Damian Morgan
What was it like consulting with Morrissey over the 'Rank' album cover?

Ian Tilton
Myself and a journalist (John Naughton, now at Empire Magazine) went around to his flat in Altrincham. It was a beautiful flat, with huge pictures of James Dean everywhere. On a coffee table in the centre of the room was a stack of books about Dean, arranged in an odd way, I thought; in circles, like a three tiered wedding cake, with large books at the bottom and smaller ones at the top. The fact that Morrissey had arranged them this way struck me as very different. Anyway, we spent a short amount of time choosing the correct shot to use for 'Rank'. Morrissey asked my opinion, but the final choice was his. He placed great importance on aesthetics, and art, and had very definite ideas on the way things should look.

Another example of this was when John (Naughton) rather cheekily asked Morrissey if he would sign some posters he had brought along. Morrissey agreed without question. He opened a drawer to reveal an array of pastel pencils in subtle colours, and studied the posters for a while, carefully choosing which pencil to use to sign his name. His attention to detail was and is admirable.