MORRISSEY SPEAKS
An Exclusive Interview With Fiona Dodwell
Morrissey is an artist that people talk about — a lot. From celebrities and fellow musicians to literary giants and politicians, many have been interviewed and asked to give their take on the Mancunian legend who has been creating music for a staggering 40 years. What do they think of his music? What do they think of his political leanings? Why do they think he has been so maligned by the press? Yet it’s not often that Morrissey himself speaks up. The irony is that the singer who has been previously mocked by “Bigmouth Strikes Again” headlines is that he is no bigmouth at all, and often maintains a dignified silence in the press.
This quality has always intrigued me. His detractors have so much to say, and yet Morrissey himself is rarely heard. We are hammered over the head with people’s opinions of him, more than anything. And the more feeble-minded among us let their opinions be shaped by distorted media narratives from lazy, copy and paste journalists with an axe-to-grind. I wanted to sit and talk to the man himself, and explore his own ideas and beliefs about how this situation has evolved.
As we approach the end of 2024, Morrissey’s fans still await news on the as-yet unreleased albums he has recorded in recent years. “There are two albums, as you know,” he explains. “The second one was re-recorded in France in late 2023, and given a new title. We scrapped half of the tracks and we recorded six new ones, and so it is not the album from the beginning of 2023.” It’s certainly a perplexing situation for many, for the singer has been a hugely successful recording and touring artist for over four decades now. He still draws in the crowds; he has an army of devotees the world over who follow him from gig-to-gig and buy every release, in every format available. Morrissey is still going strong, and yet the music industry keep turning him away.
Primarily, I wanted to know the reason his new titles remain unreleased, the first of which (Bonfire of Teenagers) had a planned release as far back as the summer of 2021. “Labels say that they are both fantastic high quality pop albums,” Morrissey says proudly, “but they say that they can’t release them because they don’t want the wrath of The Guardian making their lives hell. The harassment campaign against me by The Guardian is worldwide knowledge now, and it is effective in the sense that labels do not want to become involved with this Gotcha! Journalism.”
‘What do you mean by ‘Gotcha journalism?’ I ask.’ “It is a form of very annoying student politics where certain publications choose their enemies and they then decide that everything that is said by Morrissey, or whoever, must look like a problem. For this reason alone I am somewhat blacklisted in England.”
Morrissey then added a somewhat poignant and candid anecdote about the topic. “I think it was early 2020 when my mother heard a Radio 4 interview with the editor of The Guardian in which the editor said “we have a big problem in the U.K. with harassment,” and my mother screamed at the radio: “Yes! created by YOU!”
This seems to be an unfolding problem, and we are seeing in live-time the impact that cancel culture and the lockdown on free speech is having. Being an artist who is a proponent of free speech seems to have come at a cost for the singer. “The problem is that I have always been an exponent of free speech. I can’t actually speak any other way. But now that free speech has been criminalized throughout England and Ireland the people who rely on it are being shut down…”
He pauses, as if trying to find the words with which to measure the situation. “To be cancelled is the modern version of lynching, isn’t it?” Morrissey puts to me. “And behind the scenes, your livelihood, your ability to survive, your relationships with whomever you work with, are all quietly attacked so that you can no longer function. There hasn’t ever been a proper study of the extent of cancel culture and how deeply and viciously it goes. It is not a dramatic exaggeration to say that people who are cancelled are privately pushed to the point of suicide” says the singer. And he should know, having faced unrelenting attacks for over a decade, for little more than expressing an opinion. “And for what?” he continues, “in the hope that the entire country loves the same music, the same books, the same comedy, the same politics, the same films? This can never happen! ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’ is the modern version of ‘The Queen is Dead’, but the fact that no label will release it is an indication of how childlike and frightened the music industry has become.”
Over recent years, it would be impossible not to notice how the press marginalise anyone who they disagree with or who they deem to be too outspoken. Morrissey’s fans have witnessed first-hand how the press have attached to him all manner of damaging labels. “The easiest way to get rid of any open-minded voices is to call them racist because the accusation alone sticks forever even if it could be successfully argued against. Just the initial use of that word is a swift death for your opponent who, of course, must not get any opportunity to reply or to justify their position. Thus, in music, only the fluffheads can survive because they are obedient. Those of us who have our own minds must be ridiculed off the map.”
It hasn’t just been the unreleased Morrissey albums or press attacks that have caused a stir: the recent news that Morrissey had been open to a Smiths reunion with Marr captivated almost everyone when it made headlines several weeks back. The idea of Morrissey and Marr sharing the same stage seemed so unlikely and yet here was the singer himself saying he had been open to the idea of it. I asked Morrissey about this. Was he really keen on sharing a stage with the guitarist again? “I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible. We’ve all begun to grow old. I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime. It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”
And so there was the topic that I knew many fans would be curious about. The idea of Morrissey working with the Smiths guitarist in 2024. I asked him how he viewed Marr and he pulled no punches in his reply. “He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s. But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion. He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles. Is this hypocrisy or self-deception? He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr, and I’ve had just about enough of his bitchslap comments. I’ve quietly put up with them for over thirty years.”
It is clear, in speaking to Morrissey, that however proud he is of his legacy with The Smiths, it is his thirty-five year solo career which lights him up and continues to excite the singer. “As for me, whatever time I have left is now quite limited, but I absolutely love the musical career that I have made without Marr’s involvement. Music really is the last thing that brings people together, and if you enjoy music then you enjoy life.” That is hard to argue with. Great music, beautiful art, stands far beyond human relationships and drama, and it seems that Morrissey knows this truth deeply. That he would have been willing to step outside of any tension to bring joy to the fans of The Smiths speaks volumes.
Being an artist who has experienced such difficulties with the mainstream press, I asked Morrissey if there was an artist he felt a kinship with, someone he felt had gone through something comparable. He wasted no time in answering. “Cliff Richard. Mostly because I understand the terror he endured at the hands of the press who had him executed pre-trial. But also, he had something like sixty hits over five decades yet no radio station would play his music which struck me as unjustifiable because radio is a public service. Five years ago I wrote a song called “Knockabout World” with Cliff Richard in mind. Under such terrible circumstances I think he’s done incredibly well.”
As his legions of fans know, Morrissey has toured regularly with his band over the years. It seems that while the music industry and mainstream press have tried to shun him, it is being onstage that serves as a stark reminder of the artist’s continuing popularity. The love between performer and audience is never more evident than in the live arena. “I have the strongest band and live crew that I’ve ever had in my life,” he says with evident pride. “We are on tour in the U.S. at the moment and it is euphoric. Jesse Tobias has been with me for twenty years. The live experience is still unique and it makes a lot of people very happy.” So how has he found the recent US tour dates? Morrissey’s love of being on stage is evident as he replies. “These recent shows have been euphoric. Little Rock in Arkansas, Birmingham in Alabama, Knoxville in Tennessee, Indianapolis in Indiana … there’s an overwhelming welcome from everyone that seems to recognize the inordinate slander that I’ve endured over recent years. It is baffling to look out at the audience who are trying to get onto the stage when I sing … but at the same time there is no way that I can interest anyone in the music industry.”
It is hard not to circle back to the theme of how Morrissey has been shunned by the press and music industry. His band, fans, friends and inner circle know what he has endured, and it is a sore point — for a reason. The artist has not changed; what made him so revered in the 80’s and 90’s is what makes him great today. The same qualities the press once praised him for are now met with disdain and ridicule. It is the culture of fear and the death of free speech that has changed things. Morrissey is now as he always was. ‘Idiot Culture’ is what the singer describes it as. It seems he has hope, though, despite everything. “I believe Idiot Culture will pass, and we’ll all taste cultural freedom once again. It will be too late for me, but … bones are immortal. I will lie in Pere Lachaise and give the spiritual thumbs up.” [laughs]
Talking to Morrissey, it’s easy to see that his passion for music and touring is still there, as much as it ever was. What, then, keeps him inspired? What is it that keeps him going, I put to him. His answer came quickly. “I don’t think I ever left my post. Which is a paralysing thought! I love the songs, and I brim with school pride if ever I hear them. The solo recordings are my ultimate pride and joy. I can’t ask for anything more from life than those songs. Smiths songs are powerful, but they are rooted in youth, whereas the solo songs address a world beyond Manchester. It had to be that way, somehow. A lot of people, I know, wanted me to remain as a spindle-shanked boy twirling around Manchester… but that would be ridiculous at my age.”
As our conversation came to an end, I felt moved by the singer’s predicament. It has been interesting hearing Morrissey’s own views about how things have been for him over recent years. As one would expect, he does not shy away from tackling the issues with a charming directness. Yet talking about his current situation in 2024, it’s hard not to come away disheartened at how one of music’s greats continues to be treated. Perhaps, like Morrissey said, things will one day change. Until that time, those that celebrate originality, free speech and great art will appreciate him. Maybe that’s all that matters.
Interview by: Fiona Dodwell / Images: Ryan Lowry
