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Fact #158545

When:

Short story:

Many viewers are appalled when Morrissey of The Smiths appears on weekly UK music show Top Of The Pops wearing a deaf aid, which he does not need, while singing What Difference Does It Make? He later reveals that he had worn it to show solidarity with a deaf fan of the band.

Full article:

Morrissey : A fan wrote to me, telling me that she was deaf and felt very depressed about her handicap. At that time, we’d released What Difference Does It Make? Which is all about appearance making no difference to you.

Dave Harper (press officer, Rough Trade) : 'I want a hearing aid. Can you get me a hearing aid?' It's not a reasonable request particularly. I got it from a hearing aid shop in the West End somewhere; a display model. I said, 'We represent a famous pop star and he's going to be on Top Of The Pops and would like to wear a hearing aid.' And they're going, 'Well, he's not taking the piss out of the deaf, is he?' And I went into a long ramble about Johnnie Ray and how it was a nod to something or other. I think we were supposed to give it back, actually.

Morrissey : I thought it would be a nice gesture to wear the hearing aid on Top Of The Pops to show the fan that deafness shouldn’t be some sort of stigma that you try to hide. Basically, I was trying to give her a bit of confidence in herself.
(Source : not known)