The ever-divisive Morrissey has apparently found another way to confuse his fans, selling signed copies of other musicians’ albums a his recent show.
What’s the most unique item in your record collection? Maybe it’s a first pressing of Led Zeppelin I, complete with turquoise lettering? Or maybe it’s a personalised, signed copy of your favourite album by your favourite band?
If you’re a Morrissey fan however, you might have just taken the chance to add one of the strangest pieces to your collection, including a Lou Reed album signed by old mate Moz himself.
If that doesn’t make sense, then you’re not alone, with fans at Morrissey’s recent Los Angeles show rather confounded by the options at the merch desk over the weekend.
As fans on the Morrissey forum have pointed out, the former Smiths frontman took to Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night to deliver a set which saw him don a vest that read “Fuck The Guardian” (more on that in a moment).
However, when fans went to pick up merchandise, they were treated with some intriguing options. In addition to signed copies of California’s Son and The Best Of Morrissey going for $200, fans also had the option of paying $300 for copies of other albums which had also been signed by the artist.
Been looking for a copy of Patti Smiths’ Horses but could only find versions that lacked the certain touch of one Steven Patrick Morrissey? You were in luck! Or maybe you were keen to grab a copy of Lou Reed’s Transformer, Iggy And The Stooges’ Raw Power, or David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane?
Love Classic Rock?
Get the latest Classic Rock news, features, updates and giveaways straight to your inbox Learn more
As some fans on Twitter have noted, while the fact Morrissey’s albums are cheaper is confusing enough to begin with, but if these copies had actually come from the personal collection of the artist, this might have actually been something of an intriguing purchase for his dedicated followers.
However, if he bought them new for the sole purpose of signing them himself, well, then that’s another story altogether.
https://twitter.com/roberthamwriter/status/1188566294460682240
As alluded to above though, the most interesting part of the performance came by way of Morrissey’s outfit of choice, which consisted of a vest that simply read “Fuck The Guardian”.
While shirts bearing the same message were also sold, this piece of clothing seems to relate to the controversial artist’s ongoing vendetta with the publication, who he had previously labelled “the voice of all that is wrong and sad about modern Britain,” and claimed that they were the perpetrators of an “inexhaustible hate campaign” against him.
After the publication began to report on his support of the far-right political party For Britain, Morrissey posted an interview with his nephew online, pointing out that he had not made any legal moves against the publication because he claimed that “as a so-called entertainer, I have no human rights.”
“If I were a postman I would have won a Harassment Case against The Guardian and been awarded 10 million pounds in damages by now,” he explains.
“You might wave The Guardian aside and simply say, well, they’re just loudly ridiculous, but at the same time you must wonder about their legal status and acceptable standards of journalism, and how to distinguish …. if you can … between what is actual news, and what is written with a full intent to cause harm.
“The Guardian have pestered and relentlessly harassed musicians in my life urging them not to work with me again. Now, this is not journalistic opinion at work, it is hate with the sole intent of making me a public target.
“In these days of casual knife crime and hurling of acid, you’d expect The Guardian to maintain a certain careful morality. But no. If I suffered physical harm as a direct result of the Guardian’s tyranny, you can imagine cheers and champagne exploding through their offices… it chills the blood. The Guardian fully believes it is a political party.”
While The Guardian themselves responded to Morrissey’s choice of outfit by way of an article reporting on the matter, they have not directly responded to the artist’s claims of a “hate campaign”.
Check out ‘Suedehead’ by Morrissey:
