Heaven knows he’s miserable now. Again.
In a brief post on his official website that was headlined ‘Roll On 2023,” the Smiths expat Morrissey said he has “voluntarily parted company” with his label, Capitol Records, and with his managers at Maverick and Quest Artist Management.
As if that weren’t enough to get the singer’s legions of fans stirring, he later posted — under the headline “Miley Cyrus Is a Punk Rocker” — that the “Wrecking Ball” and “Midnight Sky” singer wants to be taken off a song on which they collaborated for his forthcoming “hidden” album Bonfire of Teenagers.
“Miley Cyrus now wants to be taken off the song ‘I Am Veronica’ for which she volunteered backing vocals almost two years ago,” the post at Morrissey-Solo.com reads. “This comes at a time when Morrissey has disassociated himself with Capitol Records (Los Angeles), who control the hidden album Bonfire of Teenagers.”
He also posted a playful photo of the two from the session for the song.
Morrissey, the English singer who fronted The Smiths from 1982-87 and has enjoyed a successful solo career, announced Bonfire of Teenagers in a since-deleted post from late October. The disc, which also features collaborations with acts including Iggy Pop, Josh Klinghoffer and Flea and Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers, now is in limbo.
The post also revealed a 2023 tour of North America and that Capitol would be reissuing a number of his catalog albums, including 1995’s Southpaw Grammar and the mid-2000s sets You Are the Quarry and Ringleader of the Tormentors. The latter two originally were on Sanctuary Records, and Southpaw Grammar originally was released in the UK by RCA — which has been Cyrus’ label home for nearly a decade.
Morrissey has been a controversial figure for decades, and recently he has embraced the far-right UK political party For Britain. He also has drawn new attention for his views on such hot-button topics and immgration and the #MeToo movement. He also angered fans in Los Angeles last month when he ended a concert at the Greek Theatre after only about a half-hour, without explanation.
In April 2021, Morrissey’s manager put The Simpsons on notice after the long-running Fox toon comedy spotlighted a “depressed British singer from the 1980s” named Quilloughby, who was an imaginary friend of Lisa Simpson. The Morrissey-inspired character was featured in the episode titled “Panic on the Streets of Springfield.”
