Places

What might raise an eyebrow is exactly how they have decided to help. Led by organisers Phill Gatenby and Ruth Martin, a bunch of Smiths fans will be taking a sponsored bike ride round some of the landmarks mentioned by Morrissey in his lyrics, as Ruth explained to BBC Radio Manchester’s Terry Christian.

"We’re going to be passing by Morrissey’s old house on Kings Road in Stretford, then we’re going to the cemetery gates on the cemetery in Chorlton, down to Holy Name Church on Oxford Road, up to Manchester Ritz, but we start and finish at the Lads Club. There’s going to be events on at the Club afterwards to welcome us home."

Ruth Martin at Salford Lads Club (c) Marc Provins

The idea for the bike ride comes from a Smiths video, for Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, which saw Morrissey leading a group of teenage lookalikes on a cycle around Manchester and Salford, though, as Ruth points out, even the crime itself has a Smiths link.

"It’s weird because they were lifting the lead of the roof of the Holy Name Church in the song Vicar In A Tutu, and now that’s what has happened to the Lads Club."

Those fans wanting to get involved with the ride can do so by making a £5 entry donation at the Salford Lads Club website, and while everyone is welcome, it’s worth remembering that it is quite a distance to cycle, as Ruth found out.

"I just did the Whalley Range to Ordsall leg for the photo shoot on my bike outside the Lads Club and that killed me, so I’m going to get in training now."

Bigmouth Bikes Again takes place on Sunday 30 September.