Morrissey Interview 2022. - Sam Esty Rayner / YouTube (November 27, 2022)

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By Fiona Dodwell

Description:

Premiered on YouTube Nov 27, 2022

In his first filmed interview since 2015, Morrissey speaks on his best album to date.

Recorded October 9, 2022 at The London Palladium during his triumphant U.K tour.
Directed by Sam Esty Rayner Photography.

Transcript

Morrissey, I thought a good place to start is with Bonfire Of Teenagers, the album. Obviously we haven't seen the release of it yet can you tell us what the status of that is?

It's very good it's about to be announced and released very, very quickly.

Brilliant.

So I will leave it up to others to announce that and it will be soon, very soon.

It is on its way?

Yes, it's on its way.

Excellent

Finally. It's been a long claw, crawl, but it's on its way and I'm very pleased and it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful.

You sound really happy with it.

I'm so happy with it, so happy with it. It's incredible because I've been around a long time and if you can still make music that really excites you, I think that's unusual. I think a lot of people who've been around for 40 years can't quite do that. And I'm not being snippety, I don't think they can. I don't think so. But here, suddenly in my life I have this album which is really... I know people always say it's the best... which actually is. It actually is. I'm grateful.

It must be a great feeling after all these years to still know that you're in that place...

It is, it is... and I have made lots of music over those years. It's been pretty constant so having another stretch is unbelievable because (pounds chair) I'm not 22.

I wanted to sort of say I've been checking the set lists of the dates you've been doing recently and you've done a lot of songs from Bonfire Of Teenagers.

Yes

Do you feel an extra like sense of pressure when you're performing songs to a crowd that perhaps are unfamiliar with the work or does it not really cross your mind?

No, because I think you should be able to interest anybody, with any song really. You can't simply say, "Well, I'm only good for that song. I'm only interesting with

that song, I can only sing that song." You have to be able to sing absolutely anything and do it in a way that interests people. And that I think is the measure of somebody who really deserves to be on the stage.

Yeah. That's actually one of the things that I admire about you as a performer. You don't patronize your audience by doing the same things over and over you. You don't shy away from doing perhaps rare tracks or obscure songs. I mean, is that a deliberate choice to mix things up or do you literally go with your gut instinct with what you pick?

I think they like it also. I think they like to hear off the beaten track songs. But the thing is, as long as you can do it and it's it's right and it's convincing and it's enjoyable, then it doesn't matter what you sing. It doesn't matter what you sing.

Exactly. And the shows have had such a fantastic reception as well.

Incredible. Absolutely incredible, I am really dazed by it and obviously thrilled, obviously thrilled

I think you have probably one

of the most die-hard Army of fans that

I've ever witnessed like they travel all

the world they're incredible continents

they they Camp outside venues they do

how does that feel to you like after

like years you come on that still that

level of respect and love I think it

it's just because I'm I'm a real person

and they know I'm true and it's actually

quite rare really to have that kind of

audience you can be a stadium band and

you can play an enormous to millions of

people every night but nobody wants to

go near your stage you are a brand and

you are a business but I'm not like that

I I wasn't made by the music industry I

was made by the people and there's a

huge difference when you look at artists

you can tell all of those who were put

there by the music industry you will be

very big now you'll be very famous and

there are people who are of the people

there are singers who are of the people

of which I am one and often that works

against you because the industry don't

particularly like people like me and the

music press don't particularly like

people like me because they know I'm

older people they know it isn't just a

money has been injected into this person

nothing has been injected into me I can

assure you so they don't know what to do

with people like me they think this is

odd it's almost like there's a

preference to manufacture artists so

that they can control they understand

manufactured artists they can get rid of

them when it's they're bought you know

when industry is bored with them they

just get rid of them yeah but you can't

with people like me unless I'm shocked

because it feels like you've made that

personal connection with your audience

and that's that makes a big difference

well I didn't make it because of radio

radio British radio was never on my side

and

so it's gratified you just do it for the

love of yes it's it's very very genuine

it's very genuine

um from bonfire of teenagers just going

back to the album do you have any

favorite tracks on there I mean yeah

possible really it's the they're all the

same to me in the sense that I love them

so much so whichever ones that the

record label choose to be released as

singles and so forth it doesn't matter

because it's all great it's all

wonderful to me okay you sound very

happy

worrying

um you've been part of the music world

for so long now Maurice I'm just

wondering

what would you say in your opinion in

your experience as your biggest

frustration that you've had and that you

see well the blessing is the frustration

because you're outside the gates and you

don't you don't really have anything to

do with I don't really have anything to

do with the music industry and I don't

think I ever have

and that's okay but sometimes you think

well I think I do deserve to be on the

radio I think I do deserve to be

included somewhere but it doesn't ever

happen they don't include me anywhere

even just for perseverance and just to

shut me up they don't include me it's

very strange it's very peculiar shocking

as well because they must see the

audience is still there for you they

don't care they don't care they don't

care about it if you don't chase them

and say please do this for me please

please and they just think no no they

want to be chased they want to be wooed

I can't

um how have you personally I mean I know

that you've probably been asked about

this quite a lot but how do you

personally cope with seeing yourself

fictionalized and caricatured by the

Press so much I mean

is it difficult or do you so used to it

you're I'm used to it but it isn't

positive it's always

ridiculous I think mostly As far as I

can tell but I think you you put

yourself out there you step out there

and

you have to expect it really it's going

going to happen and it happens to

everybody

to a degree if they're interesting yeah

it doesn't happen to people who are not

very interested exactly but the people

that are seen as not interesting often

the ones they're just frightened to

actually say

what's on their mind and what they

believe usually there is nothing

[Applause]

um are you currently working on anything

else no I don't want to jump forward too

much because of the new album but I have

read somewhere that you've been writing

and recording again is there any priest

yes we have written the the follow-up um

and that will be recorded soon but it

won't be released soon because bonfire

of teenagers must have a chance to

breathe and blow and so forth yeah

so watch it will be recorded soon yes

um that is one thing that's actually

really impressive I mean looking at the

length of your career

other artists that might be in that

position

would often slow down whereas actually

if anything you've become

more yes regular like you very prolific

well that's a nice word someone would

have other words but uh uh it's it's all

I think about I haven't changed it's all

I think about all day all night all I

think about is the voice the song

is all I think about I am trapped

dedicated call it what you will but it's

my life you'd say it's your meaning and

everything that's my purpose really I

don't you won't see me on a golf course

or on a horse somewhere

uh I don't do anything really

just all music people only ever see me

running into I don't know the bread shop

but otherwise otherwise I don't really

exist

and that's okay that's okay

um looking at um

everything that I've personally seen in

recent years of the music industry one

thing I would say is

actually how bland it's become there's

so few people that are willing to stand

up and stand out for anything that

they're almost standing for nothing and

they're not really expressing anything

but you're the opposite of that I mean

was this just part of who you are or did

you have a like a mental decision like I

want to I want to get people challenged

and thinking and I don't really have a

choice but it but the thing is you have

to make it interesting for people you

have to make music interesting for

people and you have to make your

position interesting in the late 90s I I

was interviewed a great deal and I I I

constantly spoke of a dumbing Down that

was happening in England everywhere

television television commercials

everything to do with British life it

was just aimed at the and that has

absolutely happened now I mean if you

watch British television commercials

they're insufferable the noise and the

content is always the same people

dancing in six million pound kitchens

that's all people do in Britain is dance

dance dance dance dance they deliver a

pizza the dancing dancing it's really

now moronic and that shows everywhere

and you music really

not many people have faith in music

anymore and because a lot of things have

changed financially in the music

industry labels now can just get rid of

you if your album doesn't go instantly

Platinum there's so many younger bands

who have done really well with their

first album maybe they reach 23 22-21

it's not enough they're dumped they're

not allowed to make a second album

whereas years ago as you might know

people could make five flops and the

label would stick by them now the labels

are quite bloodless they will just get

rid of you if you say anything that they

don't agree with they're not saying they

won't see you through the Journey

anymore no no they're not interested

they're not and that's you know that now

they talk all about oh we must have

diversity diversity diversity which is p

diversity of people that you don't know

and it just means it's just another word

for Conformity it's the new way of

saying Conformity diversity you don't

see anything diverse anyway it's all

Conformity it's having the opposite

effect in fact it is because when people

talk about diversity they don't think

about the great things that we don't

have in common and those things are

ignored and they always made

country is very interesting because you

could travel to Germany you could see

the most incredible culture you go to

Italy see the most incredible culture

now they just want everything to be the

same the same yeah so diversity means

Conformity it doesn't mean let's it

doesn't mean avant-gard or let's make

really interesting strange Arts it means

box everybody yeah diversity I think is

the Dreadful word pin it to anything and

that

situation is finished it's a terrible

word terrible do you have an opinion on

social media because whenever I dip dip

in and have a look I think actually the

the group think and the extreme

opinions that are pushed they're

actually part of this problem I think so

because now everybody is an expert

critic everybody is an expert scientist

they know everything they have the

chance to review everything and Destroy

people yeah and if they can get their

friends to join in and make a campaign

of let's get rid of such a body you know

I think it more or less happened to

Jermaine Greer JK Rowling the two

perfect example if we all get together

and try and get rid of these people and

don't stop harping on about how

dangerous they are then it's it's pretty

lethal and I think there will be a way

to control it eventually but nobody

knows how yet and I don't think the

political Elite like it very much

because if you notice politicians are

going rapidly as well and that's because

of social media and people saying I

don't like you which they couldn't do in

the past but no they can't there's two

sides to that point really isn't there

but I quite often look at some of the

things on there and think

the witch hunts aren't really over are

they entirely well in one degree yeah no

one the thing is they desperately need

to find a witch they have to find a

witch

who is disgraceful and horrible and blah

blah blah blah blah blah and uh you can

see the joy in people do you remember

Mary White's house yes the joy so many

people have turned into Mary White's

house trying to cancel I don't know I'm

offended as of you being offended

that you're intelligent it just means

you're an idiot

um but this Mary White we're in a merry

White House culture now where everybody

must say stop I don't like that get us

off the planet and

people like that I think are a dreadful

people yeah just walk the other way

don't look switch off listen to

something else bake a cake you don't

have to stop it for other people yeah

but also

we're also in a in a protest culture

like the late 60s when everybody loved

to go out and be get on the streets and

protest and be angry about something and

to March up and down everybody wants to

do that now they want to be irate about

something

which is okay but uh you might be

wasting the time yeah um I wanted to

touch upon animal rights it's such a big

thing to you it's been a current theme

in your music and you've spoken out

about it in interviews um I personally

have noticed a positive shift going in

restaurants and cafes it's much more

commonplace to find vegan and vegetarian

options do you feel like we're now on

the right trajectory or are we too far

to I think I think it's really

fascinating

because I'm old enough to remember when

it was really stuck situation you

couldn't do anything about anything and

if you said the word vegetarian you were

ridiculed beyond belief but now I'm just

so happy about the changes everywhere

I'm really really happy and

um

so I know I have spoken endlessly

about this in the past but I feel

almost Justified now yeah because

there's a great reluctance what they're

doing it anyway they're reluctant to to

give you

um any Credence yeah but it's happening

anyway because they want to make money

so if you if you have eight friends who

go out to a restaurant and two of your

friends happen to be vegan then that

restaurant is going to lose everybody if

they can't cater for the two vegans so

everybody just saying oh God we have to

do it now and everybody is becoming

aware of animals as

Beautiful Creatures who have done so

much for us yeah they've done so much

for us give them a rest instead of

taking leave them alone they've done so

much for the human race and they should

be rewarded now and they should be

allowed to live I think I think that's a

massive thing you've done Morrissey like

I'd say what you're one of the leading

figures that have actually highlighted

the issue well so I shot my best

thank you thank you enjoy

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