Speaking to The Telegraph, Morrissey argues that his whole life has relied on free speech and discusses moves to block the release of his album ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’.
Discussing his album, Morrissey reflects: “It is almost four years old now. The madly insane efforts to silence the album are somehow indications of its power.” He continues: “Otherwise, who would bother to get so overheated about an inconspicuous recluse?”
“The album” in question is Bonfire of Teenagers, the former Smiths singer’s 14th solo album. Although it was completed when Britain was emerging from its third Covid lockdown, it has yet to be released. The seemingly lost album was set to feature contributions from Iggy Pop, half of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and even Tennessee pop superstar Miley Cyrus.
The album’s title track references the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, when a suicide bomber killed 22 people, injuring over a thousand more after a concert by American pop star Ariana Grande. Morrissey sings of a fan being “vapourised” and the song ends with an unsettling repeated coda to “Go easy on the killer” – an implicit critique of the British justice system.
Online debates rage over whether the ballad represents moving storytelling or crass clickbait have been ongoing since its live debut, filmed in 2022. Morrisey had previously released a song contemplating the Moors murders.
“Controversial means intelligent, doesn’t it? We are still in the grip of Idiot Culture, it’s everywhere you look. Naturally I’m one of the first to be gagged since my entire life has relied on free speech,” he tells The Telegraph. “No, I wouldn’t remove the title song because I wouldn’t abandon the murdered kids of Manchester. Their spirits cry out every single day for remembrance and recognition.”
Morrisey also refuses to contemplate self-releasing the album.
In the title track, Morrissey attacks Mancunians’ adoption of Oasis’s Don’t Look Back in Anger as an anthem of solidarity as they mourned. “And the morons sing and sway: ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’, I can assure you I will look back in anger ’til the day I die,” he sings.
He suggests the song operated to under play the severity of the tragedy. According to Morrisey, “the Manchester Arena bombing was our 9/11. But, in this sad country of ours, to understand the full meaning of the attack is to be guilty, and this is why the ‘don’t look back in anger’ command always struck me as derisive and not at all words of social harmony.”
Morrissey is determined not to change anything about t. “Once you edit yourself or self-censor then the idiots have won. There is no arts media anymore in England, therefore there’s no one to whom I can sit and talk about this. The fact is, genuine artists in England are now being held hostage by people who object to any manner of alternative opinion,” he says. “The biggest monsters are the #BeKind crew” – a social media movement promoting empathy – “who will smash your face in if you disagree with them.”
“Every major label in London has refused Bonfire of Teenagers whilst also admitting that it is a masterpiece,” Morrissey says. “And although there is nothing insulting or antagonistic in the title track, label bosses say they are worried that The Guardian would make their lives hell if they supported any such social awareness.” Morrissey has a long-running feud with The Guardian, previously claiming he was the victim of an “inexhaustible hate campaign” after it ran a piece outlining fan betrayal at his myriad of controversial comments.
After announcing Bonfire of Teenagers in 2021, Morrissey admitted that he didn’t have a record deal – he had been dropped by BMG in 2020. After Morrisey wrote that the album was “available to the highest (or lowest) bidder,” Capitol Records, part of the world’s biggest label Universal Music Group announced a February 2023 release date in all global territories bar the UK.
However, in late 2022, Morrissey announced that Capitol was no longer scheduling a February 2023 release. Later, that Christmas, Morrissey announced that he’d “voluntarily” parted company with his management team and Capitol. He also said that Cyrus had asked for her backing vocals to be removed from her track I Am Veronica.
Weeks later, Morrissey said that Capitol wouldn’t be releasing Bonfire at all. Nonetheless, it was “holding on to” the album all the same.
His website proclaimed: “Morrissey has said that although he does not believe that Capitol Records in Los Angeles signed Bonfire of Teenagers in order to sabotage it, he is quickly coming around to that belief.”
After critiquing his labels prioritisation of Sam Smith’s “satanism” and levelling accusations of foul play against music industry bosses, there are now signs the album may be released.
In April, Morrisey bought Bonfire of Teenagers back from Capitol. In June he told fans: “For those of you 85 and over who are still waiting for Bonfire of Teenagers to be released, good news is finally within our grasp”. While the album is set to be released soon, Morrisey is still unsigned.
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