"Tissue please! We have a weeper!"

When I went to high school there were three girls who were massively into New Kids On The Block. They were always together, always the same formation, a bit like the Supremes or destinys child! The blonde cool one in the middle and the two quieter ones on either side.
They walked around with pins on their black box jackets, ripped jeans that had been stitched with NKOTB patches. They thought they were the coolest gang ever.
I remember at a houseparty at one of the girls once, I walked into her bedroom by mistake and saw a shrine to Jordan. She had candles that she had written Jordan on in red and posters and clippings e.v.e.r.y.w.h.e.r.e. And when I later went to the bathroom I wasn't surprised to find the toothbrush cup filled with brushes of the make Jordan.
Needless to say, our friends and I didn't understand the obsession. How one could actually start crying as soon as Hang tough played on the radio, fainting at concerts? We just thought they were slightly mental and totally immature.

I've had lots of musical heroes during my teens and twenties. The first one was probably Joey Tempest from Europe (I was about 13 so don't hold it against me)
Later on my musical horizons widened and Joey was quickly replaced by Jason Falkner, Neil Young, Bob Dylan to mention a few, and over the years I've been to countless memorable concerts and gigs. Although never crying hysterically like the girls from high school.
And then along came Morrissey.

The first time i heard the Smiths was at my best friend's boyfriend's flat. We had been been drinking homemade wine that tasted like tar, hanging out on the balcony looking over the local bus station. It wasn't the most romantic setting for what then happened to be one of the most memorable evenings of my life.
I was around 14, filled with teenage angst, and then Girlfriend In A Coma came pouring out of the stereo.
That was it. From then on The Smiths and Morrissey came with me wherever I went and has outlived many other musical heroes I had in the past.

Last night I went to see Morrissey. And somewhere between Morrissey coming onto the stage and the first chord of "This charming man" was belted out to the screaming crowd, I started crying. Big tears rolling down my cheeks. And I couldn't stop. I cried throughout the whole concert, and when he started Girlfriend In A Coma, my friend Anna thought I was going to have a meltdown. It had caught me by surprise. "Me? Crying at a concert? yeah, right!"

I woke up today thinking about those three girls back in high school, and how I completely dimissed them for crying all the time..
And last night it was my turn to feel so happy that tears started rolling. Turns out, it has nothing to do with how old/young/mature you are. It's just feelings, and they don't have an age limit.