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Morrissey miserable after BBC’s ‘Iranian censorship’
Singer upset at edited interview - but is it really because of problems with EMI?
Morrissey has hit out at the BBC for "Iranian censorship" of an interview he gave last month in which he insulted the royal family two days before the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
In an interview with Radio 4's Front Row the week before the royal wedding, the former Smiths singer made headlines by calling the Windsors "benefit scroungers", adding: "I don't believe they serve any purpose whatsoever".
But as it turns out, this was just the tip of the iceberg.
In a statement on his blog, Morrissey now says: "If my Front Row interview sounded chopped and cropped, that's because it was. I had spoken fluently about the royal dreading, but an Iranian censorship confiscated all of my views.
"It is distressing, but in all manner of British media in 2011 we are only allowed to hear the same old thoughts and feelings expressed over and over and over again."
He went on to criticise the British television news media for "all but ignoring" the death of Poly Styrene, the X-ray Spex singer, in favour of "hours and hours of blubbering praise" of Kate Middleton.
"The message is clear," writes Morrissey. "What you achieve in life means nothing compared to what you are born into. Is this Syria?"
Morrissey is renowned for being prickly. But was it really "censorship" of his interview that made him so upset? After all, he has been interviewed hundreds of times over a career spanning three decades and journalists routinely edit their subjects' ramblings down to memorable snippets.
Perhaps the true reason, as he suggests later in his statement, is the fact that his new album, Very Best of Morrissey, is having distribution problems. Because of this, he writes, "I face my first ever non-chart placing - which I shall bear with dignity, although I could never be unkind enough to express my views on EMI's failings. It was John Lennon who coined the phrase 'Every Mistake Imaginable'." ·
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"spoken fluently about the royal dreading, but an Iranian censorship confiscated all of my views.
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It is the kind of nonsense one would expect from a child. He is a pathetic man. (Even if he is right about the sycophantic twaddle about Kate Middleton).
Why does Morrissey think that his views are so important?
Personally, I'd not be in the slightest bit disappointed to never hear from him ever again!
I am not interested in Morrissey's opinions on anything at all and if anything is dreadful it is his drivelling on about things that are none of his concern except in a purely private capacity!
Yes, the coverage of the Wedding was OTT but that was not just the case with the BBC, but also ITV, etc., and simply reflects the banal interests of a very large percentage of people both in the UK and worldwide.
Here's a thought: maybe, as well as being disappointed in his record company, Morrissey actually really did feel annoyed about his thoughts on the royal wedding being edited to fit in with the BBC's wall-to-wall sycophancy on the occasion? Perhaps he thinks this public-service broadcaster has a responsibility to reflect a range of views? If he did, he certainly wouldn't be the only one.