Why does morrissey still matter

I would go so far as to say that we are in desperate need of eccentrics. Clearly, eccentricity trumps compliance. And it's because he acutely understands what it means to be enigmatic and what it means to be a fan. From his early days being a devoted fan of The New York Dolls, Shelagh Delaney, John Betjeman, and David Bowie, Morrissey understood the powerful, heartbreaking, and intimate intricacies of fandom and art.

If we are clever enough to look, we will find some sense of hope with the few artists he holds in high regard today. We need more Patti Smith and less Will Smith.

We need more Jeff Beck and less David Beckham. We need Morrissey for the simple reason that he is the best example of an artist and public figure whose individualism cannot be bought or sold.

News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Notify me of new posts via email. Too bloody right we are. Image from the amazing Morrissey-solo site. Share this: Share Facebook Twitter. Like this: Like Loading Leave a Reply Cancel reply Enter your comment here Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:. Email required Address never made public. Name required. Follow Following. Sign me up. The NME, keen to hang on to its vinyl exclusive, initially tried to discard the offending quotes, but after I threatened to publish them elsewhere — and with some pressure added from certain staffers at the time — they relented.

A complete breakdown in trust between myself and the editors meant that when the piece eventually went to press, my byline had been removed from the piece — making an already messy situation far worse.

When the piece was published, all hell broke loose. It was a stressful time. But fellow music writers openly expressed doubt about my version of events. After that it went rather quiet.

Certainly, the long history of support for racist and far-right organisations speaks to something else. The implication was always that he had been misquoted, or his words taken out of context. At times, he would use his impressively dogged — and career-long — support for animal rights as an excuse. Defenders are increasingly hard to come by. His press officer was unable to provide anyone to speak to us. We were always very different people and I think most people know that.

Yet even those of us who have undergone considerable mental gymnastics to absolve Morrissey have now run out of plausible arguments although there are those on his fan forums who seem happy to agree that Tommy Robinson is mistreated, and that For Britain does have something valid to say. Yet still the faithful flock. Morrissey retains a large audience in America, a hardcore of fans who are either unaware or unfazed by his awful bigotry. The British press, meanwhile, remains fascinated with this once-revered figure, faithfully reporting his every utterance no matter how barmy.

The Smiths were magnificent but the Morrissey we once festooned with love and flowers is no more. The light has gone out.