The Times: "Morrissey is back — but here’s why we’ll never see a Smiths reunion" (February 16, 2025)

By Will Hodgkinson.

The controversial singer is touring in June and so is Johnny Marr — but not together. Will Hodgkinson talk to insiders and listens to the best tracks he’s written in years.
(Times typo not ours).

Excerpt:

Is Morrissey really “gagged”, as he has claimed? I contacted dozens of musicians — including the 65-year-old Philip Larkin of rock himself — and industry figures for comment and got either silence, a straight no, or a request to stay off the record: people are scared of Morrissey, scared to be seen to support him, or both. In Seventies Britain it was, “Don’t mention the war.” In 2020s Britain it is, “Don’t mention the Moz.”
“Honestly, I think the way he has been treated is unfair,” says his former manager Pete Galli, who survived nine months of representing one of the most difficult men in pop. “People want artists to be their own people and then react angrily when they are. This is the guy who wrote The Queen Is Dead and Margaret on the Guillotine. True artists have always been controversial. Why is it different today?”

Morrissey is back — but here’s why we’ll never see a Smiths reunion

The singer-songwriter has announced UK dates in June, as has his ex-band mate Johnny Marr. Former Morrissey managers and lifelong fans tell Will Hodgkinson what to expect

www.thetimes.com

 

[trans]

yeah i can imagine hed probably hate most of the side effects

 

[Andy W]

Many artists only gain significant appreciation after their death. I predict that the tidal wave of eulogies and hypocrisy when he's gone will be unbearable.

Stop talking about him dying, he’s only 65 and could potentially outlive a lot of us.

 

[Southpaw Slugger]

That is only really true in the UK, and maybe Germany now though, isn't it? .
Surely Trump has shown in the USA, that cancel culture is dead, DEI is dead. It's a new dawn, The guy who owns FB, went on Rogan and pretty much said, he would not block opinions and censor them anymore.
People had enough, in the USA. The UK though is another story. So many people leaving. The UK now has a new online law which is nasty, you have people getting arrested for tweets and the MSM is locked down. and that's due to the media class being a little tribe mainly is London. You actually got the PM labelling the working class as racist, It's a shit show in the UK . Even King Charles prefers to cuck to Islam, than stick up for the people. The longer you spend time outside the UK
the more you see how unhealthy the UK is, and how much people are controlled. Its why we create good artists, they don't want to engage with real life, so they create art. It's why us fans are so into music, it's an escape from the shit show. The only thing that saved the UK in the 70s, 80s, 90s was music.
I don't think M was ever cancelled though, was he? He still tours, he did have a record contract, he was the one who messed that up. He has been offered other labels, he didn't want them. So how is he cancelled? I think, M saw that he could use cancel culture in his defence, he could use it to make a martyr out of himself, and lots of his fans are so low IQ that they eat it up. So that is what he did. Rather than admit he went all soy boy with Miley he pretended the labels tried to cancel him and change his art. due to him being too "real". It's a great move, as he knows a lot of people will fall for it Its total BS though

Well, I for one very much hope you're right and that there is indeed a new dawn coming. The way I see it, the cancelling can just as well be about feeling forced to self-censor in order to keep your job, your social circle, your family – or your singing career. Moz, who's said from the start he wants to make music that actually means something. The new online law scares the shit out of me to be honest – arrested for a Facebook post ffs! – but I hope people are beginning to wake up. And yes, the music saves us.

 

[Johnny]

What are the chances of tracking down 2 Moz fans who donate to the American Civil Liberties Union every time they buy a Moz ticket ?

 

[Stephen Hofmann]

Morrissey talks about Islam so he has vast support in the conservative media and elsewhere. If he spoke about Jews things would be very very different. You are permitted to hate Islam and advocate for genocide (as with Katie Hopkins and her final solution comment which she got away with) but go any further and they'll destroy you.
The west has made a graveyard out of the middle east and they are not interested in promoting a progressive agenda there they just want to get the oil and destroy anyone Israel wants destroying no matter how many millions end up dead. I remember when Morrissey was disgusted by this , now he appears to have joined the other side. This is disgusting cowardice and he deserves all the 'criticism' he receives.
Increasingly he just looks like a hard faced bitter old c*** and that is what he is.

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/16/europe/austria-stabbing-suspect-islamist-intl/index.html

 

[gashonthenail]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/16/europe/austria-stabbing-suspect-islamist-intl/index.html

These sort of events are so common now that they are barely reported. Just another freak accident caused by someone probably 'born in Cardiff'. The recent attack in Munich seemed to be caused by a car driving itself the way it was reported. Nothing but a faulty hand-brake. Nothing to see here.

 

[Stephen Hofmann]

These sort of events are so common now that they are barely reported. Just another freak accident caused by someone probably 'born in Cardiff'. The recent attack in Munich seemed to be caused by a car driving itself the way it was reported. Nothing but a faulty hand-brake. Nothing to see here.

It's forgotten about in a day. "Part and parcel of living in a great global city"...

 

[Moltisanti]

Stop talking about him dying, he’s only 65 and could potentially outlive a lot of us.

Do not fear death. You exist, but one day you won't. Oblivion give even more value to your life.

 

[JRB]

A fair and balanced article.

Morrissey complains of being cancelled yet the media, certainly in the UK would fall over themselves to speak to him. He can't very well bleat about being cancelled yet at the same time fail to engage. The problem is, he would need to explain his past statement and eat a bit of humble pie to be accepted back into the mainstream, which he will never do. I'm not sure what goes these days in the US, but in the UK expressing support for a political party - even if it was 7 years ago - which has a policy of repatriation of ethnic minorities is beyond the pale.

The one sense in which it can be argued he has been cancelled is his inability to get a record deal. However there are many reasons why no record company will take him on their roster, pretty much all of which recovered by the catch-all that he is harder work than he is worth putting up with. If an artist sells millions of albums a label will take them. Not if they barely sell. He won't entertain entering into a relationship with a label where touring and merch are part of the deal. His UK fan base was decimated by his behaviour and statements a few years ago. Further to this his recent albums have sold very modestly. Probably a new record would sell around 100,000 copies worldwide. There is little prospect of selling more. His albums, since the nineties effectively, are consistently patchy, usually comprising a couple of excellent songs, a few decent ones and then a bunch of "Morrissey by numbers" pap. Specifically regarding Bonfire, there are reputed to be significant problems with the production of Bonfire. Finally, personally attacking the CEO of Capitol - including publishing her photo which put her in potential physical peril - was nasty and a very bad look. It is the sort of action that would be a huge black mark with every other label CEO. Who would want to be the next in the firing line when it all goes bad?

 

[Stephen Hofmann]

A fair and balanced article.

Morrissey complains of being cancelled yet the media, certainly in the UK would fall over themselves to speak to him. He can't very well bleat about being cancelled yet at the same time fail to engage. The problem is, he would need to explain his past statement and eat a bit of humble pie to be accepted back into the mainstream, which he will never do. I'm not sure what goes these days in the US, but in the UK expressing support for a political party - even if it was 7 years ago - which has a policy of repatriation of ethnic minorities is beyond the pale.

The one sense in which it can be argued he has been cancelled is his inability to get a record deal. However there are many reasons why no record company will take him on their roster, pretty much all of which recovered by the catch-all that he is harder work than he is worth putting up with. If an artist sells millions of albums a label will take them. Not if they barely sell. He won't entertain entering into a relationship with a label where touring and merch are part of the deal. His UK fan base was decimated by his behaviour and statements a few years ago. Further to this his recent albums have sold very modestly. Probably a new record would sell around 100,000 copies worldwide. There is little prospect of selling more. His albums, since the nineties effectively, are consistently patchy, usually comprising a couple of excellent songs, a few decent ones and then a bunch of "Morrissey by numbers" pap. Specifically regarding Bonfire, there are reputed to be significant problems with the production of Bonfire. Finally, personally attacking the CEO of Capitol - including publishing her photo which put her in potential physical peril - was nasty and a very bad look. It is the sort of action that would be a huge black mark with every other label CEO. Who would want to be the next in the firing line when it all goes bad?

"I'm not sure what goes these days in the US, but in the UK expressing support for a political party - even if it was 7 years ago - which has a policy of repatriation of ethnic minorities is beyond the pale" Are you a big fan of the mass immigration that's occurred in your lifetime? Think it's going well?

 

[JRB]

That is only really true in the UK, and maybe Germany now though, isn't it? .
Surely Trump has shown in the USA, that cancel culture is dead, DEI is dead. It's a new dawn, The guy who owns FB, went on Rogan and pretty much said, he would not block opinions and censor them anymore.
People had enough, in the USA. The UK though is another story. So many people leaving. The UK now has a new online law which is nasty, you have people getting arrested for tweets and the MSM is locked down. and that's due to the media class being a little tribe mainly is London. You actually got the PM labelling the working class as racist, It's a shit show in the UK . Even King Charles prefers to cuck to Islam, than stick up for the people. The longer you spend time outside the UK
the more you see how unhealthy the UK is, and how much people are controlled. Its why we create good artists, they don't want to engage with real life, so they create art. It's why us fans are so into music, it's an escape from the shit show. The only thing that saved the UK in the 70s, 80s, 90s was music.
I don't think M was ever cancelled though, was he? He still tours, he did have a record contract, he was the one who messed that up. He has been offered other labels, he didn't want them. So how is he cancelled? I think, M saw that he could use cancel culture in his defence, he could use it to make a martyr out of himself, and lots of his fans are so low IQ that they eat it up. So that is what he did. Rather than admit he went all soy boy with Miley he pretended the labels tried to cancel him and change his art. due to him being too "real". It's a great move, as he knows a lot of people will fall for it Its total BS though

M hasn't been cancelled. His songs are still available. It's just record company's aren't offering him the deal he wants. Why would they? His record sales are very small, his work patchy and he's going to be difficult to manage. That's not cancelling, just record companies saying it's not worth their while. The media would fall over themselves to engage with him but he doesn't want to be asked about past controversies or defend his positions.

 

[JRB]

"I'm not sure what goes these days in the US, but in the UK expressing support for a political party - even if it was 7 years ago - which has a policy of repatriation of ethnic minorities is beyond the pale" Are you a big fan of the mass immigration that's occurred in your lifetime? Think it's going well?

There are been good and bad aspects of immigration in the UK.

But if you are prepared to entertain a political party with a policy of repatriation on the basis of race then you are putting yourself in very, very extreme company.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Yeah that article is on here somewhere. I think he’s reluctant to do interviews due to the final edit of any being shaped in a way that paints him a negative light by twisting what he says.

I recently re-listened to audio of the Der Spiegel interview, and although I think what he said could easily be misunderstood by the casual listener, for a dedicated fan (like moi) I was able to understand the nuances and metaphors in his answers, and found nothing particularly hurtful.

 

[WhalleyRange]

https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/16/europe/austria-stabbing-suspect-islamist-intl/index.html

The west and their hospital and zoo bombing Nazi mates Israel have made a graveyard out of the middle east and they've murdered millions. Crybabies like you are the reason they get away with it. Not that you give a f*** you horrible c***.
Zoo bombing, hospital bombing, kid incinerating COWARD.
Keep on supporting the psychopathic maggots that you support - it'll be the end of scum like you cos global warming is going f***ing nowhere.

 

[gashonthenail]

The west and their hospital and zoo bombing Nazi mates Israel have made a graveyard out of the middle east and they've murdered millions. Crybabies like you are the reason they get away with it. Not that you give a f*** you horrible c***.
Zoo bombing, hospital bombing, kid incinerating COWARD.
Keep on supporting the psychopathic maggots that you support - it'll be the end of scum like you cos global warming is going f***ing nowhere.

Does it hurt - to talk out of your ass like that?

 

[gashonthenail]

But if you are prepared to entertain a political party with a policy of repatriation on the basis of race then you are putting yourself in very, very extreme company.

That is simply not correct. I can't speak for For Britain - I have never been a member of or campaigned for any political party, and never will - and the party is long defunct, but I did read their manifesto after Moz's endorsement of them and there was nothing about repatriation. It didn't mention race. It advocated for strict limits on immigration. Most sane people in Europe would agree with that. God, most immigrants in Europe would agree with that. Everyone can see what mass immigration is doing to Europe. The effect it is having on social trust, crime, public services, housing etc. If you believe that thinking that makes someone 'extreme' then so be it. But I think it's people like you - who believe in open borders - who are extremist.

 

[Surface]

That is simply not correct. I can't speak for For Britain - I have never been a member of or campaigned for any political party, and never will - and the party is long defunct, but I did read their manifesto after Moz's endorsement of them and there was nothing about repatriation. It didn't mention race. It advocated for strict limits on immigration. Most sane people in Europe would agree with that. God, most immigrants in Europe would agree with that. Everyone can see what mass immigration is doing to Europe. The effect it is having on social trust, crime, public services, housing etc. If you believe that thinking that makes someone 'extreme' then so be it. But I think it's people like you - who believe in open borders - who are extremist.

I think Anne Marie Waters was the issue rather than For Britain, apparently she was too extreme even for UKIP and Morrissey made reference to her at the 6 Music gig which was live on the radio. That seemed to be the start of the noise about his alleged views.

"It was very interesting to me to see Anne-Marie Waters become the head of UKIP" he said.

“Oh no, sorry, she didn’t. The voting was rigged. Sorry, I forgot.”

He added: "You don’t get it do you. You obviously don’t read the news."

Greeted by silence.

His comments have not gone down well on Twitter, external.

"I'm fairly certain Morrissey just voiced support for Anne Marie Waters and I'm really uncomfortable about it," wrote one person, external.

Anti-Islam campaigner Waters was backed in her leadership bid by former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.

 

[gashonthenail]

The truth of course is that Morrissey has already fully responded to the fall-out from his FB flirtation. He made it clear that he would never support anyone who is 'far right'. He stated that he merely 'recognises reality'. It is that, of course, that puts him, and most sane people, at odds with the modern left. The modern left that 'deserted him' some time ago, he says, that deserted all sane people, with its obsession with identity politics, and sheer hatred of the white working class. We are not allowed to recognise reality - that acts of random violence, whether caused by mental illness or radical Islam, are now the norm in Europe; that levels of social trust are on the floor; that public services are on the brink of collapse; that a man isn't a woman just because he says he is. Recognising realities. But that, of course, is the real listed crime of modern times.

WHEN YOU ARE THE QUARRY - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - WHEN YOU ARE THE QUARRY

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY

www.morrisseycentral.com

 

[gashonthenail]

I think Anne Marie Waters was the issue rather than For Britain, apparently she was too extreme even for UKIP and Morrissey made reference to her at the 6 Music gig which was live on the radio. That seemed to be the start of the noise about his alleged views.

"It was very interesting to me to see Anne-Marie Waters become the head of UKIP" he said.

“Oh no, sorry, she didn’t. The voting was rigged. Sorry, I forgot.”

He added: "You don’t get it do you. You obviously don’t read the news."

Greeted by silence.

His comments have not gone down well on Twitter, external.

"I'm fairly certain Morrissey just voiced support for Anne Marie Waters and I'm really uncomfortable about it," wrote one person, external.

Anti-Islam campaigner Waters was backed in her leadership bid by former English Defence League leader Tommy Robinson.

Farage and others were keen to give her that label. It served a political purpose. Whereas in truth she is a radical feminist vegan who hates Donald Trump. She argued that Muslim emigration is not good for Europe. She argued it's not good for women or women's rights. That's an argument she is allowed to have? It's an argument that recent events in the UK might bear up? Again, if you think that it's 'extreme' to hold such views, fine. But many might suggest that if people had listened more to the likes of AMW, or at least taken her warnings seriously, then maybe tens of thousands of young working class girls in England would have been safeguarded more effectively?

 

[Surface]

Farage and others were keen to give her that label. It served a political purpose. Whereas in truth she is a radical feminist vegan who hates Donald Trump. She argued that Muslim emigration is not good for Europe. She argued it's not good for women or women's rights. That's an argument she is allowed to have? It's an argument that recent events in the UK might bear up? Again, if you think that it's 'extreme' to hold such views, fine. But many might suggest that if people had listened more to the likes of AMW, or at least taken her warnings seriously, then maybe tens of thousands of young working class girls in England would have been safeguarded more effectively?

My post was highlighting when all the noise about Morrissey views started. I was brought up to only focus on the things you can control, hence I won’t bother getting into a discussion on topics like this. By all means waste your energy on what pisses you off, however you won’t change anything.