A collection of previously unseen letters written by Morrissey as a teenager is scheduled to go up for auction next month. The archive includes handwritten notes from 1974 to 1979 in which the future Smiths frontman predicted his rise as a rock star.
The letters, sent to Birmingham pen pal Simon Pitt, span Morrissey's years from age 14 to 20. In one early note from March 1974, he wrote: “My ambition is to be a rock ’n’ roll star or an actor, or a writer.” Another declares: “I always said I was a genius, but nobody listened.”
Dawsons Auctioneers will offer the archive, titled Before The Smiths: The Morrissey Letters, across 65 lots on August 26. The combined estimate exceeds £22,000. The material covers Morrissey's accounts of Sex Pistols concerts, meetings with Patti Smith, and an unsuccessful attempt to join The Clash.
Auctioneer Peter Mason called the collection an “exceptionally rare” record of the performer's early years. He noted the humour and warmth in the correspondence, which also captures a key period in Manchester's music scene.
Morrissey released his album Make-Up Is A Lie in March and is currently touring Europe.