"Do I look like Ken Dodd?" - Moz

11 February 2009 - Morrissey played tracks from his forthcoming new album at the BBC Radio Theatre in London's Broadcasting House this evening, to a crowd of competition winners, hardcore fans and those lucky BBC staff who managed to wangle a ticket - which were like gold dust.

Well, what do you expect when you have Morrissey up close and personal in such an intimate venue, with such fantastic sound.

As host Mark Radcliffe called it: "The art deco spleen in the Rococo intestines of Broadcasting House."

Recent Radio Theatre shows include Radiohead, REM and - ah hem - Take That. None of which this reporter has been able to get into. This time however, I wrestled fellow members of the 6 music news team to the floor for my ticket as I wasn't going to miss out.

Kicking off proceedings with footage screened onto the stage backdrop, that has become customary at Morrissey gigs of late including Shocking Blue videos, New York Dolls live on a German TV station, pictures of unfortunate glam-rocker Jo Braith and a very old Anthony Newley film - the one with the ballerina."This is like An Audience With... but do I look like Ken Dodd?"  - MorrisseyMorrissey saunters onstage bang on 9pm - this is going out live on Radio 2 - in a pink shirt and jeans, and with a casual "Welcome to our soiree" launches into Something Is Squeezing My Skull from Years of Refusal and it's a stormer.

It's the beginning of a night that showcases new tracks of what Radcliffe calls: "A genuinely terrific new album" with the Little Drummer Boy-style drumming on Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed and the melancholy rumble of One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell, the new album sounds fantastic.

But before even this dedicated audience can become distracted by too much new material, Morrissey says: "Some songs for those who couldn't, shouldn't and musn't" before racing through This Charming Man, a track which 6 music news' Matt Everitt, who was sitting next to me, called the 'Lust For Life version,' which it was, quite literally.

Current single Throwing My Arms Around Paris had the crowd on it's feet aswell as That's How People Grow Up and The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores.

Tonight's audience are hardened fans and as a reward for their dedication, Moz treated them to Seasick, Yet Still Docked from Your Arsenal and a truly beautiful version of Why Don't You Find Out For Yourself from Vauxhall and I.

With a quick plug of the reissue of his fifth solo album from 1995, Southpaw Grammar, which is due out in April, Morrissey also treated these fans to a version of Reader Meets Author - which one guy raved about to me afterwards with a tear in his eye.

An emotional night for this crowd with Morrissey looking and sounding as good as ever. Dry, funny and quite sweaty - as he sings in Something Is Squeezing My Skull: "It's a miracle I've made it this far" - we are thankful Morrissey...

Ruth Barnes