Morrissey

Morrissey did not perform every night of the weeklong series due to a throat illness. He did, however, perform the following week. Read Less

The list was compiled from ballots cast by a panel of 179 "music experts," such as Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and Bono, who were asked to name their 20 favourite vocalists. Morrissey was ranked 92. Read Less

Upon signing with Decca, Morrissey released "That's How People Grow Up" as the first single from his new Greatest Hits album. Despite lukewarm reviews, especially in the NME, the lack of airplay on British radio (except on XFM), and even the incredulity of fan sites, "That's How People Grow Up" reached the Top 15, reaching number 14 on the British charts. Reviews for the Greatest Hits compilation were very mixed; reviewers noted that the album only includes songs which reached the Top 15 in the charts, putting the emphasis on new songs, making the CD more suitable for new listeners than for old fans. The album charted at number 5 in the British album chart on its week of release. A limited edition of the Greatest Hits album also featured an eight-track live CD which was recorded at the Hollywood Bowl in 2007. A second single from the Greatest Hits, "All You Need Is Me," was released in March. Read Less

In 2010, during an interview with Simon Armitage for The Guardian, Morrissey alighted on the topic of animal cruelty in China, saying "you can't help but feel the Chinese are a sub-species." This led to Love Music Hate Racism, to whom Morrissey had previously donated money, saying it would be unable to accept support from him again without a retraction. "When you start using language like 'subspecies'," said a spokesperson, "you are entering into dark and murky water."

According to the commentator Liz Hoggard: "Morrissey didn't help his case with an uneasy flirtation with gangster imagery: he took up boxing and was accompanied everywhere by a skinhead, named Jake... the man who abhorred violence became strangely fascinated by it." Encyclopædia Britannica says that that Morrissey's 1990s albums, including Your Arsenal (1992), Vauxhall and I (1994), Southpaw Grammar (1995) and Maladjusted (1997) "testified to a growing homoerotic obsession with criminals, skinheads, and boxers, a change paralleled by a shift in the singer's image from wilting wallflower to would-be thug sporting sideburns and gold bracelets." Read Less

A major book of academic essays edited by Eoin Devereux, Aileen Dillane and Martin Power, Morrissey: Fandom, Representations and Identities, which focuses on Morrissey's solo career, was published in 2011.

A Los Angeles Times critic wrote that Morrissey "patented the template for modern indie rock" and that many bands playing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival "would not be there – or at least, would not sound the same – were it not for him." Similarly, the critic Steven Wells called Morrissey "the man who more or less invented indie" and an artist "who more than anybody else personifies" indie culture. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic writes that the Smiths and Morrissey "inspired every band of note" in the Britpop era, including Suede, Blur, Oasis, and Pulp. Other major artists including Jeff Buckley and Radiohead have also been influenced by Morrissey. Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, who recorded a 2005 EP of Morrissey covers titled Colin Meloy Sings Morrissey, acknowledged Morrissey's influence on his songwriting: "You could either bask in that glow of fatalistic narcissism, or you could think it was funny. I always thought that was an interesting dynamic in his songwriting, and I can only aspire to have that kind of dynamic in my songs." Brandon Flowers of the American Rock band The Killers has revealed his admiration for Morrissey on several different occasions and admits that his interest for writing songs about murder such as "Jenny Was A Friend of Mine" and "Midnight Show" traces back to Morrissey singing about loving "the romance of crime" in the song Sister I'm A Poet. Read Less

In July and August he toured venues in Europe and played two festival dates, Hultsfred Festival in Sweden and the Lokeren Festival in Belgium. During his performance at Glastonbury, Morrissey criticised the UK prime minister, David Cameron, for attempting to stop the ban on wild animals performing in circuses, calling him a "silly twit". Read Less

Another unreleased song, "Scandinavia", also appeared in his repertoire during this period.

Morrissey has completed a 660-page autobiography which he intends to offer to publishers. NME reported that it's scheduled to be released in December 2012. Morrissey has previously stated he wishes for his autobiography to reach Penguin Classic status. It has been reported that Penguin Books are keen for his autobiography to be published as a "contemporary classic", and Faber and Faber are also interested in publishing his autobiography. Read Less

Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken every day." in reference to the recent attacks of Anders Breivik in Norway on 22 July, which resulted in the killing of 69 people who were attending a Youth Labour Party camp on Utøya Island, and eight people working in and around a government building which was bombed. His statement has been seen by many as crude and insensitive. However, Morrissey later elaborated on his statement, saying "If you quite rightly feel horrified at the Norway killings, then it surely naturally follows that you feel horror at the murder of ANY innocent being. You cannot ignore animal suffering simply because animals 'are not us.'"

Morrissey's sexuality has been a matter of conjecture, and this has been fuelled by many conflicting statements from the singer, none of which has ever explicitly stated his sexual orientation. Encyclopædia Britannica states that he created a "compellingly conflicted persona (loudly proclaimed celibacy offset by coy hints of closeted homosexuality)" which has "made him a peculiar heartthrob." "Morrissey has always taken great pains to maintain the 'undecidable' nature of his sexuality." In 1983 he claimed to be "a kind of prophet for the fourth sex," on the grounds that he was "bored with men and... bored with women." In 1984, he stated that he refused "to recognise the terms hetero-, bi-, and homo-sexual" because "everybody has exactly the same sexual needs." Read Less

Another fansite, True-To-You enjoys a very close relationship with Morrissey and functions as his official website for statements etc.

In a recent interview published in Brazil, Morrissey criticised a Morrissey parody blog, called MorrisseysWorld, which a small number of Morrissey fans have come to believe is written by Morrissey himself. He labelled the blog 'dangerous' and said it has 'caused me problems.' Morrissey has denied being responsible for this site on four occasions now, with The Independent newspaper's pop critic Kitty Empire among those who have suggested he could be behind the site. Morrissey took the time during the interview to deride the 'anyone can be a critic' attitude. Apart from these feuds with websites, Morrissey's relationship with his fans is generally extremely positive and close. He often hands his microphone to fans during live concerts and they say a few words to Morrissey. Read Less