Name: I really am widely known as Lilybett. Few people are allowed to call me ‘Elizabeth’.
Location: Warwick Uni / Huddersfield, West Yorkshire
Age: 21
What was the first record you bought?
Haha I’m not sure what was my first album. But I remember rushing out to buy ‘Spaceman’ by Babylon Zoo
Who is your all-time favorite band or artist, and why? 
The Smiths. Morrissey’s lyrics say more to me about my life and the world than anybody else ever has. The Smiths have been playing from the corner of the room during the very best and very worst moments of my life in recent years. When I put a Smiths record on, it feels like
someone understands me exactly.
Morrissey isn’t like any other pop star. He’s got principles and he tries to stand up for them - even when this is likely to make him unpopular. See his various outbursts on animal rights. Jumping on the Africa bandwagon wins kudos and applause. Suggesting violent anti-vivisection protests can be justified does not. I love him for it.
I live near Manchester, which I love so much for the romanticised crime and poverty that runs through it, as described in The Smiths’ records. And am actually smelly and hungover as I type this, as a result of a day and night out there yesterday. We went on a pilgrimage to Salford Lads’ Club and then to a club called 5th Avenue. Both recommended.
Did someone in your life influence your taste in music?
I used to scoff at my best friend for being a Smiths fan. I thought they were jingly-jangly old shit. She forced me to listen to Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now and smirked knowingly as I swore it was written about me.
What was the first concert you went to?
Nelly Furtado, Manchester Academy, in 2001 - she was very good!
What was the last?
Morrissey, 10th May 2006, Halifax Victoria Theatre
Favorite concert memory?
Morrissey, 6th May 2006, Manchester Apollo. The atmosphere was like nothing else. It’s true what reviewers say: his gigs are more like religious rallies than pop concerts. He was on great form (“Tony Blair should be hanged,
then tried”). And we got a little salute for being the only people with banners (although I suspect it was more an “okay, I’ve seen it - stop embarrassing us
both”). All night, all over Manchester, there were gangs of people singing Smiths classics and waving bunches of daffs round. I then nearly suffered a coronary at an afterparty when the most remarkable lookalike I’ve ever seen sauntered in. I was drunk and so shameless, so I tried out the little-known ‘Let Me Kiss You’-line on him. With success!
What is the most embarrassing CD in your collection?
Everyone laughs because I have Nelly Furtado and Sugababes’ first couple of albums, but they both used to be quality. I also have several Take That CDs, but I feel no shame!
What was the last album that you bought?
Echo & The Bunnymen - Ocean Rain. Echo are my new discovery. I can’t get enough.
Is there a band or artist that you cannot stand, why?
U2. Because they're shit. They were shit 20 years ago, and as everything they do sounds exactly the same, they're still shit now. Bono also makes my piss boil. "Would you deny for others what you demand for yourself?". No. I think
everybody should be able to fly their favourite hat first class around the world.
What are the 5 (only 5) albums that you would bring if you were going to be stuck on a deserted island?
The Smiths - Meat Is Murder
Echo & The Bunnymen - Songs To Learn and Sing
The Cure - Disintegration
Joy Division - Unknown Pleasures
Morrissey - Your Arsenal
Recommend an album to the KR gang and tell us why we need to hear this album.
‘Rank’ by The Smiths. It’s a live recording and it really brings a lot of them to life - songs you’ve probably barely noticed before. For example, I’d always thought ‘Still Ill’ was a bit dry as an album track, but the ‘Rank’ version is heartbreaking. In fact, the first time I heard it, I was stupidly drunk and was reduced to snivelling because he just. Sounds. So.
Sad.! It's really beautiful.
