Morrissey’s latest album California Son is on course to be this week’s highest new entry in the charts at number two, but his views continue to alienate fans and critics.
The former frontman of rock band The Smiths has given “a series of inflammatory interviews” in recent years and “expressed support of For Britain, a political party led by former Ukip candidate Anne-Marie Waters, a politician who is unequivocally anti-Islamic”, says NME.
Many fans have been struggling to reconcile their love for his music with their views on his personna, while critics have been less than complimentary about his latest record.
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Morrissey has repeatedly denied accusations of racism, last year saying he followed For Britain as they were an upset to the status quo of Conservative and Labour governments.
When Merseyrail, the company that operates the rail network in and around Liverpool, removed posters promoting his latest album following a customer complaint, he told Music-News.com: “It’s very Third Reich, isn’t it? And it proves how only the feelings of the most narrow-minded can be considered within the British Arts.
“We are not free to debate, and this in itself is the ultimate rejection of diversity.”
Here are some more of the singer’s most controversial comments.
On racism accusations: “The modern Loony Left seem to forget that Hitler was Left wing! But of course, we are all called racist now, and the word is actually meaningless.
“When someone calls you racist, what they are saying is ‘hmm, you actually have a point, and I don’t know how to answer it, so perhaps if I distract you by calling you a bigot we’ll both forget how enlightened your comment was’.”
On acid attacks: “London is second only to Bangladesh for acid attacks. All of the attacks are non-white, and so they cannot be truthfully addressed by the British government or the Met Police or the BBC because of political correctness.”
On halal meat: “Both [Labour and Conservative] parties support halal slaughter, which, as we all know, is evil. Furthermore, halal slaughter requires certification that can only be given by supporters of Isis, and yet in England we have halal meat served in hospitals and schools!”
On Sadiq Khan: “London is debased. The Mayor of London tells us about ‘Neighborhood policin’ - what is ‘policin’? He tells us London is an ‘amazin’ city. What is ‘amazin’? This is the Mayor of London! And he cannot talk properly!
I saw an interview where he was discussing mental health, and he repeatedly said ‘men’el’... he could not say the words ‘mental health’. The Mayor of London! Civilisation is over!”
On meat-eating: “Racism is at its most abhorrent in relation to eating animals. If you eat animals, isn’t it a display of hatred for a certain species? And what gives you the right to eat another species or race? Would you eat people from Sri Lanka?”
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