A collection of previously unseen letters written by Morrissey as a teenager, in which he predicted that he would become a “rock ’n’ roll star”, is going up for auction.
The archive comprises hundreds of handwritten pages sent by the future Smiths frontman to his Birmingham pen pal Simon Pitt between 1974 and 1979, when Morrissey was aged between 14 and 20.
Titled Before The Smiths: The Morrissey Letters, the collection is being offered across 65 lots by Dawsons Auctioneers on August 26, with a combined estimate of more than £22,000. See further details here.
The earliest surviving letter was written in March 1974, when Morrissey was just 14. In it, he declared: “My ambition is to be a rock ’n’ roll star or an actor, or a writer.”
It is accompanied by Pitt’s original pen-pal application, which Morrissey later annotated with the words: “And to think it all started here.” The lot is expected to fetch between £300 and £500.
Another early letter features the characteristically confident statement: “I always said I was a genius, but nobody listened.” That lot, which also includes Morrissey’s account of an unsuccessful job application to Disc magazine, has been valued at between £400 and £600.
The letters chart Morrissey’s development from a music-obsessed schoolboy into an aspiring performer during a pivotal period in Manchester’s musical history.
He wrote about attending both of the Sex Pistols’ legendary 1976 shows at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, before dramatically reversing his initial support for the group. “As for the Pistols… they were pathetic,” he wrote. “I take back all that I’ve said about the Pistols… They are just plain bad. Period.”
The archive also contains Morrissey’s recollections of meeting Patti Smith, Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, as well as visiting New York’s CBGB and unsuccessfully attempting to join The Clash before they found fame.
In one missive, he claimed that guitarist Mick Jones recognised him from the numerous letters he had sent to the music press. The document, which also discusses the emerging punk scene and Morrissey’s encounters with members of the Sex Pistols, is expected to sell for between £300 and £400.
Another section captures his excitement at becoming the vocalist of Manchester punk group The Nosebleeds, marking his first experience as a band frontman. “I’m in showbusiness!” Morrissey wrote. “I’ll spring on this unsuspecting world yet!”
Weeks later, he was already anticipating greater success, adding: “One thing I won’t do is record for the sake of it… I’m all set for superstardom. But then, I’ve always been a star, haven’t I?”
Among the highest-valued lots is a five-page letter from 1977 containing the only known photograph of Morrissey in the archive. Underneath a passport image, he wrote: “Poseurs of the world unite! S.M. in the UK 1977. Or, if your glasses don’t fit then why should your face?”
The letter also contains his thoughts on Blondie, Patti Smith, the Ramones and the Sex Pistols, alongside an eyewitness account of the Ramones’ concert at Manchester’s Electric Circus. It carries an estimate of £1,000 to £1,500.
Following Margaret Thatcher’s 1979 general election victory, he asked Pitt: “Did you vote? Labour, I hope? God knows what tortures that miserable Thatcher has prepared for us woikin’ class folk. I dread to fink.”
The final surviving letter finds Morrissey abandoning plans to study A-level English after receiving an offer from an unnamed group. “A group in London asked me to join them,” he wrote. “They have a recording contract and all that rubbish.”
That letter marks the conclusion of five years of correspondence, three years before Morrissey met Johnny Marr and formed The Smiths in Manchester in 1982.
Pitt preserved the letters for more than four decades. He went on to become a poet, storyteller and performer, serving as Birmingham’s Poet Laureate in 2000. He died in 2025.
Peter Mason, auctioneer and senior valuer at Dawsons, described the archive as an “exceptionally rare” account of Morrissey’s formative years.
“What struck me most was just how funny Morrissey is,” he said. “Running through almost every letter is a wonderful sense of humour and genuine warmth that makes him an incredibly endearing character.”
He continued: “Alongside the wit and unmistakable literary voice that would later become synonymous with Morrissey, the correspondence also captures Britain at a fascinating moment in its cultural history.”
Before The Smiths: The Morrissey Letters will go under the hammer in an online sale on August 26.
Morrissey released his 14th solo album, ‘Make-Up Is A Lie’, in March, marking his first new record in six years. It reached Number Three on the UK Albums Chart.
Earlier this month, he criticised the BBC for not playing his single ‘Notre-Dame’, after the track reached Number Six on the Official Singles Sales Chart. “The public wants to hear the song, but the BBC will not play it,” he wrote, before claiming that “diversity is a lie”.
He is currently touring Europe in support of ‘Make-Up Is A Lie’ and is due to return to the UK for five arena shows in December, visiting Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow and Leeds.
Morrissey also recently launched another attack on his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr, accusing him of dividing the group’s audience into “factions” over an upcoming BBC documentary.
