Interview with Cornershop's Tjinder Singh reflects on Morrissey protest

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...r-singh-brexit-morrissey-music-england-garden

Extract:

"On No Rock: Save in Roll you’ll also hear a discreet sitar; this musical synthesis is everywhere in Cornershop’s back catalogue, a musical response, perhaps, to how difficult assimilation has been for them in other ways. In 1993 their first EP’s lead track, England’s Dreaming, injected indie with the spirit of protest, fusing lyrics from the Smiths’ Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now and Public Enemy (“I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour/Fight the Power!”).

This protest was about Morrissey, who had draped himself in a union jack at a Madness gig in summer 1992, when the flag was very much a symbol of the far right. He had also released controversial songs such as The National Front Disco and Bengali in Platforms, the latter addressing an immigrant to Britain wanting to assimilate (“shelve your western plans/and understand/That life is hard enough when you belong here”). Cornershop had also set fire to pictures of Morrissey outside his record company offices around their EP’s release. This was dismissed as a press stunt by some at the time, but given Morrissey’s ramping up of anti-immigrant statements over the years – including wearing a badge celebrating the far-right For Britain party on America’s Jimmy Fallon show last May – it now seems on the money.

“What’s changed now is people have this phrase, and I think it’s a lovely phrase, called ‘white privilege’,” Singh says, looking back. “That’s what Morrissey had, that ability to just continue regardless – Clapton had it too.” He’s referring to Clapton’s drunken on-stage rant in 1976, saying that Britain was “overcrowded”, and that his fans should vote for Enoch Powell. That action prompted the creation of Rock Against Racism (Clapton has since said he feels “shame” about those remarks).

“Clapton then surrounded himself with black people, and now Morrissey’s doing the same,” says Singh, meaning Motown singer Thelma Houston, with whom Morrissey duetted on his recent single, Bobby, Don’t You Think They Know? “It was hard for Cornershop to make our stand then, because we were pulling a lot of disparate things together. We couldn’t just say, look at his badge. Look at his support of Tommy Robinson.”
 
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I'm fairly certain Morrissey has no issue with mixed race trans dykes. I can't see him disliking the 'surprise' at the end of The Crying Game.

And I'm more than happy to denounce liberal-left hypocrisy & wrongness without trotting down white nationalist alley.

Dismissing Irish Catholic communities, pretending Morrissey isn't a first generation immigrant as if he hardly interacts with his own parents & citing this song ? as more evidence of Morrissey's racism (as I've seen in some hit pieces) is outrageous.



One of his worst songs...
 
It doesn't really matter what ethnic group they are from. Sexual exploitation has no colour.

It does in the case of this industrial scale phenomenon, Asian adult men are probably 2% of the UK population but 84% of the grooming gang participants. Invariably the stories see the men abusing the indigenous girls with “white slag” racial and religious epithets.

Similarly overrepresented in European terrorism too of course.
 
“What’s changed now is people have this phrase, and I think it’s a lovely phrase, called ‘white privilege’,” Singh says, looking back. “That’s what Morrissey had, that ability to just continue regardless – Clapton had it too.”

I’m sure both individuals who have experienced great pain, depression, loss, substance addiction etc take great comfort in this inherent “privilege.”
 
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“What’s changed now is people have this phrase, and I think it’s a lovely phrase, called ‘white privilege’,” Tjinder Singh says, looking back. “That’s what Morrissey had, that ability to just continue regardless – Eric Clapton had it too.”

I find it interesting that they use Morrissey and Eric Clapton as the two examples in popular music not Elvis Costello or David Bowie or some heavy metal or punk thing. There are white members of bands/groups and white musicians who say far more offensive stuff than Morrissey does. Also I don't believe that Morrissey is racist or Islamophobic.

Musicians and celebrities taking a stand against racism is older than Eric Clapton and the "Rock Against Racism" stuff which started in 1976. Back in the 1950s a two page article appeared in Melody Maker, “Frank Sinatra Says Jazz Has No Colour Bar”. By then folk singer Fred Dallas had teamed up with jazz players Johnny Dankworth, Cleo Laine, Winifred Atwell, Ken Colyer, George Melly and skiffle artists Russell Quaye and Hylda Syms, as well as other prominent cultural figures, to form SCIF (The Stars Campaign for Interracial Friendship) . At its initial meeting, they appointed their most high profile member, the actor Sir Laurence Olivier, as chairman. The organisation was loose but they decided its strategy would be to organise around the single issue of racism and promote racial harmony. SCIF (The Stars Campaign for Interracial Friendship) member Eric Hobsbawm was later to say, “The purpose of SCIF…was to articulate through the combined presence of music and culture, and left activists and writers, a cultural policy of racial inclusion and social solidarity at a time of crisis.”

For more info: http://socialistreview.org.uk/409/rock-and-roll-against-racism

The community resistance to the Notting Hill, London and Nottingham anti-black race riots of August 1958 are well known. Much less well known is "The Stars Campaign for Interracial Friendship" (SCIF).

These days there is "Love Music Hate Racism" and "Hope Not Hate".
 
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Another Bragg type non-entity from the past name dropping/slagging Morrissey to get some publicity. Despite what certain loons think Morrissey still has the pulling power that most of that era can't even dream of, calling him out will guarantee column inches from the joke MSM. Nothing to see here.
Use of the term MSM gives your political position away here. A fan of the above-mentioned Robinson, I'd wager.
 
I wish Cornershop would choose to concentrate on their music a bit more, rather than banging on about Morrissey every chance they get. It's almost as if they're doing it to get publicity! ("It's Good to Be on the Way Back Home Again" from their third album is one of my favourite songs of the 90s - just a gorgeous air of travel, exhaustion and melancholy.)
 
You have made some good points. Vulnerable young women and girls from very poor and deprived backgrounds should be protected in British society and in all societies for that matter. There is also a 'class' issue here in that the abused girls were from working-class backgrounds and some were from what is known as the 'underclass' something which isn't talked about much. The abused girls also happened to be mostly white. There seems to be a lot of hatred towards white British working-class people and also the 'underclass' (which is less talked about) here in Britain today. I don't understand where this hatred comes from.

Morrissey is from a respectable white working-class background from Manchester in the North West of England. Could there be hatred towards Morrissey because he comes from a white working-class Northern English background?

Morrissey also has Irish Catholic heritage his family come from the Republic of Ireland. There could also be hatred, prejudice and racism against the Irish and Roman Catholics?

When I was growing up in London, England in the 1980s I don't remember any real hatred towards Roman Catholics ("Papists") in general. But I do remember hatred about the Northern Irish and the IRA (the Irish Republican Army) who were Catholics and Republicans. It is understandable why some Irish people don't like the British Royal family. It is understandable when you look at Morrissey's background why he dislikes some elements of the British Royal family.

People forget that there has been racism and prejudice against the Irish in England going back centuries.

I don't think that Morrissey is Islamophobic, racist or xenophobic. Islamic terrorism and Islamic grooming gangs and female genital mutilation (FGM) and acid attacks are all relatively new issues here in Britain I think that it first started getting bad after the millennium. I think that people are afraid to speak out about these issues for fear of being labeled Islamophobic or a racist or a bigot. I know that terrorism, grooming gangs, child abuse, domestic abuse and violence, raping women, female genital mutilation (FGM), antisemitism, bullying, honor killings, arranged marriages, animal cruelty, acid attacks, the death penalty, torture, homophobia, hatred and violence towards women and hatred and violence towards people who are homosexual, bisexual or trans is NOT exclusively an Islamic thing. I'm well aware of that. I haven't had any loved ones die or be injured in an Islamic terrorist attack thank goodness but my heart goes out to people who have. I have been bullied and stuff by an older Muslim Asian Northern English man which is what changed my perception of what Muslim Asian Northern English men are like I don't want to talk about the details on here as it is a private and personal issue to me and I'm still frightened of him. The pure hatred, contempt and disdain that this man has for me is very strong. I'm still dealing with PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder) to do with what happened to me. This happened to me when I lived in Manchester.

I don't understand what the Islamic terrorists are trying to achieve by these attacks in Britain and in other places? At least with the IRA they had a cause which was to unite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. I don't agree with the IRA about how they went about things. I don't like violence at all I'm a pacifist. But I personally think that Ireland should be one united country with no border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

I'm a born-again, Bible-believing Christian. I guess that some people would say that I'm a protestant but I'm not a "Calvinist" so I'm not a protestant in that sense. I don't follow "Arminianism" either which is sort of the opposite of Calvinism.

I'm a big supporter of the Jewish Sate of Israel one of the things I love about Morrissey is his love and support for Israel. Morrissey is one of the few pop stars who tries to protect young vulnerable girls and women from very poor backgrounds. I love all that Morrissey does to protect animals.

I'm a Londoner born and bred. I love London. I lived in Manchester for 3 years and that was where the bad stuff happened. I have Irish, Scottish and English heritage. I don't like Manchester's indie music scene there is a lot of cruelty in that scene and people can be fake in that scene and there is a lot of hatred towards Morrissey in that scene. I saw this for myself. Maybe some of them are jealous of Morrissey and his continued success?

I'm not personally that big into indie music. I love Morrissey but I'm not that big into indie music in general.

I can totally understand why Morrissey likes Anne Marie Waters. I'm NOT a supporter of "For Britain" at all though myself. I personally don't have much interested in worldly politics.

I don't know that much about and the British indie band "Cornershop". I remember their big hit single their big 1997 UK number-one single "Brimful of Asha".

I had a look at their Wikipedia page: "Cornershop" was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh (singer, songwriter, and guitar), his brother Avtar Singh (bass guitar, vocals), David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres (guitar, keyboards, and tamboura), the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band "General Havoc", who released one single (the "Fast Jaspal EP") in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music. It says on Wikipedia that the band's origin is in Leicester, England.

I wonder if Tjinder Singh is from a Hindu background? I think Tjinder Singh is of Punjabi origin. Punjabi people are associated with the 'Punjab' region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, presently divided between Punjab, India and Punjab, Pakistan. In India there are Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims. People think of Pakistan as being the more Muslim country but I found out that there are actually more Muslims living in India than in Pakistan I couldn't believe this when I first heard about it. I know that Christians are sometimes killed in India by Hindu Nationalists.

I remember when the Asian underground music scene was cool in the 1990s with bands like Asian Dub Foundation and the musician Talvin Singh.

I remember the "Cool Britannia" thing in the 1990s and the "Britpop" thing. I was teenager in the 1990s. I remember people thought that it was great when Geri Halliwell a white English lady from "The Spice Girls" wore her Union Jack dress at the 1997 Brit Awards. Morrissey was treated very differently when he was wrapped in a Union Jack flag in 1992.

I often wish I could go back to being 15 again in the 1990s or even younger when I was 13 before all the bad stuff happened.

I think that Thelma Houston is a great artist and singer. I love Motown- originally of Detroit, Michigan USA so much. Morrissey has loved Tamla Motown since he was very young as well. Morrissey didn't chose to sing with Thelma Houston to prove that he isn't a racist that isn't true. Thelma Houston has also said that Morrissey isn't a racist! Morrissey has a great love and interest in black African American culture and music and he was close friends with the late Dick Gregory. Dick Gregory was a really great man and he wouldn't of been friends with someone who was a racist. Dick Gregory was a black African American comedian, civil rights activist, conspiracy theorist, social critic, writer, and occasional actor he died in 2017.

I didn't realise how acute the class hatred was until Brexit day when my Twitter feed was filled with tweets from people calling the white, Northern English working-class ugly, stupid, racist, fat, inbred & a heap of insults that have nothing to do with the politics.

I think that's when I finally accepted 'the left' was in serious crisis.

Islamic State encourages terrorism in the West for publicity, clout among young men (violence creates status & urgency) & because they're all very young themselves & have that gamification mindset - how many hits can they get. It's the same mindset that's driving mass shootings.
 
I wish Cornershop would choose to concentrate on their music a bit more, rather than banging on about Morrissey every chance they get. It's almost as if they're doing it to get publicity! ("It's Good to Be on the Way Back Home Again" from their third album is one of my favourite songs of the 90s - just a gorgeous air of travel, exhaustion and melancholy.)

I've never heard them! I think I've heard the Brimful track.
 
Still fuming.

Fight the power of Irish Catholics in Britain, aye, because we're steeped in it.

And if Morrissey wanted to surround himself with victimised racial & religious minorities he could get photographed with his family.

:swear

Viva Moz. ❤
 
Morrissey fans winning gold at the mental gymnastics once again.
 
^This tart is beyond daft.

Next time you’re in a pinch, begging for military help against your tiny island’s whack military, call the f***ing Queen.

“Nobody comes to the aid of a stuck-ignorant c***. Sink or swim, bitch.” - Half the world

I see you're the one wearing clown shoes. Go check out NATO.
You ill-informed & ill-advised idiot. People on here, really.
 
Gosh. It doesn’t take much to get the usuals into a lather. Oh well. The album will out soon That’ll provide big laughs....won’t it?
 
IMG_20200302_060044.jpg
 
It doesn't really matter what ethnic group they are from. Sexual exploitation has no colour. Tjinder wasn't asked about that, so it's not relevant here. But he was asked about Moz, so he answered. Tjinder understandably feels vindicated cos of M's recent antics. I wish Moz hadn't created this situation

Morrissey didn't create the situation, this arrogant brown man who is ungrateful to the country and it's natives that are allowing him to exist and thrive in their country created it by being too comfortable with being critical of the country that opened doors to him
 
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It’s bad enough having a different opinion to that certain characters approve of. But if you’re brown-skinned and give a point of view not vetted by those with a colonial mentality? Oh! The wailing and gnashing of teeth goes into overdrive! I’m out in the sun right now enjoying the fresh air. Reading the comments upon @Uncleskinny’s thread, some need to get out more.
 
Use of the term MSM gives your political position away here. A fan of the above-mentioned Robinson, I'd wager.

Skinny, of course you watch MSM

It’s bad enough having a different opinion to that certain characters approve of. But if you’re brown-skinned and give a point of view not vetted by those with a colonial mentality? Oh! The wailing and gnashing of teeth goes into overdrive! I’m out in the sun right now enjoying the fresh air. Reading the comments upon @Uncleskinny’s thread, some need to get out more.

You mean his ill informed, arrogant opinion not vetted by the natives of the country the brown man has the Privilege of living in. He's always welcome to go back home
 
Skinny, of course you watch MSM



You mean his ill informed, arrogant opinion not vetted by the natives of the country the brown man has the Privilege of living in. He's always welcome to go back home
He’s British, born here and entitled to his opinions, just like everyone else for whom Britain is home to. I guess to you, he’s not a “good ethnic” by your expected double standards? Life goes on. Oh yes, and he’s actually had a No.1 in the Singles Chart that actually counts. A little something dear Mozza has yet to achieve.
The “settler mentality” of those who say the 14 words as their bedtime prayer as comfort always makes me chuckle. Squanto was too generous by half, back in the day.
 
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He’s British, born here and entitled to his opinions, just like everyone else in. I guess to you, he’s not a “good ethnic” by your expected double standards? Life goes on. Oh yes, and he’s actually had a No.1 in the Singles Chart that actually counts. A little something dear Mozza has yet to achieve.
The “settler mentally” of those who say the 14 words as their bedtime prayer as comfort always makes me chuckle. Squanto was too generous by half, back in the day.

He may be a citizen but he's not an English native and I didn't say he can't have an opinion but as a guy who's been welcome in the country, he should be grateful that he's allowed to be a part of it, not attack it's majority. He's arrogant and ungrateful
 
He may be a citizen but he's not a native and I didn't say he can't have an opinion but as a guy who's been welcome in the country should be grateful that he's allowed to be a part of it, not attack it's majority. He's arrogant and ungrateful
You clearly spend far too much time than is healthy in echo chambers, young man. Get out more and widen the scope of people you speak to in the real world. Your responses reveal a most sheltered existence. No wonder your expectations are uniformity. And when you fall back upon memes, all you’re displaying is how well Cambridge Analytica played upon your fears and deep-seated insecurities.
Get out more and take a break from those gamer/Chan sites where incels with only their right hand for company frequent and vent their frustrations, young man. It’ll be much to your long-term benefit, believe me.
 

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