The Telegraph / James Hall: "Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’" (September 9, 2024)

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

https://archive.is/J2hBl - no paywall.

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Related items:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "What has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers? - media request" - September 2, 2024
• The Times / Will Hodgkinson: "Morrissey says he is being censored. He isn’t" (September 10, 2024)

 

[Redacted]

Ironic that he would say his whole life relies on free speech when he tried to gag this entire website

 

[Redacted]

Is there any evidence for this claim?

The reason for Bonfire of Teenagers’ delay is remarkably clear. The album’s title track is about the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, when a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 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”, which appears to be a comment on the British justice system (the bomber Salman Abedi died on the night).

 

[Famous when dead]

Is there any evidence for this claim?

The reason for Bonfire of Teenagers’ delay is remarkably clear. The album’s title track is about the 2017 Manchester Arena terror attack, when a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 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”, which appears to be a comment on the British justice system (the bomber Salman Abedi died on the night).

Well, as nobody here was really quoted and Morrissey chimed in himself, it won't matter about any previous discussion around the topic to the contrary. I still don't believe an album would be viable if it was so provocative in nature that the press went off on one - to then leave it for half a year and still say they want to release it. The one intervening factor from a third party was the Miley situation - which makes more sense given him wanting Veronica as the first single. The fact it came from somewhere that wasn't Capitol or Morrissey gives it more credence in my book - which then looks more like sour grapes for not getting what he wanted rather than any execs waiting 6 months post-furore to want a title song removed completely from BOT.
A fact that was never, ever mentioned until today - despite many, many posts about Capitol and what they were doing.
I also find it odd that the surviving brother (Hashem Abedi) isn't mentioned and the dead one is as that is the 'remarkably clear' focus of the 'go easy on the killer' / court aspect of the song. It's hard to go easy on someone blown to smithereens.
Regards,
FWD.

 

[Redacted]

Well, as nobody here was really quoted and Morrissey chimed in himself, it won't matter about any previous discussion around the topic to the contrary. I still don't believe an album would be viable if it was so provocative in nature that the press went off on one - to then leave it for half a year and still say they want to release it. The one intervening factor from a third party was the Miley situation - which makes more sense given him wanting Veronica as the first single. The fact it came from somewhere that wasn't Capitol or Morrissey gives it more credence in my book - which then looks more like sour grapes for not getting what he wanted rather than any execs waiting 6 months post-furore to want a title song removed completely from BOT.
A fact that was never, ever mentioned until today - despite many, many posts about Capitol and what they were doing.
I also find it odd that the surviving brother (Hashem Abedi) isn't mentioned and the dead one is as that is the 'remarkably clear' focus of the 'go easy on the killer' / court aspect of the song. It's hard to go easy on someone blown to smithereens.
Regards,
FWD.

Thank you for this well thought out and well informed respomse. I agree.
I also wonder why he spent all that time blaming Michelle Jubilerer when he now claims another exec was at fault. as well as some alleged Arianna Grande connections through the record company.

 

[Trevelbond]

Well, quite. It's hard to claim you are 'gagged', when you own the recording, and have enough money to issue the record yourself, or at least lower your standards to sign with a smaller label. Major record labels don't owe Morrissey a deal, and they don't have to put out his records if they don't want to. But his ego seemingly won't allow him to go back to somewhere like Rough Trade, so he'd rather
just leave it unreleased and moan about it.

Indeed. What could prove the point better than making a boatload of cash without a meddling and restrictive record label? Have some confidence in the product and make a fortune, if you can. Morrissey wants to say the right wing things, but he is unwilling to face what so many already have. If you're going to take on the establishment, prepare for consequences. When you are de-platformed you have to make your own platform. Fox News fires Tucker? Tucker makes his own way. Time for Moz to grow a pair and do the same.

He's still my favorite living artist, but he needs to wake up and smell the ashes. The bridge is crossed, so stand and watch it burn - you've passed the point of no return. Apologies to Andrew Lloyd Weber.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

View attachment 110887

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

View attachment 110884

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

https://archive.is/J2hBl - no paywall.

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

www.telegraph.co.uk

---

Related item:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "What has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers? - media request" - September 2, 2024

I stupidly got really excited when I woke up to see the article I thought feck yeah M is going cone out fighting and I was ready to avoid reality and live in M world again
But there comes a stage when you just can not do it anymore .

I actually find reading M painful .These days , have done since around 2008 onward it was way harder and more painful after 2016. I thought it was Fiona that made me feel that , it’s fecking not it’s M himself . He is mentally ill at this point, if he thinks the majority of Brits give one fecking wank about him
I don’t say that with pride , he acts like has Liam Gallagher like worship and he just doesn’t , he hasn’t been able to turn the world on like that since the 90: ended , quarry was a blip based on a number of things 80s revival some and some good PR
Plus some still were blinded by the myth

Now people can say well it was his late 40s he lost it, but then he was getting Old
But Liam is over 59 he looks way younger than M did at 50 and he sells way more tickets . The reason is Liam is still in touch with Britain and how it ticks. M was so busy trying to be edgy and one up , he lost the plot Poor guy , Does he even know how Trump like he is ? The whole fecking “ they all say it’s a masterpiece,” is pure Trump
I heard , the lp in NY and it was good but not a masterpiece. ( then again I can’t remember much )
I said it before , the way this year has gone in the UK , with Labour being the wankstains they are , is his best bet to release it . Now is the fecking time now is the fecking perfect time to release it , with labour calling most working class right ring . Chances are he made just pull it off

 

[marred]

I stupidly got really excited when I woke up to see the article I thought feck yeah M is going cone out fighting and I was ready to avoid reality and live in M world again
But there comes a stage when you just can not do it anymore .

I actually find reading M painful .These days , have done since around 2008 onward it was way harder and more painful after 2016. I thought it was Fiona that made me feel that , it’s fecking not it’s M himself . He is mentally ill at this point, if he thinks the majority of Brits give one fecking wank about him
I don’t say that with pride , he acts like has Liam Gallagher like worship and he just doesn’t , he hasn’t been able to turn the world on like that since the 90: ended , quarry was a blip based on a number of things 80s revival some and some good PR
Plus some still were blinded by the myth

Now people can say well it was his late 40s he lost it, but then he was getting Old
But Liam is over 59 he looks way younger than M did at 50 and he sells way more tickets . The reason is Liam is still in touch with Britain and how it ticks. M was so busy trying to be edgy and one up , he lost the plot Poor guy , Does he even know how Trump like he is ? The whole fecking “ they all say it’s a masterpiece,” is pure Trump
I heard , the lp in NY and it was good but not a masterpiece. ( then again I can’t remember much )
I said it before , the way this year has gone in the UK , with Labour being the wankstains they are , is his best bet to release it . Now is the fecking time now is the fecking perfect time to release it , with labour calling most working class right ring . Chances are he made just pull it off

Who is this Liam guy who's 59? If it's Liam Gallagher you're talking about, he's 52, well almost 52.

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

A

Kind words from Billy Duffy. That is how you do it.

Agreed

 

[The Tormentor]

Well, as nobody here was really quoted and Morrissey chimed in himself, it won't matter about any previous discussion around the topic to the contrary. I still don't believe an album would be viable if it was so provocative in nature that the press went off on one - to then leave it for half a year and still say they want to release it. The one intervening factor from a third party was the Miley situation - which makes more sense given him wanting Veronica as the first single. The fact it came from somewhere that wasn't Capitol or Morrissey gives it more credence in my book - which then looks more like sour grapes for not getting what he wanted rather than any execs waiting 6 months post-furore to want a title song removed completely from BOT.
A fact that was never, ever mentioned until today - despite many, many posts about Capitol and what they were doing.
I also find it odd that the surviving brother (Hashem Abedi) isn't mentioned and the dead one is as that is the 'remarkably clear' focus of the 'go easy on the killer' / court aspect of the song. It's hard to go easy on someone blown to smithereens.
Regards,
FWD.

Go easy on the killer!!!!?? Well it seems to me he's refering to the lack of hatred/notoriety/condemnation of the bomber murderer. Someone doing something so terrible usually goes down in history and their name synonymous with the atrocity. In this case it hasn't. I doubt despite the horrific tragedy of the killings most folk could name the killer???

 

[Southport Grandma]

I was thinking along similar lines. Matt Johnson isn't fond of being described as 'political' in his lyrics but he certainly writes/sings what he thinks and holds up a mirror to life as it is led. Nobody (as far as I know) is hellbent on silencing him or his releases. Matt hasn't spent the last x years going on about how his new album is a masterpiece. He just released it. To public and critical acclaim. And is touring it with no distracting drama.

The album hasn’t been finished all that long and Matt Johnson does not want to be on a major label after bad experiences previously.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

What an awful misfire this interview was. He just can’t do anything right these days.

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Still moaning about him then............and still here.

I think we all come on with the hope of some sign of the old M but there hasn’t been a peep for fecking years . At this point . M was always a whiner but that was just part of him . It’s like all the worst parts of his personality are the only things left . The good writing gone , the style gone , the brilliant wit gone . M talks of idiot culture when he looks like the biggest idiot with in modern culture these days. His idiocy is his complete lack of awareness . for how deluded he comes over , how wrong he is on so many different points
I have said I think it was a huge mistake M not getting back with Johnny in 2008 , instead he got milked by leaches and is a husk of what he was .
It didn’t have to go this way mete

He should now just get on with releasing new music himself. If he thinks the sign of being intelligent is not having a record released , then he really is a fool . Any old fool can go around not releasing records . Feck me ginger . There is loads of good music getting released . Maybe people thinks there are better records than Rebel without Applause , not to mention the dismal Notre Dame .
Then again as I say , now with Labour being in power , it’s a great time to release the record . He would be very on point ,

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

View attachment 110884

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

https://archive.is/J2hBl - no paywall.

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

www.telegraph.co.uk

---

Related item:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "What has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers? - media request" - September 2, 2024

Also that picture of M is fecking awful , he looks like Les Dennis

 

[SeniorLife]

View attachment 110884

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

https://archive.is/J2hBl - no paywall.

Morrissey: ‘My whole life has relied on free speech – naturally, I’m gagged’

The forthright singer’s ‘masterpiece’ Bonfire of Teenagers was finished in 2021. He reveals the ‘idiot culture’ blocking its release

www.telegraph.co.uk

---

Related item:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "What has happened to Bonfire of Teenagers? - media request" - September 2

Incredible music and wonderful concerts attended, etc. etc. etc., gratefully, for 35+ years, now.

With that being said, there always seems to be three dominant themes:

Money, Ego, Victim Mentality (in no particular order).

 

[Redacted]

With all this talk about free speech and how it's being infringed up at frightening levels in the UK and Kamala Harris saying if she becomes president, she will make sure twitter doesn't exist anymore because it's gotten more permissive, along with the recent disclosure by Mark Zuckerberg that he was pressured by the Biden administration and gave into it about COVID information - I think we should stop and think about how lucky we are to have this website. We can come here and say just about anything we want without fear of repercussion. That is no small thing. Thank you to David and FWD and everyone else who makes this site what it is.

 

[Anonymous]

Many of us know Moz well enough to know that the song Bonfire has much to do with his jealousy of "Look Back In Anger" and the "silly" people, as he calls them, who chose to sing it in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing. Moz is a jealous God. Where would he be today if he hadn't written that open letter to Marr, and ridiculed Oasis fans, and by extension the Gallagher brothers themselves.
Neither very savvy moves.

 

[Dorothy]

Some cringeworthy statements - “Controversial means intelligent, doesn’t it?" - no, very often not the case. And “Every major label in London has refused Bonfire of Teenagers whilst also admitting that it is a masterpiece” - have they really?
But I agree with the sentiment behind the "#BeKind crew” – a social media movement promoting empathy – “who will smash your face in if you disagree with them.”
Thank goodness for the Five goes to Smugglers Top comment - he still has his humour. Also I wish he had explained the reason behind why he won't self-release.

 

[BookishBoy]

Also that picture of M is fecking awful , he looks like Les Dennis

Ha! He's also got something of John Cleese about him, these days - something about the eyes.

 

[Mozscofflaw]

So the entirety of the global music industry refuses to release BOT because of the title track?? There are records released every day that offend the easily offended yet Morrissey's lp is somehow beyond the pale? More so than acts like GG Allin, Anal c*** and Skrewdriver? Who all found a label willing to release their conventionally offensive records. I've been checking this site everyday for nearly four years in the vain pointless hope of seeing a release date for a new Morrissey record. No more