Flashback Friday: That Time Morissey Showed Up At Vinyl Solutions [Video]

Morrissey, the super vegan, depressed, one time lead singer of The Smiths, and a symbol of the Golden Goth Age of the late '80s, once made his way to Grand Rapids for an appearance at the old Vinyl Solution record store.

So rare was a personal appearance by Morrissey, that is was covered nationally by Kurt Loder from MTV News. You do remember MTV News, don't you?

According to the web site, Local Wiki:

Just before 5 on the afternoon of July 28, MTV announced that Morrissey would be signing copies of his new album, "Your Arsenal," at Vinyl Solution, a record store in Grand Rapids, Mich. Within minutes, a line started to form outside the store, despite the fact that the singer wasn't due in until midnight.

By the time the signing began, more than 3,000 fans from all over the Midwest were massed outside the store, hoping to meet their idol. By 1:30 a.m., Morrissey was gone, and so was the store's stock of "Your Arsenal," all 557 copies of it. Even so, the fans didn't disperse until the automatic lawn sprinklers outside the store went on, at 2 a.m.

Vinyl Solution was at the corner of 28th and Breton (I think there's a flooring place there now) and it was Morrissey's only US appearance. 'I thought it would be nice to go somewhere unusual', the sullen Morrissey tells the interviewer from a back room, surrounded by boxes.

Most of his GR fans just seemed stunned that he would come here at all.