TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Morrissey demands apology from NME | News | Guardian Unlimited MusicAs controversy swells over his alleged comments on immigration, Morrissey has demanded an apology from the NME, the magazine that printed them.The singer's lawyers are threatening to take legal action against the NME unless the magazine offers an apology for this Wednesday's cover story "Bigmouth Strikes Again", which they say amounts to "character assassination" of their client. On the front of the magazine, the ex-Smiths frontman is quoted as saying: "The gates of England are flooded. The country's been thrown away."Morrissey's lawyers demanded an apology by 1pm today, but the request has not yet been met by the magazine.During a lengthy Q&A conducted in New York by journalist Tim Jonze (who also writes for the Guardian), 48-year-old Morrissey is alleged to have made the following comment when asked whether he would consider moving back to Britain from his new home in Rome: "With the issue of immigration, it's very difficult because, although I don't have anything against people from other countries, the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears."Asked to elaborate, the singer noted: "If you walk through Knightsbridge on any bland day of the week you won't hear an English accent. You'll hear every accent under the sun apart from the British accent."In a follow-up interview conducted over the phone with Jonze and also printed in Wednesday's NME, Morrissey expressed concern at how his previous comments could be interpreted: "I just think that it would be construed that the reason I wouldn't wish to live in England is the immigration explosion. And that's not true at all."In an article credited to "NME" surrounding the Q&A, the magazine condemned Morrissey: "This is not the first time that Morrissey has trod clumsily around the area of immigration." The unnamed writer went on to rehash past controversies concerning Morrissey, such as when he flew the Union Jack at a concert in Finsbury Park in 1992 and a lyric from 1998's Bengali in Platforms that went "life is is hard enough when you belong here". The NME article concluded: "Morrissey, the son of immigrants who has lived for most of the past decade in LA or Rome, wants others to have the freedom to travel the world like him, but implies he would shut the gate to people coming to live in the UK. At the very least it smacks of a naive hypocrisy, but mostly sounds more like the ravings of a rogue Tory MP."Merck Mercuriadis, Morrissey's manager, condemned the NME article in a post onthe singer's fan website. "Conor McNicholas [NME's editor] made a decision for reasons known only to himself to betray our trust and make himself out to be a hero at Morrissey's expense," he wrote. "We will be unrelenting in our quest to bring him/NME to justice." (The situation has been further complicated by the fact that Jonze has sought to distance himself from the final article, removing his byline from all but the Q&A and claiming he was unhappy with how it had been "rewritten" by the NME.)An NME spokesman commented: "We can confirm that Morrissey's legal representatives have been in contact with NME and pending the outcome of these discussions we won't be commenting any further."I get the impression that Morrissey has been stiched up. He may be an arse, but I really doubt that he is a racist or xenophobe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamstir Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 im going to send him a teddy bear called mohamed to cheer him up.never got why it was wrong for mozzer with all his englishness to wave around a union flag but ok for the oasis muppets to Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TR!ΔNGL€ T€€TH Posted November 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 never got why it was wrong for mozzer with all his englishness to wave around a union flag but ok for the oasis muppets toMozza's flag waving was badly timed infront of skinheads giving Nazi salutes. A bit of a faux pas really... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
french_disko Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 this is just the NME trying to stir up a bit of "controvery" and sell more copies of their Indie Heat/Hello rag.if you read Morrisey's flipant comments then they're no different from anything being pedalled by the Tories, Labout or the popular press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemz Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 What he's sayin is true but i dont think its racist...There are huge amounts of foreigners in our country an we are getting treated as second class citizens...its rubbish...They are cuming here and bunking in there mates flats/houses untill they have national insurance numbers etc then they are putting there names down for houses an getting housed before other local people who need it as its classed as overcrowding...Then you have the ones that come over an work p/t for a bit then stop working an claim benifits as they do better that way...or the ones that come over work for 15 weeks then fall pregnant an claim SMP, then go home....the money they get equals a polish detectives monthly wage...Because these people are part of the EU...whats happening aint wrong...I dont think what i have said is racist an i definatly aint a racist...Bit of a rant...but its one of the reasons the housing has gone into melt down...8-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 They took our jobs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 the NME and the mozzter have 'history' back in the early 90's they were accusing him of racism simply because he draped himself in a union jack when supporting madness as 'madstock' 92.be good to see that jumped up little prick of an editor conor mcnicholas (does his mum know he's not at school and editing the nme??) brought down a peg or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Booooooorrrrriiiiiinnnnngggggg.Can we just quietly forget about him and the NME?They're both many years past their sell by date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Booooooorrrrriiiiiinnnnngggggg.Can we just quietly forget about him and the NME?They're both many years past their sell by date.You could always just ignore the thread if you think it's boring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
get lost Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Booooooorrrrriiiiiinnnnngggggg.Can we just quietly forget about him and the NME?They're both many years past their sell by date.Thats why he sold out his 6 gig residency, within an hour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hog Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 What he's sayin is true but i dont think its racist...There are huge amounts of foreigners in our country an we are getting treated as second class citizens...its rubbish...They are cuming here and bunking in there mates flats/houses untill they have national insurance numbers etc then they are putting there names down for houses an getting housed before other local people who need it as its classed as overcrowding...Then you have the ones that come over an work p/t for a bit then stop working an claim benifits as they do better that way...or the ones that come over work for 15 weeks then fall pregnant an claim SMP, then go home....the money they get equals a polish detectives monthly wage...Because these people are part of the EU...whats happening aint wrong...I dont think what i have said is racist an i definatly aint a racist...Bit of a rant...but its one of the reasons the housing has gone into melt down...8-)Are you kidding?Ironic how you pick out the Polish and generalize your comments.There are over 40,000 Australians in London, nobody bats an eyelid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemz Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Are you kidding?Ironic how you pick out the Polish and generalize your comments.There are over 40,000 Australians in London, nobody bats an eyelidThe reason i am speaking about the Polish is because me an my husband are almost the only 2 natives in our street...An i dont care about London...i live in Aberdeen...I am not rasict an i am not blaming the poles or any other foreigner this is the governments fault an they have let us down...hence the reason we cant wait to get the fuck out of here...8-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Thats why he sold out his 6 gig residency, within an hourAnd what precisely does that have to do with being good or relevant? Does that make Westlife good or relevant? Does that make Neil Sedaka good or relevant?No, it does not.It just indicates that there are loads of plebby wankers out there who will happily pay through the nose to see a man well past his prime, just because they buy into the hype and publicity. Probably the same people who watch Big Brother.He hasn't made a decent record since Yer Arsenal. And that was in 1992. And it wasn't amazing either.As somone who was a big fan of the Smiths, he is a walking embarassment, and I wish he'd just go away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 You could always just ignore the thread if you think it's boring.I don't think the thread is boring, I just think he and the NME are boring.Just to clear that up. I love all you guys and gals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluesxman Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 It just indicates that there are loads of plebby wankers out there who will happily pay through the nose to see a man well past his prime, just because they buy into the hype and publicity. Probably the same people who watch Big Brother.Although personally I agree with you that Morrissey is now largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, I think that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation - I'm sure he still has die-hard fans who are interested in him, he has never struck me as an artist who attracts passing interest.....good call on 'Your Arsenal' by the way, the first 2 songs are amazing.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 Although personally I agree with you that Morrissey is now largely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, I think that's a bit of a sweeping generalisation - I'm sure he still has die-hard fans who are interested in him, he has never struck me as an artist who attracts passing interest.....good call on 'Your Arsenal' by the way, the first 2 songs are amazing....But you know how much I like my sweeping generalisations! They're my favourite thing!Don't get me wrong, he still has the odd good tune in him, but frankly, I expect a bit more.And you're right about the diehard fan thing, but isn't that more people (like myself, in the begining) who are clinging on in the hope that he might just get better...Also, before he became an NME darling a couple of years ago, he couldn't get arrested, so I'm standing by the 'fickle' thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bluesxman Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 But you know how much I like my sweeping generalisations! They're my favourite thing!Don't get me wrong, he still has the odd good tune in him, but frankly, I expect a bit more.And you're right about the diehard fan thing, but isn't that more people (like myself, in the begining) who are clinging on in the hope that he might just get better...Also, before he became an NME darling a couple of years ago, he couldn't get arrested, so I'm standing by the 'fickle' thing.I think it was more your suggestion that Big Brother viewers would be the type to like Morrissey these days that I was referring to......my better half bought 'You Are The Quarry' or whatever it was called, I gave it a bash but it was just dull, apart from the admittedly quite good single that spurred the purchase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
get lost Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 The man is a legend!!, when you think of bands half his age that are pesh, imo, he can do no wrong, end of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 The man is a legend!!, when you think of bands half his age that are pesh, imo, he can do no wrong, end ofIt's just a shame he's done nothing to justify his legend status for about 15 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 No way is Morrisey racist.Everyone knows his boyfriend is hispanic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delboy Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 It's just a shame he's done nothing to justify his legend status for about 15 years.utter nonsense 'the youngest was the most loved' from the last album was as relevant as anything the moz has done in his entire career.he has produced some gash tunes in recent years mind but more great than shite stuff. anyway it just opinion at the end of the daystill the point of this thread is not whether moz is reletive these days (should save that for another thread methinks)i hope he takes the nme apart and they're forced to close down and i see conor mctwatunus working where he truly belongs in burger king or pizza hut! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 The reason i am speaking about the Polish is because me an my husband are almost the only 2 natives in our street...An i dont care about London...i live in Aberdeen...I am not rasict an i am not blaming the poles or any other foreigner this is the governments fault an they have let us down...hence the reason we cant wait to get the fuck out of here...8-)Erm, I'm not trying to stir, but do you mean you and your husband are leaving the country? For a better life? Much like, dare I say it, the Poles you mention?...If you mean you're moving round the corner, please ignore the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Oh aye, back on topic, I thought the two singles from "You Are The Quarry" were ok. But, much like an Old Firm fan pub quiz, I'd rather this particular contest had no winners, only fatalities.Well, perhaps not fatalities, but I'd certainly enjoy seeing McTwat hung out to dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Steven Dedalus Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 i hope he takes the nme apart and they're forced to close down and i see conor mctwatunus working where he truly belongs in burger king or pizza hut!I could happily watch that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
all_his_engines Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 People who complain about the loss of some mythical British identity and immigrants (mostly Polish in this section of the country) taking all our jobs are not racist, merely ignorant.As far as Morrissey goes, I've never really been a fan of his music, but then his music is totally irrelevant in this instance. What is relevant is what he actually said during that interview, and how it was (allegedly) re-edited by the NME. Journalists re-editing statements from celebrities to get a more sensationalist story out of them is old hat, and still happens all the time. Besides, the NME is a worthless rag aimed at 14-year old fey indie kids who think they're cutting-edge, and should probably be taken down a peg ot two. That said, however, Morrissey's attitude to immigration has apparently always been a bit dodgy, and any anti-immigration sentiment (no matter how small) coming from a child of Irish parents who lives in LA and Rome is pretty rich, if you ask me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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