Fiona Dodwell: In Conversation With Morrissey - full interview (April 3, 2023)

Morrissey Talks to Fiona Dodwell for Gabfest, April 2023

Excerpt:

"After his recent concert at London’s Hammersmith Apollo, I met with Morrissey backstage, and we acknowledged the difficulties he has faced by not “playing the game” of appeasing the media, or aligning himself with whatever the fashionable movement of the day is. “But you’re not a pop puppet, and you never could be,” I said, and he readily agreed. The truth is, perhaps, that to be the direct and authentic artist he is was never actually a choice. Morrissey is simply himself, fully and wholly, and it is that which likely resonates with his audience, who cling to him in their droves and travel the world for a glimpse of their idol. Truth is not always easy to come by in this world, and when people see it and feel it, they are drawn to it. They want to feel it, up close and personal."

Gabfest Exclusive: In Conversation With Morrissey

Morrissey Talks to Fiona Dodwell for Gabfest, April 2023 Morrissey has always been an artist with something to say, yet very often his truth is shrouded by the fabrications of the media, who have l…

gabfest.co.uk

 

[Thewlis]

"On Spotify, Smiths songs have the same number of hits as Beyonce, yet Beyonce is promoted hourly on every Selfridge’s escalator, yet the Smiths have never had any form of promotion whatsoever. "

That seemed like an odd statement to me also, I don't know what Spotify statistic he is looking at.

Currently I see:

The Smiths: 10,831,995 monthly listeners
Beyonce: 50,466,4994 monthly listeners

He’s meaning songs I suppose. Some Smiths songs have hundreds of millions of streams, just like some Beyoncé songs, though her biggest ones have more than that.

 

[LittleBastard]

He answered the self-release question years ago and it isn't likely to ever change. It amounts to his being above that, and that there should never be a reason why the majors aren't groveling at his feet for his latest output. Honestly, people telling me they've been "published" these days has zero value due to advent of self publishing.

 

[Famous when dead]

The 3rd question makes it worthwhile.

And Thackeray, I don’t think he mentioned him before as a favourite writer.

Correct.
Added him in to the wiki earlier.

Category:Influences on Morrissey - Literature - Morrissey-solo Wiki

www.morrissey-solo.com

Regards,
FWD.

 

[Malarkey]

"On Spotify, Smiths songs have the same number of hits as Beyonce, yet Beyonce is promoted hourly on every Selfridge’s escalator, yet the Smiths have never had any form of promotion whatsoever. "

That seemed like an odd statement to me also, I don't know what Spotify statistic he is looking at.

Currently I see:

The Smiths: 10,831,995 monthly listeners
Beyonce: 50,466,4994 monthly listeners

Ach, he's just being hyperbolic.

They do get enough streams to be on shop playlists etc etc - but they rarely are.

 

[Jacob Grease-Smog]

Echo chamber questions mainly.
Funny how he praises random odd ball social commentators who sing his praises online.
However when someone worth their salt and well read like Nick Cave lavishes unfashionable praise recently, there's not even a whisper of acknowledgement.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Ach, he's just being hyperbolic.

They do get enough streams to be on shop playlists etc etc - but they rarely are.

What!? Morrissey being hyperbolic?!

never!

 

[The Wild Turkey]

"an imaginary time when I was somehow their actual flesh-and-blood friend"

Pretty sure Moz is alludin' to my imaginary Wild Tea parties.
It's Me, Moz, Don Rickles and June Jordan.
We sit around and have tea and munchies.
It's a grand old time!

 

[A Man Escaped]

Echo chamber questions mainly.
Funny how he praises random odd ball social commentators who sing his praises online.
However when someone worth their salt and well read like Nick Cave lavishes unfashionable praise recently, there's not even a whisper of acknowledgement.

Probably miffed Cave has a record deal, seems to have complete artistic control and in Europe at least, performing to bigger and bigger crowds with every new release.

 

[goinghome]

He's unmanageable.

Not unmanageable, just unf*ckablewith!

M: Did Bob Dylan ever crack a joke?

I think Dylan is one of the funniest people on this miserable planet

So can Morrissey be, in songs and comments.

He said: "There is a terrible over-dependency everywhere on what the neighbours think. No one seems to live or write by immediate feelings, and consequently the A&R man is right up there with the Pterodactyl, and cancel culture is actually a modern form of lynching."

Is an A&R man like a public relations minder? The reply reminds me of something I recently read about people feeling pressurised to appear knowing, which seems related to this point: "But, in fact, the information age reveals how little we each already know. Knowingness, then, might be a way to manage the flood of information. There is so much we might know, that we perhaps ought to know, that it’s often easiest just to act as if we do. And if everyone else is acting, too, then we’re never caught in our ignorance. Of course, then, we’re stuck living with these falsehoods and their consequences – from plague to political upheaval, the very matter of tragedy..."

- https://psyche.co/ideas/our-big-problem-is-not-misinformation-its-knowingness

 

[Mimi Ramone]

I don't know... Fiona at least tried a little bit more, e.g with the self release question, I mean she even dug a little bit deeper on that. But the constant praise ("I read List of the lost several times!") takes away the bit journalistic approach that was there...

As for the interview... odd that he praised the Smiths and Geoff Travis (he didn't do that for a long time, did he?)
Hmm, he seems to do not care to release the albums, I mean the reason is just strange, because people actually want money for their work?
There are a few new ominous enemies (two well-connected CEOs in London who go to great lengths to stop his career and some industry heavyweights), really?
The four people from the last interview are in fact sexually obsessed with him...
And all is about sex, which is bad (says the guy that wrote "Why can't you bring figs all pulpy and moist, roasted in passion and salty in voice? No longer keeping a secret of your secret place" at 60, lol)

And the usual dig at his new found enemy Sam Smith, I thought he was more inclusive than to bodyshame him and make fun of his gender identity.
I know it's an unpopular opinion on here, but this interview is full of comical nonsense, but not in the good witty way, just in the "yep, he rambled again" - way. And full of contradictions too. I mean, he misses challenging music journalists, but lets himself only be interviewed by Fiona and Sam? He rambles about the danger to free speech and being cancelled for it but wants the law to apply to those who criticise him?

I don't know, I'm always expecting something funny, witty or something different than the whole "I'm the only true artist out there but whoa is me"-stuff... come on Moz, there is so much potential if you weren't hiding in your comfort zone.

 

[Anonymous]

The comment about Rough Trade is a far warmer take than he’s offered for years on Geoff Travis and the label as a whole.

Yeah, that's a bit odd when he spent so much of the Smiths section of his autobiography bitching and moaning about Rough Trade.

 

[bhops]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. Morrissey's old wit shines thru in places here.

 

[Anonymous]

There are plenty of small labels that would happily release it for him. The true reason why Moz is so obsessed with a major label is that he wants a guaranteed number 1 album, with massive promotion. He wants music videos, he wants billboards and he wants to be sat opposite Graham Norton doing the funnies.

This. I really don't think it's about 'making money' on a deal, so much as validation. Morrissey has always had a huge chip on his shoulder, coupled with a massive ego. Just earning a few quid from self-releasing isn't enough. Artistic integrity and being able to release his own music isn't enough. He wants to be No 1, played on national radio, hailed as a genius and the records proclaimed as masterpieces. "Behind the hatred there lies a murderous desire for love..."

 

[SuedeMoz]

So, what's the reason he can't get a deal... the labels are not interested... or he wants too much?

 

[Mike Rourke]

So, what's the reason he can't get a deal... the labels are not interested... or he wants too much?

The issue is that he can't get the kind of deal he's been offered in the past. Pre-2019, he was an act who could sell between 30,000 and 100,000 albums fairly reliably in the UK. Post 2019, his new album sales are unlikely to have reached 10,000, so you're going to get offered much worse conditions when you're on that level. Plenty of other acts sell similarly and have record company (I think) deals. These include the likes of James, Damon Albarn (solo stuff), Billy Bragg etc. so it's a perfectly acceptable level, but not when you're used to the terms he was offered in the past.

 

[Mozzer1980]

Too bad she didn't ask him about the screwed up production on Rebels without applause . But I'm sure he would answer that Andrew Watt did an absolutely excellent job and his voice( Morrissey's voice ) in this song sounds better than ever before

 

[Johnnie Ray]

He explains that in the interview.
No more pointless posts about self release please.
He’s always released his albums on major labels and he will continue to do so.
We just have to be a little more patient.

Nah. The days of major labels are over. Let's face it, he is officially a has-been in terms of being a recording artist.

 

[jmb066]

Do you honestly not see the difference between releasing an album on a proper label and doing it yourself? Promotion, chart position, reviews…

Can you honestly think of any high profile artist who has remained succesful by self releasing their albums over a longer period?

I guess it depends on your definition of success. The Wedding Present, Lloyd Cole are 2 that come to mind. The Church are still going with patrons. Morrissey could buy a label and drive results. He answered fairly though he does not want to hire all involved to run it.

 

[Young And Alive]

The music industry is very ageist. It shouldn’t be, but it is.

And it’s worth noting that You Are The Quarry - released when Morrissey was in his mid 40s - is closer chronologically to Strangeways Here We Come than it is to the present day.

How many artists sell more albums in their 60s than they did in their 30s or 40s?

He’s a terrific talent, but his time as a major recording artist has gone. You can’t hold back the tide forever.

 

[Ryan]

If he truly thinks Capitol will release Bonfire after he's dead, he may as well play the entire thing live at this point. And Without Music.