Morrissey claims he’s being deleted from the story of The Smiths
Morrissey, former frontman of The Smiths, has claimed he’s being written out of the band’s history.
Taking to his website, Morrissey Central, the Mancunian musician has defended his role in the legendary indie group, claiming to have “invented” a number of elements which made The Smiths unique from their peers. However, Morrissey now believes that stories are being changed to eliminate his presence from their tale.
“There is also an obvious media shift to delete me from being the central essence of The Smiths, but this cannot work because I invented the group name, the song titles, the album titles, the artwork, the vocal melodies, and all of the lyrical sentiments came from my heart … and so it’s a bit like saying Mick Jagger had nothing to do with the Stones,” the singer began his message.
Morrissey continued: “Several news sites now claim that the initial meeting at Rough Trade Records was with Johnny Marr and Andy Rourke,’ even though Andy wasn’t even a committed band member at that point. The meeting, of course, was Morrissey and Marr.”
He added: “Even Geoff Travis has now suddenly decided that he ‘can’t remember who was with Johnny,’ even though Geoff looked me squarely in the eye on that very day and said ‘we’d like to release Hand In Glove immediately,’ and he then more importantly said to me that his name was Geoff with a G, not Jeff with a J. The hounds are snapping!”
The vocalist signed off his message by quoting lyrics from their song ‘Hand In Glove’, writing: “Hand in glove, I stake my claim! I’ll fight to the last breath!”
Morrissey frequently uses his website to air his grievances. In October, he used the platform to accuse Capitol Records CEO Michelle Jubelirer of trying to “wreck” his career. The label previously acquired the rights to his album Bonfire of Teenagers but has shelved plans to release the project.
He previously wrote: “I still have hope in the music industry, but there are evidently several powerful faces within it that have no honest interest in music … and you follow them into the shadows at your peril.”