe I didn’t notice the similarities myself. Thanks to this video I can see the obvious clues. Great theory regardless. Best wishes fellow Smiths fan

[@CHRIS-ky5ku]

It's not about Saville at all.

[@simonbone]

It's a bit Nostradamus-y. Write cryptic lyrics that only start to make sense after the fact. There was nothing to stop Morrissey using a placename more closely associated with Savile - Stoke Mandeville, for example - or terms like "fix it" that might have been clearer without being libelous. And Morrissey could have said in interviews that it was about a faraway planet where DJs get away with horrible crimes, but instead he went off on a tangent about hating Diana Ross.

[@upturnedblousecollar5811]

You can't blame Morrissey for being careful about what he wrote and sang, especially with someone so (at the time) well-known and loved. Morrissey wouldn't have been privvy to cold, hard truths at the time, just hearsay. Savile could've legally torn him apart if he'd been wrong.

[@Septimus111]

Fix it and Stoke Mandeville would have been enough for Savile and his lawyers.

[@toadds]

I agree, easy to come out with stuff in hindsight

[@smitcher]

Wow wasn’t expecting to see this so soon but great video again and great research even beyond what I found. It’s entirely possible the idea for a song about Panic came from the Chernobyl news but it is strange that there is no mention of anything about it in the song. Songs evolve and if Morrissey wrote ideas down to use in songs then it’s possible the Chernobyl lyrics ended up in Every Day is Like Sunday where he specially mentions Armageddon and nuclear death…

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Smitcher! Yeah that’s an interesting thought re using the inspiration for a different song. I just can’t see how this one is meant to be about a wham song and Chernobyl!

[@einsteinorwell]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar At the time of the Chernobyl incident people were scared that nuclear fallout may reach us here in the United Kingdom. I remember it being in the news constantly and it did cause some concern at the time. It was also the era of the cold war so nuclear threat was never far from people's minds. The lyrics of the song may be conflating different things including the Chernobyl incident, Morrissey's dislike of the kind of music that Radio One played a lot and also rumours that he'd heard about Jimmy Saville. The lyrics may be about all of those things. Also, discos mainly played dance music so in that respect the lyrics make sense when you consider them in conjunction with Morrissey's NME interview.

[@pelqel9893]

There was definitely a notable change in the relationship between the music industry and radio starting around 1985-1986. I knew a local top-40 dj in '89 who filled me in on some of the recent changes, and how hits were now increasingly manufactured instead of being "organic" as in past years. I think this is why The 80s can almost be neatly divided into two, distinct halves, and also explains the rise of indie labels and grunge of the early 90s - everything by then had become too pre-packaged, over-produced, and out-of-touch, and there was enough momentum for a backlash that couldn't be ignored.

[@lemsip207]

Stock, Aitjen and Waterman running alongside hair metal, the last vestiges of new wave and the beginnings of indie rock. There was synth pop inbetween which came out of industrial rock.

[@pelqel9893]

@@lemsip207 Synth-pop actually has footings going back to the 60s... but I'd say Kraftwerk's 70s opus laid the foundation for 80s synth-pop. And yep, I noted the endless string of bubblegum coming from The Hit Factory... Industrial Rock developed from Industrial Dance and EBM, with a dash of Goth... living midway between Chicago (Waxtrax) and Canada (Nettwerk), I saw it happen as Industrial bands increasingly sampled distorted guitar-riffs... saw Reznor and Manson emerge and take over... but still a Skinny Puppy fanboy.

[@Candolad]

That Top 40 local radio presenter you knew would've been talking about the revolutionary way that commercial radio stations began to over-control their music output in the late 1980s due to increased competition from the recent relaxation of radio ownership and the crescendo of new stations. More stations were going to become available which meant smaller audiences as there was only a finite audience to share. The computerisation of playlists led to stations only wanting to play familiar music to discourage listeners from re-tuning elsewhere if an unfamiliar song came on the radio. The software, Selector, ensured this and the concept of auditorium testing (where a sample of potential listeners were played a song which they could switch off if they disliked it within even a few seconds) and if a song didn't test well the radio station wouldn't play it. Radio began to be contrived with narrow repetitive populist playlists and the industry changed. Roger Scott (Capital Radio) left the London station after 15 years when it adopted Selector and joined BBC Radio 1. The BBC didn't use Selector or auditorium testing and so was still able to explore and risk new music. It's a shame, but when radio was more regulated it was paradoxically much better.

[@jlouis4407]

@@Candoladso can the 90s

[@pelqel9893]

@@Candolad Wow! Thank you for that insight! I was not aware of all the details (esp. having to do with Selector) of why radio changed so much in those years. And, of course, change has been constant and accelerating ever since... ah, the good old days - they were both memorable and fleeting.

[@pavlovsdog5020]

Morrisey was a punk in the late 70's so would definitely have been aware of what rotten said

[@SpencerSoljak]

no he wasnt? if anything he was glamrock lol

[@mackenziefan5019]

John Lydon's comments on Savile were not broadcast or published. Morrissey would never have known at the time.

[@vsander09]

@@SpencerSoljakbro, Lyndon himself was influenced by New York Dolls who were glam and definitely “pre-punk”. Mozz was a huge NYD fan so in that spirit there’s not any real distinction between glam and punk.

[@WhatIsDeafIsDead76]

@@SpencerSoljak He was actually among the few people who have watched the first Sex Pistols show in Manchester. Members of future Joy Division, Buzzcocks and The Fall were also there. He was a huge fan of Punk but not a punk in the sense of dressing up like them

[@SpencerSoljak]

@@WhatIsDeafIsDead76 he wrote about how he hated the sex pistols? just because he saw them live does mean he liked them

[@TedGrubersky]

Spot on, James! And this was a brilliant video, another great bit of analysis and deep diving from you. A real eye opener and I feel so naive for not recognising the Savile signals on this song myself. Absolutely got this one so right - and I must admit I had never thought of this myself despite being a Smiths fan and regard Panic as among my faves - I’d always known it to be about Moz’s dislike of Steve Wright (for whatever reason, a bad review or something, while I wasn’t ever aware of the Chernobyl story link) The lyrics have to be about Savile. Now you mention it. Having watched the Savile drama ‘Reckoning’ starring Steve Coogan - it makes even more likely! Those clues in the lyrics, so obvious now, such as; Leeds, Grasmere disco, the reference to jogging, and of course panic in London as his bestie Maggie Thatcher is giving him the light of day and various awards as the BBC was doing its best to never notice any wrong doings…panic! I’d assume those places were picked deliberately rather than just for the sake of poetic rhyme - as at first thought. Blimey, great theory - I guess Morrissey must have struggled to find a word to rhyme with Stoke Mandeville… Hargreaves Strikes Again!

[@shonkyindustries]

I remember SW playing a Smiths' song and joking about (I paraphrase) Morrisey's "meandering" vocals meandering in and out of tune. IIRC, SW also famously hated LFO's "LFO" single, which is now seen as a classic of the early UK rave era. Didn't exactly have his finger on the pulse of popular culture even then.

[@harveyditcher9226]

‘Leeds side streets that you slip down’ i don’t think there’s a more obvious line

[@dannybowden5296]

You're no Vera!

[@klemmr3233]

The provincial towns you jog round...

[@harveyditcher9226]

@@dannybowden5296 alright mate look at you

[@dannybowden5296]

​@@harveyditcher9226 Ayup Rip van Winkle!

[@kimchi_b]

Savile 'volunteered' as a hospital porter, it seems Morrissey's dad was a hospital porter in Manchester (some have replied Morrissey too). - I said he was asked about this song in Q magazine, I was wrong - it seems it was Loaded and he was only asked about the scandal. To paraphrase he said Savile should not be used an excuse to look for skeletons in closets of pop stars and music people from yesteryear. Paul McCartney said the exact same thing, in his case something like they had queues of girls outside backstage and hotel rooms and they never thought to ask for ID. Savile drove The Beatles around to some early gigs, and obviously was THE man at the BBC in the 60s (and for decades later). Savile was not just a DJ, he was THE DJ. He claimed (he often lied of course, but it could well be true) to have invented DJs using two record decks to play music non-stop. Savile also said on TV that The Beatles' Paperback Writer was written about him. Why that particular song? I believe it probably alludes to Ian Fleming's 007 books, because we know that Savile worked for, and was very close to, the Royals. A licence to do...whatever he wanted. As Charles wrote to him with a present of some birthday cufflinks 'nobody will ever know what you have done for this country'. Savile had a very isolated house in Glencoe, Scotland, where Charles famously visited him. In the movie Skyfall, James Bond's family house is in...Glencoe. The Moors Murderers met at one of Savile's discos in Manchester. The Smiths and particularly Morrissey caused a huge affair with the song about the Moors Murders, Suffer Little Children, and then subsequently befriending the families. An excellent video James, good to have it brought up again (it did cause huge comment at the time of the scandal among people who both followed it and knew the song). Some thoughts: 1:51 Honey Pie in the lyrics - A Beatle's song 2:06 lyric 'hang the blessed DJ' - Savile was a Papal Knight 7:58 Absolutely. This is masonic. It's called 'masterfully speaking' or the like - revealing the truth but it APPEARS (to those not in the know) to be pointing in a completely different direction. Morrissey is a freemason, as we see on the cover of Alma Matters. 12:55 Savile DID become 'The Hanged Man' after death...rather 'prophetic' of The Smiths!

[@babylonsburning1]

Morrissey a Mason? The Masons don't do Catholics.

[@theboyler4464]

Great response. But could you elaborate why you think paperback writer can be linked to James Bond and subsequently saville?

[@andromedwa]

And the biggest red flag of them all - 007 - represents a twin deck and an arm...

[@kimchi_b]

@@andromedwa Eh?

[@sexobscura]

Nice personal interpretations. Morrissey is NOT a Freemason (being of Irish stock) - Nice try though

[@petemc5070]

The power of this song in indie clubs was enthralling at the time, a spirited riposte to the naffness pumped out across the musical airwaves, and all those brain-dead songs that said nothing about our lives. The irony was those that played it experienced an existential crisis at the very moment they thought they were able to disarm it.

[@mikipiediaelburro7588]

It makes sense now..I always didn't get the hang the Dj lyric in this song..but now it makes sense

[@dave-jk6en]

"How Soon Is Now...Then Now Then?"

[@slyteen2197]

Could how soon is now have been written about king Charles?

[@ZedNevada]

​​@@slyteen2197 no you idiot operative working for corrupt illegal UK POLICE social media operations writing using fake profile names. Twat. The name of the album us 'How soon is now' Jimmy Saville's catchline 'Now then, now then'. Of course Morrisey wrote the title referring to Saville. KING CHARLES or King Charles if he is a real king (whichever he is as I don't know, but that sure as hell I know he did not sit over the real stone of scone at the coronation) Charles has not wrote an album has he? Idiots at corrupt Police that will be stopped after I sue all of your bosses inc the Arabs.

[@BadAppleBlues]

HAHAHAHA!!!!

[@joe9042]

Now then, now then!

[@iscreemz4494]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@dcbdiscerns7617]

Leeds side streets. Provincial towns you jog around. It's about Saville. The end. (Can we dig him up and make the ending refrain a reality? Please!)

[@sandgrownun66]

Savile.

[@GetStrumming]

What another brilliantly thorough investigation, James! Not a single stone left unturned! That eerily fits the description of Savile to a tee! The only incongruous line is the ‘music they play says nothing to be about my life, which could have been added simply because Morrissey obviously felt strongly about it, even though it apparently doesn’t have much relevance to the rest of the song. It’s just so obvious when you look at the lyrics about ‘Leeds side street you slip round’ and ‘provincial towns you jog round’ and it’s a wonder that it’s taken us this long to make the connection! The slightly sad thing is that now, every time I play this song at a gig I’m going to get images of 1970’s news clips of the evil **** running around Leeds with his bloody cigar!🤦🏻‍♂️

[@stevegascoyne1903]

It is possible this is a vague reference to personal abuse in the past

[@lecochonbleu]

"music that play says nothing to me about my life". The point there is that there is a diversion going on and that that music is and also represents a distraction from serious issues. That kind of music gets all the heavy promotion, basically forced upon peoples' ears day after day, whether they would decide to choose that or not. They cannot choose anyway though, essentially. However, more serious, meaningful music which looks into worthwhile subjects or has serious social purposes, is ignored. In the song this phenomenon of this choosing of music people hear in itself ("Hang the DJ") may be a part of or, or as well, a further metaphor. A metaphor for further diversion, distraction, control and the kind of mindset and happenings which can go on when you've got that kind of control. At the end of the day this kind of music is basically a celebrity sphere, also - money, status, fame, connections. Then there is the distinct reference to that particular celebrity of two very different worlds, Savile, who first became famous as a nightclub and radio DJ. "Music" can go on to refer to more than just what we hear, but also the "music" of our lives. "Hang the DJ" can be a desperate and emotional retort against certain powers-that-be which spin the discs of the "music" of our lives. The 1980s was a time of great political and social expression in pop music in good part, but also a time when it can have seemed that was being snatched away from people. If you listen to the atrocious, meaningless nonsense which passes for pop music nowadays, I think the beginnings of that can be traced back to this time when The Smiths were complaining. Probably that was the beginning of an insane extent of commercialisation of pop music whilst degrading it at the same time to the lowest kind of context. If that arrangement could be made out as an agenda beginning back in the 80s, personally I would say that it has been astoundingly "successful", based on how terrible the utter throwaway pop music of this early century is.

[@milesdowsett3532]

The John Lydon quote is truly terrifying!

[@marcnowak7587]

Esther Rantzen started childline in order to find the victims who had enough courage to come forward so they could be silenced just As : operation Yew (you) Tree was to investigate and find any celebrities who might have any evidence pertaining to pedos and to silence them also preparing the road for the plandemic same as epstein with polititians priming them for covid just a photo and a handshake with the man whom most polititians had met gave them the fear and what better to use then that of andrew an represented untouchable.

[@dariowestern]

And he suffered for it as well. Same with Ian Hampton and David Icke who called Savile out. The BBC labeled them as being ridiculous.

[@olivercromwell2912]

Grasmere in the song is a strange reference. Very specific and a very small place., overlooking a lake. Just a thought but Saville's flat in Leeds was Lakeview Court. Given its location, the rest of the line fits aswell.

[@jp7963]

It was! The Grasmere bit still didn't make sense, but, this is the kind of wordsmithery (pun intended) Morrisey would utilise to avoid being banned/cancelled. I think you could be right on that.

[@glemonsbhatkin514]

I think it's a reach. Think it's more an attack on the music Mozza hated, but it's good piece of thinking outside the box.

[@lemsip207]

It's that as well. The Saville part is the deeper meaning.

[@TK-ux5du]

The truth could be that it is about more than one thing. A combination of criticisms of the mainstream media, music business, politics and society in general and then maybe the specific story or rumours about Savile (and possibly others too!) were added into the mix.

[@wesleyashworth5061]

More than likely

[@Pat_-ci8fp]

I’ve always thought this and was shocked how no one had pointed out finally you have! Brilliant vid James as usual 🙌

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers 😎

[@kimchi_b]

Loads of people have, Morrisey was asked about it in the wake of the scandal and denied it (I don't believe him for a second)!

[@davidraymer397]

"That you jog around?" Wasn't Jimmy known for doing extreme running events?

[@theclocksuk]

It never occurred to us this song was about Saville, it’s really difficult to unhear it that way. Live your channel James

[@squashua_]

Yes James! More Smiths, more Morrissey, and more Johnny Marr!

[@fredriko.zachrisson9711]

Yes please.

[@frazerclark8150]

More Jimmy saville?

[@wullowtries3018]

@@frazerclark8150Good One! 😂😂😂

[@Eggnoodlesandketchup3]

Even if it's bollocks?

[@paulmca8514]

A friend of my mum worked in the costume department of the BBC, one of the shows she worked on was Top of the Pops, and she said it was well known in the BBC what Saville was like, but they didn`t realise just how extensive the abuse was, or how perverted he actually was. Staff would not allow their kids to go the Christmas Party for BBC staff if he was attending, or they even thought he was going to be there. She said it was certainly common knowledge among most of the staff at BBC TV Centre in London that he was not to be trusted, and had a reputation for being very "touchy-feely" as she called it. When I saw him on TV I got a bad feeling about him,without any prompting what so ever, he stuck me as being a creepy dirty old man, Jim`ll Fix it used to freak me out,the few times I saw it. My mum changed channel if he was on any programmes, it seemed obvious to us that he was a wrong `un. As for the song being about Saville, I suppose it could well be, many of the lyrics do fit, but is that just coincidence or was it actually about him ? It`s hard to know. I was a teenager in the 1980`s and I always thought this was a strange song, it seemed rather violent in mentioning Hang the DJ, also the song is fairly short even for a single. It could be argued that this is making things fit into a preconceived idea, rather than investigating other possible meanings for the lyrics. I think it could very well be about Saville, more info was coming out about him in the early 1980`s, it`s maybe as far as they ( or their managers / label ) were prepared to push things, without being accused of liable.

[@themagpie_1]

They all knew. My mu (RIP) knew, and she didn`t work at the BBC. so they all knew.. I remember watching TOTPs as a teen and mum n dad used to say `why do they keep that pervert around those girls..? ` so they knew. they all KNEW... he had influence, and would of taken so many down with him. that is why he was `handled`

[@bgoode2903]

Again I want to make clear that I’m not defending Jimmy Saville, I can’t defend abuse…but I don’t think the best time to savage anyone’s reputation is when they are dead and can’t defend their behaviour…if you can keep quiet when the man’s alive and able to respond to allegations…and accept all the millions of extra funding from his ‘charity’ efforts and volunteering etc…then surely the decent thing to do would let him rest in peace and take comfort from the fact that he can’t abuse anyone while he’s dead…I am very disappointed with anyone that says ‘I always knew he was dodgy’…if you had forced the matter and actually tried to expose his behaviour then guess what…there wouldn’t have been so many victims…live with your own shame and guilt for not being ‘brave’ enough to expose the truth…if that’s what it was? 😇

[@paulmca8514]

@@bgoode2903 What the hell are you on about ? I didn`t say I was abused by Saville. It is well documented that many that were abused by him DID report it to the Police and the BBC, but nothing was done, or did you miss that ? During the late 1960`s 70`s and early 80`s Saville was a big star, and he used his fame not only to abuse people including many children, but he also used his contacts to keep the Police at bay. If you think he has been harsely treated, well I can assure you, that you are very much in the minority. They guy molested children, some of whom were handicapped, he molested adults, he even molested the dead. This has all been proven, go and read about it because clearly you know nothing about it, and you are trying to defend the undefendable. Don`t reply to me unless you want to aplogise for being so stupid.

[@themagpie_1]

@@bgoode2903 If Saville was held accountable, he would of ratted out the others. don`t forget who his best mate was. imagine the scandal and public outrage. that is why it carried on..what they call `national security` because it would of been chaos

[@kgarrett1404]

BBC cameramen never brought their teenage children to the TOTP studios when they knew Saville was presenting. Good call!

[@cjgaeilge4350]

the only DJ that played 'white indie music' was John Peel, but sadly there were also some allegations about Peel's behaviour with young females as well (after he died)....

[@uv77mc85]

Pretty much every famous man has banged teenage girls. It's not a secret.

[@cjgaeilge4350]

well if it was legal it was legal @@scoashish

[@BadAppleBlues]

Saint John Peel - he married a 15 year old when he was in his early 20's and he was living in the USA at the time.

[@susi-emily]

I don't think they were allegations. Peel spoke about the girls who queued up waiting for the DJs and that no one asked about ages.

[@lextalonis839]

John Peel was great.

[@dunebasher1971]

The lyrics are clearly NOT about Savile. "Burn down the disco, hang the blessed DJ, because the music they constantly play, it says nothing to me about my life"... Morrissey was bemoaning the state of pop music at the time. The band subsequently released a T-shirt with an image of Steve Wright and the slogan "Hang the DJ", supposedly because immediately after a Radio 1 news report about the Chernobyl disaster, Steve Wright played a Wham song, which Morrissey considered an appallingly trivial way to follow that news.

[@donnyskinglongliveme]

Very interesting theory that seems to fit seamlessly together. I always assumed that the lyrics listing places where there's panic, provincial towns and big cities etc. as being about how modern rubbish pop music infects absolutely everywhere and you can't escape it whether you're in a little tea shop in Grasmere, a second hand shop in Dublin or a pub in Dundee. It's certainly still the case how inappropriate & jarring the music is when heard when being served by an elderly lady in a teshop in a provincial town or when eating dinner in a local pub and the music is all about completly alien things

[@TimGanderPhotographer]

If only we knew what Margaret On The Guillotine was about. I'm stumped.

[@iain2080]

I've watched a lot of Savile docs in the past week so this is odd timing for me. Knowing what he got up to in Leeds general infirmary my stomach turned at the first mention of Leeds. Savile did an ad with a child on a train and having so many children around a train as shown in this video is particularly grim. In his 1971 Autobiography he recounts losing his virginity to an older woman on a train when he was 14 so this seems to me another one of his ways of brazenly connecting children with sexuality and doing it in front of a public who doesn't manage to notice.

[@paulwilliams5296]

Leeds is a fantastic city. Pity it turns your stomach, I love my city

[@iain2080]

@paulwilliams5296 you totally missed my point, my stomach turned knowing what he did there. I hold nothing against Leeds or its people they're not responsible for Saviles crimes. My stomach turned because I knew what was coming next.

[@streetinscotland1225]

You might want to look at The Reckoning. Brilliant 👍🏼

[@kaystuart8851]

@@streetinscotland1225what is the reckoning? Is it a song or a tv programme?

[@shannonk1866]

It doesn't only have to be about Saville, although there is enough there to make me sure he's included. It could also be a general swipe at BBC internal culture particularly the rest of the creepy DJ's. Not only that, but maybe the melody maker interview was more a swipe at the more corporate record industry labels making sure the BBC gave their own artists the prime daytime air play thus keeping Indie bands in their niche evening shows. I imagine there are several layers to this song. Great video.

[@jeffward9174]

In the mid 1980s I worked at Stoke mandeville hospital as a driver. The mortuary was about 35 seconds walk from the drivers rest room, I often saw him go there on his own. He had no business going in there.

[@battlemode]

A friend of mine was a nurse there, apparently they were all told to keep well clear of him and that he was dangerous.

[@louisewright1031]

@@battlemode Poor nurses. They were duped into thinking he was after them when in reality they would naturally scuttle away leaving the vulnerable at the mercy of Saville. So tragic.

[@louisewright1031]

Dude was a sick necrophiliac as well as a nonce

[@sharonjuniorchess]

I met the Matron who worked there and she hated him. When she told me what he used to get up to I asked if she had complained to anyone. She had done so numerous times but the managers refused to take it any further. It took me many years to understand that he had "protection" from both the upper and the very lowest sides of society. Power can be abused by fear.

[@StepsOfStPhilips]

A couple of points of doubt: 1. If John Lydon was blacklisted by the BBC in 1978 it didn’t last long: he appeared on Juke Box Jury, primetime BBC 1 in 1979. 2. Likewise Jerry Sadowitz: if he was blacklisted by the BBC how come he made two series for BBC Two: The Pall Bearer’s Revue in 1992 and Stuff the White Rabbit in 1997?

[@McSenna1979]

Lydon was never blacklisted that's a myth perpetuated by him. He simply became tiresome then irrelevant.

[@CB-xr1eg]

Lydon wasn't blacklisted, he was just told to shut up.

[@Mute_Nostril_Agony]

I love the chants at Leeds United fans at football matches: Jimmy Savile is your dad

[@matthewcoombs3282]

Sadowitz had the second series of Pall Bearers Review pulled due to its strong content.

[@djhaynes99]

Sadowitz said Jimmy was a child abuser on the 1987 live show Gobshite, it was put out on vinyl, but pulled from the shops within days because of Savile's government connections. You are right by 1992 he wasn't blacklisted by the BBC because Jimmy was on his way out of the BBC.

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

And the children singing in the background at the end. Even more chilling.

[@UnionJackie]

BUT he did that in a few songs

[@emptysresponse]

@@UnionJackie name one other Smiths song that happens on.

[@jennytaylor3324]

'Panic' is a work of art in its oblique yet obvious Savile references. They obviously couldn't name him. The idea of S having to give this air-play is enough to make me smile. Take my hat off to Morrissey,

[@dirtyunclehubert]

is it know that he DID? i can imagine him being like "now then now then here are the ever so famous smiths with their fantastic new hit single PANIC, and ooOoOoOoooOooOoh, "hang the DJ" now i hope they dont mean to hang me, ows about that then oOoOoOooOooOoh!"

[@mikethompson5549]

Mozza chapeau

[@CHRIS-ky5ku]

It was nothing to do with Saville.

[@onesong2001]

Saville made comments on TV such as "I'm feared in every girls' school in the country" It would have thrilled him to play it.

[@jennytaylor3324]

@@onesong2001 Could well be so!

[@frankthefrankly8055]

i recall footage of Savile jogging for a charity event. He was rude with a put-down to a random member of the public. It was that moment i realised that he wore a mask and that few saw the real Jimmy Savile

[@PoundShopScooterMan]

It's him. No question about it, the lyrics Provincial streets that you jog round would have sounded much better with run or something else instead of jog, but uncle jimmy was a jogger, most famous jogger in the land, in fact the only jogger anyone would know, and the Leeds connection, his crappy flat on top of a tower block looking out on the local park, you can see how big his windows are behind his running machine on the Louis Theroux show. Thanks for pointin this out/raising the question, I never would have guessed, the track is amazing, even more so now I know what it means.

[@cph2004]

I've not really thought of the Smith song panic like this before, but wow, does it make sense now. Sometime lyric need to be brought to light so you can have a better understanding of them. Thank you for the video.

[@roboi2241]

Strange really, I'm mixed race yet I had the same sensibility as Morrissey about black music in the 80s though I'd say it about all American music in the 80s and the UK acts that imitated it, just horrible vacuous overblown soulless cacophonies and don't get me started on hip hop.

[@cjgaeilge4350]

I wonder did Morrissey like the 2 tone thing…

[@PaIaeoCIive1684]

Morrissey has said more than once he dislikes black musicians that make bad music, not black people. He's said reggae is vile because it's frequently racist and espouses black supremacy. Of course, whatever Mozza says the lefty media will twist it to label him an 'ist', 'phobe' or whatever for not just pushing fashionable decadent liberalism.

[@lemsip207]

With the odd good catchy single especially on the Motown label. I did like Uptown Top Ranking by Althea and Donna and Get a life by Soul II Soul. I never liked it so much I would want to listen to whole albums unlike I would with my favourite rock bands who made just as good album tracks that were never released as singles. But I got sick of all that black music and white pop on the radio. I would listen for hours waiting to hear some rock music. To me nothing was worse than having to give up rock music completely. It was more deeply satisfying. It was like the meat, fish and vegetables of music while black music and pop music were like the desserts. You can't live on desserts only. I got depressed when I did try to give up rock music at the age of 16 thinking I was supposed to grow out of it and that it was only for school children and students. In the corporate world wimen who listen to rock music are scorned. Then I backlashed against listening mostly to prog rock albums.

[@ursweetsab]

Morrisey is such a fantastic lyricist.

[@UnionJackie]

He was back in the Smiths days, and probably still could be today ...He just became too lazy . I mean you can not say "your the one for me fatty " is poetry.I agree though, when he wants to be , he is the bees knees

[@grassygnoll3345]

Oh, not just the BBC but the Tory Party, The Monarchy, various NHS Trusts, the Press, the Police and some major Charities. I'll add that if any other media group present at the time could have snatched Saltville off the BBC at the time and employed him, they would have. To say anything else would be bollocks. He was massive and very popular, the majority thought he was great, the papers and broader media promoted this and that is just the truth.

[@KovietUnionDefector]

AKA....the whole flipping British establishment.....how any of us can trust any part of the UK system is beyond me. The UK has a spine of secret societies covering up all that they deem in need of covering up and the whole of the Mainstream Media have been a massive part of it too. Sad and shocking and depressing to be honest.

[@stevenpaulgoulding]

Every reason why there should be an inquiry into the Battle of Orgreave during the bitter miners strike of 1984/85. The inquest would investigate misconduct in the Metropolitan Police over the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence, the killing of Jill Dando, Blair Peach, the anti-fascist activist who was a victim of police brutality during the Southall riot in 1979, the disappearance of estate agent Suzy Lamplugh and Doncaster teenager Andy Gosden.

[@heathstjohn6775]

How many making these comments on here against all these expressions of national life are still buying newspapers ?; still voting for mainstream politicians ?; still listening to the BBC & ITV political discussions hosted by presenters from the same companies ?; watching porn themselves on the internet whilst allowing their own children to use the same unsupervised ? Well, the audience figures for all these denounced media are still high enough to allow them to be financially profitable; the newspapers are eith all these journalists eho knew are still being sold; the radio stations are still being listened to. All on here arenow saying that no one alive in these media today could pass behave the same, are they ? Commentators in hete,vif they are truly concerned, and not here just to make a fine showing if their own morality in public should be maki g outraged comments about what's happrning in Richdale, Rotherham, Bradford, with moslem rape gangs, but no, no; it's not as easy to let their moral superiorities promenade the catwalk on that subject, is it. Are their thousands of public, child molesters, too ? Yes, we all belong, outside of famous circles, to where the largest circle of child molesters are to be found, the general public. Watch next year; all these mainstream political parties, and politicians who are despised on here so much; watch them all be returned to office next year.

[@AND-2009]

Great video!!! One point that was missed was the reference to “jogging” in the song lyrics. It could have been specifically linked to Saville running marathons and hence further evidence that this song is indeed about Saville.

[@brettharter143]

No that was covered quite clearly in the video....

[@annagervas9197]

a huge Smiths fan here, I often wondered about Panic lyrics and totally accept the Saville connection/meaning and now LOVE that they took the flack for "hang the dj" sentiment hiding a real meaning they didn't have to get sued again for!

[@onesong2001]

they would never have been sued, just cancelled

[@annagervas9197]

@@onesong2001 Morrissey has been cancelled for years, never bothered him, or me

[@allotmentuk1303]

Brilliant upload👍👍👍👍👍 I am from Leeds came across Jimmy Savile frequently not to talk to he was strange always protected by a couple of henchmen. The first time in memory was at a talent competition at Quarry Hill Flats 1948 or 1949. He sang an impersonation of Al Johnson. I was staying with my Aunt an Uncle who was a miner at Middleton Pit mentioned he knew him as a Bevan Boy Records state he was born in 1926 which would put him down the pit in 1944 I was 8 years old. What has stuck in my mind ever since whats a 26/7 year old doing performing in a kids talent show? Later as I became older like most kidsI owned a drop handle bike with gears and the favourite run was Leeds to Otley at week ends Saville would tare past on his flash Daws bike. He kept a Dansette record player in the cafe adjacent the Chippendale statue outside Otley Grammer and play records to entertain the cyclists his age 28. Leaving school I attended Leeds Technical College and Lunchtime we spent at Leeds Arcade Mecca and there he was again playing records on the bands stage I left college in 1963 that makes him 37. 1968 working and lodging in Manchester and there he was again at the Manchester Mecca as the manager still with his bodyguards he is now 42. Nobody got close to Saville those that new off him (nobody new him) kept their distance any man of his age always around young people is definightly a Pedo. And like Morrisey I come from the Woodhouse area and yes we suspected pity the BBC didn't.

[@heathstjohn6775]

I was reading with interest your comment till you asserted that older men in young children's company mean they are '' Definitely '' a paedophile. There are many other comparative generalizations anyone could invent which should be equally untrue: anyone who keeps denouncing anything is obviously someone who has that tendency themselves, for example: Shakespeare: ''...the lady doth protest too much, methinks...''.

[@allotmentuk1303]

@@heathstjohn6775 The point I was making was you were not sure, so one kept ones distance and you kept close to your mates. Saville never made the moves. These were made by his henchmen who would approach a selected female.

[@Joerideout1]

I think DJ by Bowie could possibly also be about him. "Time flies when you're having fun Break his heart, break her heart He used to be my boss and now he is a puppet dancer I am the D.J., and I've got believers"

[@Olan...]

As a heterosexual man the way Morrisey danced put me right off the group , it made me cringe but now i am older and wiser and more tolerant so i appreciate how clever this track is. Saville was a vile freak of nature who rubbed shoulders with high ranking politicians and even the King. What a totally corrupt and disgusting society the we live in when those at the top who commit such vile acts on minors can dictate to the nation how we are supposed to act and even think . It saddens me that people tolerate this situation !

[@kevingault7353]

I've mulled over this and listened to the song since you put this up. The song couldn't be more about Saville other than to have named him.

[@shugmchugh5107]

Next up: was Ghost town by the Specials really about Derek Acorah

[@mark.paterson]

Interesting theory but Tony Fletcher is wrong. The Chernobyl Disaster was 26 April 1986. Panic was recorded in May 1986 and released July 21 1986. The dates do line up for Panic to have at least been *inspired* be the Steve Wright/Chernobyl incident, but perhaps Morrissey took it in a different direction when it came to writing the lyrics.

[@eldiablito6254]

You're right. This video is nonsense.

[@mrsunshine6936]

Steve Wright playing ‘I’m Your Man’ by Wham! after reports of the Chernobyl disaster on Newsbeat was the inspiration.

[@deecee129]

@@eldiablito6254well that’s a bit extreme 😂 he’s not even saying that there could be anything in this.But then you subscribe to Dr Todd Grande who is on the other side of the spectrum who theorises that everything is black and white,there’s no corruption, conspiracies and everything is a coincidence in the world.Naive bedwetters

[@LiamH81]

Feels a bit reaching

[@jp7963]

What they are saying is Steve Wright's Radio One show only played the very latest contemporary songs back then, them being either new releases or ones that were in the Top 40 that week. As I'm Your Man was a hit back in 1985 there would be NO way it would have been played on daytime Radio One, certainly Steve Wright;s show, circa April 1986. So neither Marr nor Morrisey would have heard that song then. Hope that clarifies!

[@TheGalwayFarmer]

Great video James. It certainly sounds plausible. Plus hiding such a sinister message behind such a chirpy upbeat song would be typically Smiths. I've just watched the Panic video and there's some kind of written message with the words 'people' and 'bloody' though it's not easy to make out the whole line. Plus the 'hang the DJ' refrain outro is backed by images of flames!

[@vincentl.9469]

don't believe any of it...people read too much into lyrics. Always have

[@M2Mil7er]

@@vincentl.9469 all people, or just some people? Some don't read anything into lyrics, and some people interpret them perfectly, even when cryptic. It seems this is the case here. Other lyrics _can_ be, and _are_ taken on face value. Some might say the most interesting art can be interpreted in a layered, and nuanced way, and maintain that could be the entire purpose of it. Why complain about one of art's functions? Are you not creative?

[@vincentl.9469]

@@M2Mil7er some people-not all. I remember it used to happen with the lyrics to some Beatles songs

[@mookie2637]

I appreciate the spooky specificity of some of the lyrics, but having lived in Leeds in the late 80s, been a so-so Smiths fan, and a keen reader of the era's music press, this feels like a post-hoc stretch to me. Morrisey really did (rightly) despise the kind of plastic music that came to dominate the later 80s (he had a go at the Hi-NRG people a bit later). My take was that he was talking about a kind of revolution against it all. Just because something fits, doesn't mean it was intended to fit.

[@rosseuanmcivor]

I used to see Saville jogging around the provincial town of Aylesbury in the 90s. This theory is more than coincidence...

[@sharonjuniorchess]

Saville "volunteered" at Stoke Mandeville Hospital (near Aylesbury) where he was able to get up to his nefarious activities with impunity. In the 80's Johnny Rotten was a neighbour (as he had a flat in Aylesbury) and socialised with local people there. So it is not improbable that he would have heard about Saville's activities at the hospital. I certainly did.

[@rosseuanmcivor]

@@sharonjuniorchess never heard of Lydon having a flat in Aylesbury.

[@MICHELLE-gu2qc]

I find it interesting that Jimmy Saville was allowed in the Royal family Inner circle.

[@buzby303]

They all are & they all get knighted

[@ricochet_180]

😮 This is mind-blowing. I always wondered if 'Panic' was written about a famous person, but never put 2 and 2 together. 🤦🏻‍♂️ The Smiths were a Generational Masterclass. ❤ Great Content & Insight into the Lyrics. 👏🏻

[@terrra_2024]

It literally has nothing to do with Jimmy Saville, it's always been known that the dj in question was Steve Wright.

[@jimnewcombe7584]

It has nothing to do with Savile: *nothing*.

[@MartinHiggins1972]

@@jimnewcombe7584 It has DJ, jogging and Leeds to do with Savile. *DJ, jogging and Leeds*.

[@MartinHiggins1972]

@@terrra_2024 It literally has DJ, jogging and Leeds to do with Savile. You heard of cover stories, right?

[@andyfeeney8554]

Some say saville was the real yorkshire ripper. The first victim found near his house. Morrisey looked at Myra....maybe hinted at jimmy

[@mattdad8429]

I'd never heard that theory, that's really interesting. I'll have to look into that. Any suggestions on where to start? Any documentaries, youtube videos, etc.?

[@andyfeeney8554]

A decade ago I went to see Thomas Sheridan Irish guy researching modern psychopaths. When Louis met Jimmy in his flat Jimmy had a wardrobe with his moms coats, with little tokens in...and mentioned an unruly woman hit with ballpin hammer on the back of the head.- one of ripper victim died like this- also peter had a different bite to the victim body-2 people involved?

[@andyfeeney8554]

@mattdad8429 also jim.y had the keys to Broadmoor when Sutcliffe and Frank Bruno posed foe photos with Jimmy....a little nod

[@andyfeeney8554]

Jimmy had a few houses several bodies where found near them. Maybe Peter was a delivery boy like Thomas Hamilton (dunblane man worked for a labour lord)or a disposer like Jeffrey dahmer, John Wayne gacy, Marc detroux

[@lemsip207]

He was definitely an accomplice of the Yorkshire Ripper.

[@rumpoh8039]

HIS MOTHER LIVED IN 'LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR HOME IN ST HELIER JERSEY UNTIL HER DEATH IN 1972. UP TO THAT TIME 'THE BEAST OF JERSEY' had attacked children unhindered for 17 years....

[@goshhowhorrible8340]

Panic has nothing to do with Saville. Morrisey clearly disliked some chart music of the time and the DJ culture that promoted it. Which he then verbalises in his typical fashion. The mention of multiple towns across the country is simply a gesture at the spread of the music in question.

[@rpierrelouis86]

I'm a huge Smiths and Morrissey fan and I have never put two and two together but oh my word what you say makes a lot of sense!!

[@MrUndersolo]

The fact that the song is based on T-Rex's 'Metal Guru' is worth a discussion, too.

[@spodoinklehorse]

Hardly about a song wrote years earlier?

[@heathstjohn6775]

Ok could you say how ? Thanks.

[@UnionJackie]

as everyone knows already both Johnny and Mr Morrissey were huge fans..I expect they used that music and it drives the point home

[@dariowestern]

I'd like to see someone do a "Panic" and "Metal Guru" mashup.

[@spennie3607]

Nope "Panic" bemoans the state of contemporary music, which "says nothing to me about my life", and exhorts listeners to "burn down the disco" and "hang the DJ" in retaliation.

[@vencejo7572]

One helluva coincidence! Probably we'll never get to hear Morrissey talk about it. It would be great if Russell Brand sat down with his old friend Morrissey again...

[@christian1294]

This is an incredible idea that had never occured to me. If it's a coincidence then it's an improbable one. There's so much there. The jogging, the Leeds side-streets, the nationwide panic, the crap music and the vitriol of finishing the song with the refrain of hang the DJ - and let's not forget it's CHILDREN who join in the outro refrain there's a lot pointing at Jimmy. Morrissey wrote songs about the Moors Murderers, he wrote a vitriolic song about Thatcher (which earned him a visit from the police) - there's no reason at all he didn't have others in his sights.

[@Voyager...2]

The actor pictured on the sleeve of the record is called Bradford, which is right beside Leeds, Saville's hometown. Saville's mother's middle name was Monica, and it's engraved onto the run-out groove of the single.

[@hatednyc]

12:47 Saville did of course get his start as a DJ and promoter for Teen Dances at a local struggling Discotheque. He made many references to Catholicism - Blessed DJ, indeed.

[@sandgrownun66]

Savile.

[@richardland9668]

We shouldn’t forget that Jimmy Savile started his career as a DJ he lived in Leeds. Overlooking the park, whether there was two Yorkshire Ripper attacks..

[@Wally-H]

Savile struck up an unsavoury friendship with Sutcliffe when the latter was in Broadmoor. Remember the famous photograph where Saville tricked Frank Bruno into shaking hands with him?

[@Wearethewingmakers]

Brilliant video James and bang on the money when you read the lyrics. Id never really thought much about that childrens choir at the end, singing “hang the dj,Hang the dj”. However that nails it for me

[@TommyThompson-f8q]

Saville is seen jogging round the streets of Carlisle in the Netflix documentary 😮

[@BoneStar]

My mother told me in 1972 that Savile was a monster, so strange that an East London housewife knew and the BBC, the British government and police didn't 🤷‍♂️

[@ProfessorEchoMedia]

Let’s face it: Most Moms always know way more than everyone else.

[@andymouse]

Your Mum was spot on.

[@emptysresponse]

they knew. They were in on it and he was protected.

[@smithayyyjames]

I’m 100% convinced. Blessed dj is referring to his friendship with the pope. Listen to the start of the song and then listen to the start of the Jim’ll fix it them tune!

[@maxbaby77]

Holy crap, great catch there. That opening is waaayyyyyy too similar to be coincidence. Nice one.

[@215Gallagher]

A demonic entity if ever I saw one. He used to creep me out as a kid when he came on Top of the Pops. I preferred Simon Dee and Samantha Juste as presenters.

[@lemsip207]

Annie Nightingale was one if the best TOTP presenters. She was the first Radio One female DJ but only had an evening slot when most people were watching TV. She was also an OGWT DJ and told of having to sneak the Adverts in through a side door to the studio. The OGWT was the only serious music programme on TV in the 70s but it was on too late at night on Tuesdays as it was an album showcasing programme. Because the BBC bosses saw it as subversive. They didn't want us to watch serious music being performed on TV. So instead they fed us TOTP pap an end of the pier shoe. The likes of the Clash and Free would appear on it otherwise they risked Pan's People and Legs and Co dancing to their hut singles in stupid costumes.

[@TheVideoLounge]

The origins of the song lyrics are actually quite well know amongst The Smiths fans, as Johnny Marr himself once discussed them. The DJ in question is Steve Wright, and 'Panic' was inspired by the nuclear reactor explosion at Chernobyl in 1986. Morrissey and Johnny were both listening to BBC Radio1 news about the disaster, immediately after which DJ Steve Wright came back on in his much practised and relentlessly upbeat style, and cheerily introduced Wham!'s 'I'm Your Man', and so Morrissey's lyrics pertain directly to their reaction to this.

[@lecochonbleu]

I knew at the time that the Chernobyl and Steve Wright reference was metaphorical. On one level it was indeed about these syndicated DJs playing the same, generic, mindless or empty, escapist stuff all the time as if in one of the Stepford stories. The occurrence of this just after the Chernobyl broadcast just chimed with Morrissey on this song he'd written quite some time before. They had been debating re-releasing the song and that time was around when they made the decision. The Chernobyl reference was also about a huge, contained, energy which could explode, yet things were, unbelievably, so controlled, ordered, maintained, quietly decided.

[@JtotheP68]

I very much doubt it, it’s just about the chart fodder that mainstream radio played back then and still do. REM wrote a similar song called Radio Song. Bruce Springsteen the same Radio Nowhere.

[@Toxic-Ology]

Not sure there’s much evidence to say the song was about Savile. However I’m pretty sure the club he had in Leeds was in side street (has a very side street feel to it at least). Although I like a lot of the vids on channels I really think it’s probably clutching at straws to conclude it’s anything other than what we already think Panic is. With the place names, Savile was everywhere. No mention of Manchester in it, yet he spent a long time there. And with the map there are so many places he offended that it takes more effort to find a place that isn’t close to somewhere he offended. I’ve checked some unsolved murders that I can’t even really say are Savile for the same reason even though from a criminal psychology point of view it would be more surprising if Savile didn’t murder than if he did. You plot the places and dates and they’re near by places Savile would have been. Then you realise, Savile really got around and a coincidence like that isn’t a coincidence, it’s almost a certainty that he frequented somewhere close by on a map. So I’m not convinced Panic is about Savile. Even though with nothing being noted about offences in Dublin, doesn’t mean Dublin isn’t a place Savile went. And Morrissey won’t have known the places he did offend, he’d have been talking about places Savile went. But again, pick any major Town or City at random in the UK especially and you’re bound to name somewhere not far from where Savile visited at least a few times.

[@soniacox9671]

Wow...I loved the Smiths and this blows my mind. It also gives me a deeper respect for Morrissey.

[@themightyimp08]

The music video for panic has graffiti for the LDDC in it. That was the London Docklands Development Committee. This redevelopment of canary wharf etc, for yuppies, started similar developments around other parts of the country. You may be interested to see some of those locations, as they would have caused gentrification of those areas, forcing locals out who had put up with poor conditions, just to have the rich move in and make the improvements out of financial reach of the poorer people. From Wikipedia, but other sites say similar about the LDDC program. The success of the LDDC spurred the government to set up similar bodies elsewhere, for example in Merseyside (1981) and later the Black Country, Cardiff Bay, Trafford Park (Greater Manchester) (all 1987), and the Central Manchester Development Corporation (1988)

[@TheBenchPressMan]

these where actually very successful redevelopments, after the failure of 30 years of nationalisation. Only the locals where the ones who where against them, while living in squalor. That being said, an interesting point.

[@verynormalman]

We live in a world, which becomes more apparent each year, that presenters on radio and tv, speak a kind of verbal sugar coated diarrhoea. I think best summed up by Alan Partridge saying to a militant guest on his tv talk show, "keep it light, love"!

[@jam9852]

It Would not surprise me if the song panic was about Savile I mean the Smith's are well known for controversy like the song suffer little children which was all about the Moors murders.

[@jakezywek6852]

I heard the idea that 'Panic' was about Savile around a month ago when I was chatting to somebody. They mentioned the Leeds connection and I figured it adds up.

[@dannybowden5296]

Bloody hell! I hope you aren't working in law and enforcement if that's 'evidence' enough for you.

[@jakezywek6852]

Didn't say 'evidence' did I?@@dannybowden5296

[@onlinefriend3889]

@@dannybowden5296 it's about the meaning of song lyrics not reinvestigating savile's crimes, jesus

[@dannybowden5296]

​@@onlinefriend3889 I never said it was pal. I don't think the song is owt to do with Savile.

[@mattdad8429]

It absolutely was about Savile. Morrissey wasn't stupid; and he knew that the only way to get his point across about such heinous acts without getting sued, roughed up, blacklisted, killed, etc. was to veil his lyrics. If people knew what Jimmy was doing a decade or more before the song was written, then it's not like Morrissey had some inside knowledge no one else had. He was just the only one with balls big enough to sing about killing him without singing about killing him.

[@sandgrownun66]

Where does the quaint, rural village of Grasmere, and also Carlisle have to do with your "theory". Do you know something the person who actually wrote the song didn't? Are you one of those conspiracy nuts, who also thinks that there was another gunman on the grassy knoll in Dallas, on that infamous day in November 63? To quote Marr, _"This song was written in reaction to an incident where the BBC DJ, Steve Wright, played the trite and spunky Wham! track, "I'm Your Man," following a news report about the Chernobyl disaster - a devastating nuclear accident that occurred on April 26, 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. Guitarist, Johnny Marr, recalled to NME in 1987: "'Panic' came about at the time of Chernobyl. Morrissey and myself were listening to a radio report about it. The stories of this shocking disaster comes to an end and then immediately we're off into Wham's 'I'm Your Man.' I remember actually saying, 'What the f*ck has this got to do with people's lives?' And so, 'Hang the blessed DJ.' I think it was a great lyric, important and applicable to anyone who lives in England."_

[@mattdad8429]

@@sandgrownun66 I watched the video, but thanks for basically saying what was already said. Why would Morrissey come right out and say what it was about if it indeed was about Jimmy? Seems like they made up some bs little story about WHAM! So they wouldn't have to answer the question truthfully. That kind of thing can get you killed. Sued for liable would be the least of their worries for outting a pedo of that magnitude. If you want to believe the answers they gave in the press that's fine. I don't care one way or another what you think.

[@kevvy_b]

@@sandgrownun66tell us you haven't watched the video without telling us you haven't watched the video.

[@sandgrownun66]

@@kevvy_b What are you talking about? Who cares about the video. The question is what was the song "Panic" about. In the quote I provided, one of its writers answers that question in detail. What more do you want or need? The problem with proponents of conspiracy theories, is that no explanation, however logical, will ever satisfy them. Occam's razor is a dictum, which states that the simplest answer is usually the correct one. If you want to shoehorn Savile, aliens or Nessie into this "theory", that's up to you. Especially, if you have the necessary evidence to support your assertions.

[@mariodutra656]

​@@sandgrownun66Your explanation is spot on I heard the same quote in the 90s all the way here in northern California I never heard of Jimmy Saville until I watched the Netflix documentary this year.I just can't believe that weirdo looking man was so popular there in Britain for 40yrs!And by the way Oswald was the only gunman who killed Kennedy and I've been a firm believer in Nessie for over 40years.

[@domfinnigan7805]

In an interview in the late 80s Morrissey offered the following circumstances behind the inspiration of Panic. He said that while he happened to be listening to Radio One, he heard an announcement by the DJ Simon Bates of some catastrophic event leading to a humanitarian crisis. Immediately after making the news announcement, Bates simply said something along the lines of , 'that's terrible, but anyway, here's Wham'. Although the DJ's behaviour that day was simply the straw that broke the camel's back it fired his creative spark.

[@rubyharris4422]

This is covered here.

[@domfinnigan7805]

@@rubyharris4422 didn't read full thread. But adds to the evidence contradicting this far-fetched Saville supposition.

[@onlinefriend3889]

@@domfinnigan7805Knowing that Wright’s programme wouldn’t be two and a half hours after the news bulletin, which had been playing since that morning that day, alongside Wham’s song being out of the charts for a while by that April, things don’t add up for the timeline.

[@paulg6790]

I don't think it's specifically about Saville but more about how banal, out of touch and lightweight DJs of the 80s were in general. At the time most big DJs were in their 40s and 50s, even though they were aiming for an audience in their teens and 20s. They did things like regional roadshows, funruns and supermarket openings and just seemed to be naff corporate yes-men.

[@hughfeenan810]

As always, great video James. Happy Crimbo from Ireland 🇮🇪✌🏻

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers mate, same to you from North Yorkshire 🍻

[@Amethysttredecim]

Something you missed: the line "Hang the blessed DJ", Savile was someone who made Catholicism and his religion a big part of his charecter he portrayed to hide is deeds (or rather deflect rumors) to the public, even playing a big part in a visit to the UK from the pope. - a very interesting theory behind this song's origin indeed.

[@sandgrownun66]

Savile.

[@Kissyfur72]

Funny how a friend of the Crown managed to escape justice from Crown servants. Wonder if he would have been caught if Police and CPS were public servants

[@vituvbracha6009]

There’s a live version of this song (Eurotube 1986), where the band is performing it with a young boy singing on the stage. Check it out. And hang the DJ afterwards 🤟

[@mikeford5678]

No, it was aimed at Steve Wright and all the other Radio 1 DJ’s at the time Morrissey would have been more scathing if it was about Saville

[@madhumangaldas333]

MI5, MI6 Military Intelligence, The Met, Special Branch, EVERYBODY Knew what he was up to....... And yet they gave him his own TV show with kiddies galore...... WTF ?

[@jp7963]

Morrisey in particular has always been the uber-troller, the master Click-baiter. Even long before The Smiths Morrisey was infamous for getting his often incendiary letters printed in such as the NME and Melody Maker as a teenager. So never take anything he says in interviews with journalists at face value. He always loved to troll and give incorrect answers to what his lyrics were about, often making journalists look daft. They didn't like an upstart having the audacity to do that hence them turning on him. And the we have the situation we have now. Bearing that in mind I heard the "Chernobyl" explanation and having always been puzzled about the actual meaning behind Panic that explanation never sat right with me. I just could not "see" that as being the catalyst in the lyrics. The constant refrain of "Hang the DJ" rather than say "Sack" or "Ignore" or whatever seemed too violent and reactionary to me, especially from artists like The Smiths. I had always wondered who the "DJ" really was cos it was someone they (or at least Morrisey) vehemently despised. Now of course back in '86 Saville was just your average "national treasure" we all loved him so he was never in the frame as to be the song's reason. But the more I read the lyrics now today with hindsight, and how Morrisey really felt about certain subjects (take Suffer Little Children about the horrific Moors Murders) then I think this could be right. Like you say without 100% conformation from the author himself (that we'll never get) there is no certainty. But lyrics like "On the Leeds side streets that you slip down, Provincial towns you jog 'round, Hang the DJ, hang the DJ, hang the DJ" are surely not about a Wham record being played after Chernobyl, they're about a DJ who jogged a lot and slipped away unnoticed down the streets of Leeds. One person certainly fits that description.