10 January 2008

In a press release issued today, Polydor UK announced the tracklisting for Morrissey's Greatest Hits compilation to be released on CD and double vinyl on Polydor/Decca on 11 February in the UK.

The 15-track collection includes UK Top 10 and Top 20 singles. Two tracks - "That's How People Grow Up" and "All You Need Is Me" - are new songs recorded with Jerry Finn, producer of 2004's UK #2 album You Are The Quarry.

A special, limited edition run of CDs will feature a Live At The Hollywood Bowl bonus CD of eight tracks recorded live in California on 8 June 2007.

"That's How People Grow Up" will be released as a single on 4 February in the UK.

Morrissey is currently working with Jerry Finn on his new studio album, the follow-up to 2006's UK #1 album Ringleader Of The Tormentors. The new LP is scheduled for an Autumn 2008 release.

Greatest Hits tracklisting:

"First Of The Gang To Die" (UK #6, from You Are The Quarry)
"In The Future When All's Well" (UK #17, from Ringleader Of The Tormentors)
"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" (UK #16, from Ringleader Of The Tormentors)
"Irish Blood, English Heart" (UK #3, from You Are The Quarry)
"You Have Killed Me" (UK #3, from Ringleader Of The Tormentors)
"That's How People Grow Up" (new)
"Everyday Is Like Sunday" (UK #9, from Viva Hate)
"Redondo Beach" (UK #11, from Live At Earls Court)
"Suedehead" (UK #5, from Viva Hate)
"The Youngest Was The Most Loved" (UK #14, from Ringleader Of The Tormentors)
"The Last Of The Famous International Playboys" (UK #6, from Bona Drag)
"The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get" (UK #8, from Vauxhall And I)
"All You Need Is Me" (new)
"Let Me Kiss You" (UK #8, from You Are The Quarry)
"I Have Forgiven Jesus" (UK #10, from You Are The Quarry)

Live At The Hollywood Bowl bonus CD tracklisting:

"The Last Of The Famous International Playboys"
"The National Front Disco"
"Let Me Kiss You"
"Irish Blood, English Heart"
"I Will See You In Far Off Places"
"First Of The Gang To Die"
"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy"
"Life Is A Pigsty"

UK live dates (sold out):

21 January - London - Roundhouse
22 January - London - Roundhouse
23 January - London - Roundhouse
25 January - London - Roundhouse
26 January - London - Roundhouse
27 January - London - Roundhouse
30 January - Doncaster - Dome
1 February - Sunderland - Empire
2 February - Edinburgh - Playhouse

3 December 2007

MORRISSEY CONDEMNS RACISM

On Friday of last week I issued writs against the NME (New Musical Express) and its editor Conor McNicholas as I believe they have deliberately tried to characterise me as a racist in a recent interview I gave them in order to boost their dwindling circulation.

I abhor racism and oppression or cruelty of any kind and will not let this pass without being absolutely clear and emphatic with regard to what my position is.

Racism is beyond common sense and I believe it has no place in our society.

To anyone who has shown or felt any interest in my music in recent times, you know my feelings on the subject and I am writing this to apologize unreservedly for granting an interview to the NME. I had no reason whatsoever to assume that they could be anything other than devious, truculent and unreliable. In the event, they have proven to be all three.

The NME have, in the past, offered me their "Godlike Genius Award" and I had politely refused. With the Tim Jonze interview, the Award was offered once again, this time with the added request that I headline their forthcoming awards concert at the O2 Arena, and once again I declined it. This is nothing personal against the NME, although the distressing article would suggest the editor took it as such. My own view is that award ceremonies in pop music are dreadful to witness and are simply a way of the industry warning the artist "see how much you need us" - and, yes, the "new" NME is very much integrated into the industry, whereas, deep in the magazine's empirical history, the New Musical Express was a propelling force that answered to no one. It led the way by the quality of its writers - Paul Morley, Julie Burchill, Paul du Noyer, Charles Shaar Murray, Nick Kent, Ian Penman, Miles - who would write more words than the articles demanded, and whose views saved some of us, and who pulled us all away from the electrifying boredom of everything and anything that represented the industry. As a consequence the chanting believers of the NME could not bear to miss a single issue; the torrential fluency of its writers left almost no space between words, and the NME became a culture in itself, whereas Melody Maker or Sounds just didn't. Into the 90s, the NME's discernment and polish became faded nobility, and there it died - but better dead than worn away. The wit imitated by the 90s understudies of Morley and Burchill assumed nastiness to be greatness, and were thus rewarded. But nastiness isn't wit and no writers from the 90s NME survive. Even with sarcasm, irony and innuendo there is an art, of sorts. Now deep in the bosom of time, it is the greatness of the NME's history on which the "new" NME assumes its relevance.

It is on the backs of writers such as Morley, Burchill, Kent and Shaar Murray that the "new" NME hitches its mule-cart, assuming equal relevance. But the stalled views of the "new" NME sag, and readers have been driven away by a magazine with no insides. The narrow cast of repeated subjects sets off the agony, a mesmerizing mess of very brief and dispassionate articles unable to make thought evolve; a marooned editor who holds the divine right to censor any views that clash with his own.

The editorial treatment given to my present interview with the "new" NME is the latest variation on an old theme, but like a pre-dawn rampage, the effects of the interview have been meticulously considered with obvious intentions. It is true that the magazine is ailing badly in the market place, but Conor doesn't understand how the relentless stream of "cheers mate, got pissed last night, ha ha" interviews that clutter every single issue of the "new" NME are simply not interesting to those of us who have no trouble standing upright. Strangely enough, my own name is the only one featured in the "new" NME that links their present with the NME's distant past, therefore a Morrissey interview is an ideal opportunity with which to play the editorial naughtiness game.

This, regrettably, is what has taken place with this most recent interview, which, it need hardly be said, bears no relation in print to the fleshly conversation that took place.

I do not mean to be rude to Tim Jonze, but when I first caught sight of him I assumed that someone had brought their child along to the interview. The runny nose told the whole story. Conor had assured that Tim was their best writer. Talking behind his hands in an endless fidget, Tim accepted every answer I gave him with a schoolgirl giggle, and repeatedly asked me if I was shocked at how little he actually knew about music. I told him that, yes, I was shocked. It was difficult for me to believe that the best writer from the "new" NME had never heard of the song 'Drive-in Saturday'; I explained that it was by David Bowie, and Tim replied "Oh, I don't know anything about David Bowie." I wondered how it could be so - how the quality of music journalism in England could have fallen so low that the prime "new" NME writer knew nothing of David Bowie, an artist to whom most relevant British artists are indebted, and one who single-handedly changed British culture - musically and otherwise.

Tim's line of questioning advanced with: "What about politics, then ... the state of the world?" - which, I was forced to assume, was a well-thought-out question. It was from here that the issue of immigration - but not racism - arose.

Me: If you walk down Knightsbridge you'll be hard-pressed to hear anyone speaking English.

Tim: I don't think that's true. You're beginning to sound like my parents.

Me: Well, when did you last walk down Knightsbridge?

Tim: Ummm....
Knightsbridge ....is that where Harrods is?

So, Tim was prepared to attack and argue the point without even being clear about where Knightsbridge actually is! The "new" NME strikes again. Oh dear, I thought, not again.

I chose to mention Knightsbridge because it had always struck me as one of the most stiffly British spots in London. I am sorry Tim, but you are not yet ready to interview anyone responsibly.

When my comments are printed in the "new" NME they are butchered, re-designed, re-ordered, chopped, snipped and split in order to make me seem racist and unreasonable. Tim had told me about his friend who did not like the 1988 song Bengali In Platforms because the friend had thought the song attacked him on a personal level. I explained to Tim that the song was not about his friend. In print, the "new" NME do not explain this, but attempt to multiply the horror of Tim's friend by attributing "these people" and "those people" quotes to me - terms I would never use, but are useful to the "new" NME in their Morrissey-is-racist campaign because these terms are only used by people who are cold and indifferent and Thatcherite. 

All of the people I spoke to Tim about in the interview who are heroes to me and who are Middle-Eastern or of other ethnic backgrounds were of no interest to either Tim or Conor. Clearly, Tim had been briefed and his agenda was to cook up a sensational story that would give life to the "new" NME as a must-read national if not global shock-horror story. Recalling how Tim asked me to sign some CD covers, I do not blame him entirely. If Conor can provoke bureaucratic outrage with this Morrissey interview, then he can whip up support for his righteous position as the morally-bound and armoured editor of his protected readership - even though, by re-modelling my interview into a multiple horror, Conor has accidentally exposed himself as deceitful, malicious, intolerant and Morrissey-ist - all the ist's and ism's that he claims to oppose. Uniquely deprived of wisdom, Conor would be repulsed by my vast collection of World Cinema films, by my adoration of James Baldwin, my love of Middle-Eastern tunings, Kazem al-Saher, Lior Ashkenazi, Maya Angelou, Toni Morrison, and he would be repulsed to recall a quote as printed in his magazine in or around August of this year wherein I said that my ambition was to play concerts in Iran.

My heart sank as Tim Jonze let slip the tell-all editorial directive behind this interview: "It's Conor's view that Morrissey thinks black people are OK ...but he wouldn't want one living next door to him." It was then that I realized the full extent of the setup, and I felt like Bob Hoskins in the final frame of The Long Good Friday as he sits in the back of the wrong getaway car realizing the extent of the conspiratorial slime that now trapped him.

During the interview Tim asked if I would support the "Love Music Hate Racism" campaign that the NME had just written about and my immediate response was a yes as I had shown my support previously by going to one of their first benefit gigs a few years ago and had met some of their organizers as well as having signed their statement. Following the interview I asked my manager to get in touch with the NME and to pledge my further support to the campaign as I wanted there to be no ambiguity on where I stood on the subject. This was done in a clear and direct email to Conor McNicholas on the 5th of November, which went ignored and last week we found out that it had never even been presented to anyone at the campaign as that would obviously not have suited what we now know to be the NME's agenda. I am pleased to say that we have now had direct dialogue with "Love Music Hate Racism" and all of our UK tour advertising in 2008 will carry their logo and we will also be providing space in the venues for them to voice and spread their important message, which I endorse.

Who's to say what you should or shouldn't do? The IPC have appointed Conor as the editor of the "new" NME, and there he remains, ready to drag the IPC into expensive legal battles such as the one they now face with me due to Conor's personal need to misstate, misreport, misquote, misinterpret, falsify, and incite the bloodthirsty. Here is proof that the "new" NME will twist and pervert the views of any singer or musician who'd dare step into the interview ring. To such artists, I wish them well, but I would advise you to bring your lawyer along to the interview.

My own place, now and forevermore, shall not be with the "new" NME - and how wrong my face even looks on its
 cover. Of this, I am eternally grateful.

MORRISSEY.

3 December 2007.

3 December 2007

Press release from Polydor UK: Morrissey signs to Decca

Morrissey has signed an exclusive world-wide recording contract with Decca.

With the signing, Decca re-enter the credible Pop market as a label historically associated with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Small Faces, Marianne Faithfull and Them.

All releases will be marketed and promoted through Polydor UK.

Since the disbanding of The Smiths in 1987, Morrissey's 20-year solo career has established him as one of the UK's greatest musical talents, with a back catalogue of 11 albums, most recently 2006's UK #1 Ringleader Of The Tormentors.

The first release under this new contract will be a Greatest Hits album of Morrissey solo material with two new songs in February 2008, which will follow a six-night run of sold-out shows in January at London's legendary Roundhouse.

Morrissey is currently recording a new studio album in LA, working once again with Jerry Finn, the producer of 2004's widely acclaimed UK #2 album You Are The Quarry. The as yet untitled new album will be released in Autumn 2008.

Morrissey:
"I am delighted to be part of the Decca and Polydor family and am very excited about the new singles and albums we are going to do together in 2008."

Christopher Roberts, President, Classics and Jazz, UMGI and Chairman, Decca Label Group US:
"Morrissey is the latest of many iconic artists signed to the Decca label. We at Decca and the many Universal companies around the world look forward to a successful creative and commercial relationship."

Bogdan Roscic, Managing Director of Decca:
"Morrissey's career is pretty unique - not so many artists can look back on more than 25 years at the top of their game, staying as credible, creative and relevant as on the first day. From the recent performances and the new material, I know 2008 is going to be a stellar year for Morrissey, and we are very proud he is now a Decca artist."

David Joseph, President of Universal Music Operations:
"I've heard the new songs and Morrissey's new music quite simply speaks for itself. We are very excited at the prospect of working with one of the UK's most creative and unique artists."

Merck Mercuriadis, Pacifica Artists Group - Morrissey's manager:
"This was a very competitive situation but the prospect of relaunching Decca as a pop label in conjunction with the Polydor team whose pedigree and success speaks for itself was too much to resist. We are very pleased to be working with David, Bogdan and their terrific teams."

1 December 2007

Morrissey vs. NME update

I read Tim Jonze's Guardian blog with great interest.

Keeping in mind that the NME and IPC sign his pay cheques on a regular basis it is not a surprise that he is back tracking quickly but he must think we are all mugs if we are to believe him. His revisionist position is that he wanted to be harsher but this is a clear contradiction to his emails pre publication which state "I should mention that for reasons I'll probably never understand, NME have rewritten the Moz piece. I had a read and virtually none of it is my words or beliefs so I've asked for my name to be taken off it. Just so you know when you read it" and then in a subsequent email "I just don't understand that place any more." It also clearly contradicts Conor McNicholas' own email which starts "I need to drop you a line about the Morrissey piece running in NME this week. It's going to be much stronger than we'd originally discussed."

Why would Tim be telling me - Morrissey's manager - this if his intention was to be harsher?

I think "Suzanne S" who responded to his blog sums it up better than I can:

--

SuzanneS
Comment No. 813106

November 30 23:57

OK, so you wrote Merck to essentially tell him:

"Hey, Merck, I would have written a piece ripping your client to shreds, but the NME is pussy-footing around with it, so I asked my name to be taken off of it. When you see the article, please remember that the NME didn't let me portray what a scum I thought Morrissey was. Have a great day."

I didn't know that people bothered with those kinds of courtesy emails. I wish more people would let me know that the only reason they were being nice to me was because somebody else made me.

--

Finally Tim claims that "Every single quote attributed to Morrissey is 100% correct." What he fails to mention is that they have edited their questions and Morrissey's responses to suit their agenda and to paint him as a racist. They have changed the questions so that they are different from those asked and deliberately twist the tone of the interview. For example what is in print as "You live in Italy now. Would you ever consider moving back to Britain?" was actually just plain old "Would you move back to Britain ever?" This creates the impression that Morrissey is in no position to comment on what is going on in Britain as he lives abroad. They fail to include that Morrissey's initial response to the question was "I'm staggered how difficult life in central London is now. I don't understand how people cope and where they get the money from to survive. Everything's so unreachable, transport is a mess and I find it slightly terrifying" as that clearly does not support their agenda and the picture they are trying to paint.

"That's not true! You sound like a Tory" which sounds like an offended reprimand was actually an affable "You're sounding like my parents..." and the same can be said for many of the questions asked and their responses.

Ultimately Tim has tried to give a rational explanation of the position he finds himself in (under pressure from his colleagues and paymasters) and while in the same breath as accusing us of spin has given us all a master class on the subject. Tellingly the one topic he does not raise is his disclosure to Morrissey per our legal papers "Conor told me he thinks you wouldn't want a black man living next door to you." There is obviously no plausible spin that can be put on that and while he may feel we are mugs ultimately he would appear to believe that he has pulled the wool over our eyes about as far as he can.

On a final note I hope you will all be delighted to know that while all of this is going on around us the band are hard at work on the new album and it is sounding terrific!

Best wishes to you all,

Merck Mercuriadis

Los Angeles

November 30, 2007

PS A more accurate and worthwhile Guardian blog on the subject can be found here:

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/11/mozgate.html

27 November 2007

Morrissey vs. the NME

Many of you in London will have seen today's NME with Morrissey on the cover while others around the UK, the rest of the world and online will discover it during the course of the week.

We had agreed to do a cover story with the NME in October around the New York shows to announce details for 2008.

We were alerted to the fact that the NME were potentially doing a hatchet job on Morrissey on the 16th of November by an anonymous post on morrissey-solo.com.

We immediately contacted the magazine's editor Conor McNicholas who refuted the suggestion that the NME would be anything less than supportive and personally posted on the site categorically denying the "rumours and untruths."

As you will all see from this week's cover story, this was not the case and appears to simply have been a strategic action to ensure we did not take legal steps to stop the interview being published.

We believed his assurances that all was well until we received the following email from Tim Jonze who did the interview:

"Hi Merck,
Hope you're well. I should mention that for reasons I'll probably never understand, NME have rewritten the Moz piece. I had a read and virtually none of it is my words or beliefs so I've asked for my name to be taken off it. Just so you know when you read it.
Best,
Tim"

When we received this we immediately called Conor McNicholas who after a three day delay responded in the form of the email that follows:

"Hi Merck.

I need to drop you a line about the Morrissey piece running in NME this week. It's going to be much stronger than we'd originally discussed.

Having lived with Morrissey's comments from the second interview and discussed with the editorial team we're running a piece where the comments aren't ducked and NME's position is made very clear.

While Morrissey is obviously entirely entitled to his point of view we're not beholden to re-print them without comment. And given that his views are not those that we'd normally expect to come from someone in the very liberal world of rock'n'roll, we're not able to either support them or print them without comment.

Obviously no-one is accusing Morrissey of racism - that would be mad given what Morrissey says - but we do say that the language Morrissey uses is very unhelpful at a time of great tensions. I am - as I say in the magazine - fully confident that Morrissey's comments are simply the result of a man in his 50s looking back nostalgically on the England of his youth, but his reasoning for that change is unreasonably skewed towards immigration and as a title we think that's wrong. I think he's simply naive and doesn't understand the atmosphere here. I don't think he wishes anyone any harm but I don't think he understand the climate or the possible interpretation of his comments either.

The feature is, I believe, a fair and balanced piece. It's not sensationalist but it doesn't ignore the story either. I have been particularly careful to include all the key moments where Morrissey mitigates his position or makes a strong commitment against racism. The reaction of both you and Morrissey has been very much on my mind when making decisions surrounding this piece.

As you know, I wish I'd never fond myself in this position making these very difficult decisions. I have, to be honest, found the whole experience very depressing. I don't have a reputation of running pieces such as this because it's not in my nature. I am also a huge Morrissey fan, my gold disc for 'You Are The Quarry' is still one of my proudest possessions and still takes pride of place in my living room. And while I'm sure Morrissey didn't sign off each of the discs and its recipient, I felt it was a measure of where I'd got the NME to with him. What I'm trying to make clear is that I never wanted to be in this place but as editor I've simply not had another option.

I'm not going to try and second-guess your reaction but I can imagine it won't be great - another depressing factor given how much I've genuinely enjoyed working with you over the last few weeks. During this whole difficult process you never been anything other than balanced and reasonable - far more than most other managers I've worked with! - and I've really appreciated that. I wanted you to get a heads-up in advance of publication. Hopefully we'll speak soon.

Conor."

Please note that Mr. McNicholas' email above was timed to arrive after his magazine was printed therefore preventing us from stopping the printing.

When / if you read the interview, please look at the credits which are unique:
Interview - Tim Jonze
Words - NME

When reading it we request that you think for yourself and consider what is question and answer and what is inflammatory editorial on the part of the NME which we assume can only be intended to create controversy to boost their circulation at the expense of Morrissey's integrity and for which no journalist is willing to be credited. It might as well say "anonymous."

There is virtually no other artist with a more meaningful following across the history of the NME and it would appear that Mr. McNicholas thought the "new" NME could gain some credibility at Morrissey's expense. The story reads like a cynical exercise by yet another NME editor trying to put his name in the history books via a poorly thought out and terribly executed attempt at character assassination.

As we all know, the NME does not speak for its readership, the artists do. Artists like Morrissey. The NME also does not speak for Morrissey. Anti-racist songs such as "Irish Blood, English Heart," "America Is Not The World" and "I Will See You In Far Off Places" tell you the true measure of the man.

Conor McNicholas made a decision for reasons known only to himself to betray our trust and make himself out to be a hero at Morrissey's expense.

As you can see from the legal letter below, we will be unrelenting in our quest to bring him / NME to justice.

By the way, the good news of the day is that Morrissey signed his new record deal with Polydor / Decca this afternoon! We will soon be scheduling new singles and albums for next year, but one thing you can count on not happening is a 7" cover mount on the eNeMEy!

Sincerely,
Merck Mercuriadis
28th November, 2007

PS We are also delighted to announce that the six Roundhouse shows have all sold out. Thank you all for your support!

9 January 2007

Sanctuary Records have announced that a six track version of Morrissey's new single from Ringleader Of The Tormentors - "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" - is now available for download on iTunes U.S.A.

The tracklisting is:

"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy"
"Speedway" (Live)
"I Want The One I Can't Have" (Live at The Royal Albert Hall)
"Late Night, Maudlin Street" (Live at The Royal Albert Hall)
"Sweetie-Pie"
"I Want The One I Can't Have" (Live in Paris)

You can order the six track digital release by clicking on the following link:

"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy"

26 December 2006

The sleeve of Ringleader Of The Tormentors is at #7 in the Best Art Vinyl of 2006 list announced today by the Art Vinyl Gallery.

The full list is available at www.artvinyl.com.

All 50 of the sleeves in the Best Art Vinyl of 2006 list are now on show at the Art Vinyl Gallery in Broadway Market in London. The Top 10 will also be on show at Voxpop Music in Manchester, and at the Virgin Megastore in Oxford Street in London.

26 December 2006

The video for "You Have Killed Me" is at #10 in the Best of 2006 list on MTV2.

The Top 10 videos were announced on MTV2's Subterranean on the 17th of December, and are now online at www.mtv.com.

10 December 2006

"I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" has entered the U.K. singles chart at #16.

4 December 2006

Sanctuary Records have announced that an exclusive live recording of the new single is available for download in the U.K. for £1.50. You can text "MOZ" to 80806 to download the live version of "I Just Want To See The Boy Happy" from Morrissey's 2006 Mexico City show.