Pop-up shoppers of the world unite as Morrissey store opens in New York

Morrissey - 'World Peace Is None Of Your Business.

Telephost - Fans stock up on T-shirts and dog bandannas before eagerly awaited Brooklyn gig as Mporium, last seen in Manchester, raises funds for animal shelter.

Lovers of Morrissey, animals and merchandise were treated to an exhibition of all three on Saturday, as the singer hosted a pop-up store at the Sugar Mutts animal shelter in New York.

Morrissey announced details of the store, which is selling limited edition T-shirts, posters and dog apparel, on Facebook. He wasn’t actually manning the “Mporium”, but that didn’t stop people lining up outside.

Matt Gross, 35, had been there since 8am, two hours before opening time. “I’m a pit bull advocate and I also volunteer at a shelter,” he said. “So I feel like this is tailor made for me.”

Gross, who said he had two Morrissey tattoos, was due to see the former Smiths singer at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn on Saturday night. He emerged from Sugar Mutts with a dog-sweater bearing the legend “Be kind to Morrissey or I’ll kill you” and a human-T-shirt that said: “All over Brooklyn some hope and some despair”.

The T-shirt carried a picture of Morrissey with a dog superimposed over his face, and a cat superimposed over the dog’s face.

Morrissey is donating a percentage of sales from the Mporium to Sugar Mutts, which rescues dogs from “high-kill shelters”. His representatives approached the shelter ahead of his New York show, having held a similar pop-up in Manchester in August. By happy coincidence, Amy Marciano, the founder of the shelter, turned out to be a longtime Morrissey enthusiast.

“I was a fan ever since I was a teenager,” she said. “I had Morrissey all over my walls in high school. I love his ethics and his quirky personality. I’ve always loved his music, of course, so I was just thrilled.”

Marciano said she regularly plays Morrissey’s music in the shelter. It is “perfect for dogs”, she said, “because it’s that great mix of upbeat alternative rock’n’roll and melancholy introspection. It’s a good mix.”