Releasing his new album on Attack, which is Morrissey's branch of Sanctuary? Things could get complicated...

I take it you'll all be apologising to Morrissey now.

It does not add up. There was an announcement on the radio, it was mentioned on his official website (run by Sanctuary I assume). Seems to be the same trick he did with The Smiths in 1987. Then The Smiths were announced to play Pinkpop in The Netherlands, and all was arranged. He then pulled out because he himself was never informed thereon. Other people decedid for him. So Sanctuary artist management pulled this one. Sancuary gods yesterday, and what are they now. I wonder what is going on in his camp.

Love to you too!

Before reading this story I've just written a bit trying to put the 'cancellation' in context, which my ego doesn't want to delete, but of course Morrissey expresses the truth much better and rightfully puts the record company to shame in this instance.

The reactions to Morrissey’s cancellation show the devotion he inspires. A lot of things about him, his honesty, his playfulness, his knowledge, his style, attract attention in a way that’s different, and more like the love-bombing of a cult than the trendiness of a pop-star. “When you are young you crave affection and it can come from the strangest direction”. Like a cult he seems to say: ‘don’t listen to them – listen to me and keep me in mind’ but he doesn’t sneakily draw one in to a comfort cushion of belonging and approval at the eventual cost of individual freedom under dire threat.

It’s more like ‘who knows, we may never meet again so let’s be euphoric while we’re together with the music, but otherwise you live your life and I live mine’. He’s juggling with options and time-pressures and meeting standards as much as the rest of us, but not covering it over with a perfectionism and not reducing quality or pace by pretending to please everyone. He’s responding to changing circumstances and knowing his real strengths and limitations. He’s not asking everyone to follow him and rely on him blindly but more being an example of how people can have happy encounters if they’re not putting all their eggs in one basket but looking after the business of everyday that is in their power, preparing carefully, making necessary choices and decisions, and seizing the day as suits.

The enduring alluring paradox of Morrissey – divinely human!
 

he could have saved a lot of his fans money, time & a right palaver!

Grim

Nice of you not to tell your fans until a week before the show, after people have gotten plane tickets and hotels and whatnot.

"The announcement that I would play was made by Sanctuary—and it was their error. However, record companies will never take the blame for their own mistakes and Sanctuary’s press statement today reflects this."

You both screwed up.

"and even though Janice Long kindly announced very early on that the IOW wouldn’t happen, unfortunately Sanctuary would not confirm this and this encouraged people to buy tickets."

All you had to do was send a statement to True To You a long time ago and it would've gotten around.

"I am very angry about the IOW, but I can’t control Sanctuary."

Yes, you're angry at Sanctuary, yadda yadda yadda. You still owe some of your fans an apology, which you're too full of yourself to include in your statement.

"somehow believing that I control the entire spectrum of human events."

Rubbish. You certainly do control what statements you issue to your fans. You just didn't care.

"In truth, since our closing dates last year in London and Dublin, my personal involvement in anything that has followed has been sub minus zero."

Oh you're so above it all, Morrissey. Meanwhile some of your fans were spending hundreds of dollars - in some cases more - to attend a concert your official web site was promoting and you didn't lift a figure to set straight, even though you knew you had no intention of playing there all along.

"love to you from MORRISSEY."

I love you too. But you're kind of a self-centered jerk sometimes. But hey, I guess we all do kinda love the drama of being a Morrissey fan! :)

Dear Heart of Mine.

Yes, lost forevermore.

Sad for me. Of no consequence to anyone else.

I think you have a good case against Sanctuary if they actually put you up to play IOW when you're not even on their label. So why don't you go ahead and sue them, and have them pay back the fans who spend (for them) a fortune to go there and see you. It's the least you can do when you knew all along that you wouldn't appear at IOW.

Was it just me, or was that was really exciting to read? Deano is not out of the band, that's good news. Nothing about Alain, I guess he is out.

Everyone on this site has made an icon out of this man. This is the real guy. A snobby ego-centric millionaire who refuses to take any responsibility for his actions. Everyone goes around kissing his ass and hugging him when they see him that he feels he can do no wrong.
He is only half responsible. The other half of responsibility goes to us (I include myself) loser fans who need to get lives and quit idolizing this pompous, selfish, and inconsiderate diva. I think behavior like this explains why Morrissey is going to die alone and miserable without anyone who really loves him. Grow up Morrissey. Thanks for the past due message, but admit you messed up and kicked alot of you fans in the balls.
Thanks

Morrissey
Unfortunately, you have very little credibility with your fans. You speak out of both sides of your mouth. History has proven that you routinely cancel shows and appearances and place the blame on everyone else but yourself. You always play the victim, Morrissey, but this too, becomes old. You don't care at all about your fans and the hard earned money they spend on your records and your concerts. If you did care, you'd bite the bullet and play IOW as a gesture of good will to the people who have stuck by you all these years and have allowed you to dress yourself in designer clothes. According to your own statement, poor, poor, Morrissey, you have no excuse for not playing the IOW festival at this point. You're problems are between you and your label Sanctuary. We, the fans, have nothing to do with it but you've dragged us into the fold. I have read the statement by your label more than a dozen times and I have not seen anything that suggests your drummer Deano is out of the band. But I guess you read it the way you want to read it, Morrissey. You have disappointed hundreds of thousands of people, Morrissey. On behalf of your fans, I must say this is the last straw. You are in desperate need of therapy and some hard-core medication. We're sick, sick, sick of you playing the victim and we won't stand for it any longer. If you have an ounce of compassion or courage in that egotistical head of yours you'll play IOW. If not, you're nothing but a vindictive prick.

I'm not at all surprised that there was no promotional work done for for the Live At Earls Court album or the There Is A Light single given that they are both shite. Why promote a badly produced and frankly poor album when there are better fan recordings from the latter shows of last year. He's full of crap and once again did far too little too late for those who give him the lifestyle he enjoys. Blaming anyone but your self is a very poor avenue for someone who claims to be an intellectual.

Where does this leave Morrissey's songwriting partner, Boz Boorer, who has recently signed an apparently "exclusive" contract with Sanctuary?
Can't see Alain coming back soon.....

You know who loves ya ;-) Thanks for all you do, M.

dneuer

My favourite line from the above statement: "Hence, no promotional appearances for Live At Earls Court or the accompanying single. Surely somebody noticed?" Well, I did think it was odd that they announced the gig, then Janice Long said it wouldn't be happening. Plus the fact that no other gigs either side of the IOW were announced - not even a rumour surfaced. It all smelt fishy to me.

hasnt Boz been makin posts on his site durin this period while the IOW Festival appearance was supposedly upcoming? could he hav not mentioned something himself? for if Morrissey was really never on board with the gig than Boz and the rest of the band mustve known this as well.

honestly, best case scenario for Moz here is he really was on board for the show and has pulled out last minute for reasons neither he or the label wish to disclose and so now hes makin up this story to save face somehow. as terrible an attempt that would be and terrible it would be to not only pull out of a show but to compound it by lying about why, it would still be better than if we were to believe Moz's story that he knew all along that he wasnt going to be playing. imean, by his story hes juste been a completely inconsidorate, insulant ass to his fans that were plannin on seeing him there.

either way you cut it, Morrissey is a real bastard- but istill lov him.

-Apparently, Morrissey didn't know he was meant to play IOW until very very recently. Does he never check his own website or keep tabs on Sanctuary?

-It may have taken so long for him to create this statement because he is stubborn and wanted Sanctuary to fix this error without his intervention.

-He sounds bitter about Sanctuary's failure to renew his contract in an expedient manner. Sounds like the love affair is coming to an end.

believe. dear x

I know that a lot of people are saying that many of us are overreacting, but if you'd spent hard-earned money on seeing morrissey good authority from his record company (who you wouldn't instinctively suspect of lying) that he was playing, then you'd have done the same. That is, you'd buy a ticket if his music meant enough to you & you could find some possible way of attending.

To deny the fact that a lot of us have been duped & have no reason to complain, & 'should have expected it' is just silly. Perhaps we should all be cynical & expect the worst, but not all of us do, & if we all had that frame of mind then nobody would ever go to any of his gigs.

I'm not that pissed off anymore, i was more so when we were fobbed off with an excuse from his record company, but it doesn't explain why he didn't mention the fact that he had no intention to play beforehand. He's obviously aware of what's going on since the message on 'true to you' was dated as being written on the 27th, the date when the announcement was made on morrisseymusic.com, we should have been told earlier & there's no excuse for that.

I still love morrissey, but a bit of tact from a few of his fans wouldn't go amiss on this occasion, it may be terribly amusing to you people, but it's not to some of us.

"Devious, truculent and unreliable."

I didn't buy tickets for the IOW festival; I just have full sympathy for all those salt of the earth wonderful people who bought tickets, booked accommodation, saved money, and arranged for somebody to care for their pussy cat while they were away for the weekend.

At last people on this site are waking up to the fact that the Mozfather doesn't give a bastard's fuck about any of you people - as long as he's not inconvenienced he couldn't care less about the hardship he puts his fans through. He suffers from a particular type of autism that afflicts many Celllebratttties - "I'm the only person in the world who has got feelings!"

Let us not forget that this is the man who hired some pillock to impersonate him last year on KROQ radio - this was so transparent that it went from hilarity to pathos in seconds. Who the hell did he think he could fool with that stunt?

He hoodwinked Rourke and Joyce - why should he treat you any differently?

Thought something wierd was going on after Morrissey announced during a gig last year that his next single release would be the song "I Like You".

However, the new year came and went, then January.....and then: double A-side Redondo Beach/ There is a Light! Which were lifted from the live shows...Sanctuary didn't even do a studio version of Redondo Beach!!

Jackie.

There appear to be two ways of thinking towards Morrissey and this IOW fiasco. Firstly, there are those who think Morrissey can do what the hell he likes and that we should all go with him without thinking and lick his balls after. These are the same kind of people who voted for George W in the last US of A election and deserve the fiercest punishment come judgement day. Secondly, there are those people who think that if a person that they care about consistently makes dodgy judgements then we should try to rectify this behaviour so it doesn't keep happening. If Morrissey listens to the former, as he seems to have done throughout his career, he will die very lonely. If he listens to the latter then he may well have some hope. Hold on to your friends Morrissey, Remember that song?

honestly, i didn't think anything about it that he wasn't out promoting the live album.

the Oye Esteban promotion consisted entirely of two DVD signings.

singles came out last year that weren't accompanied by any TV show appearances or interviews. you could almost argue that what appearances he did make were to remind people that he was on tour.

i find it odd that they haven't exercised their renewal.....combined with the "new signing" comment, the only thing i can think of is that a bigger label has come by and bought his contract out.

which is kind of nice. i mean, sanctuary were at least good to show that he could still pull in the big bucks, but they completely went to town on it in a bad way.

i know he was probably waiting on sanctuary to do the right thing for his fans, but if they're not willing to do it, then he should at least do it for his fans. he has to understand that the information presented was confusing. the very fact that he announced it only on Janice Long's show (which is assuming that every fan tunes in to her show) but tickets were still being sold gave everyone the impression that he changed his mind. it wasn't a very strong "no" either. more strongly worded press releases to the websites and newspapers would have done the job.

Anyone who works in a corporate environment will know that obfuscation is rampant; that those who you trust to represent your clear statements often have hidden agendas, driven by unspoken objectives and personalities that can turn plain communication into Chinese whisper; that can make pawns of those on the books, and spring trip-wires for the straightforward punter. Some sound business advice may be what Morrissey needs to demystify his beloved and ardent fans to a bearable level, and I dare to set the wheels rolling!! Stan might help who I think is linked to the record company industry?

We might presume from Moz’ statement, that hearing anything from his lips from now on means checking with Julia’s website. The ‘Live at EarlsCourt’ CD cites Sanctuary and morrisseymusic as the contacts, and that Morrissey’s name is clearly attached to those information sources makes things very confusing indeed. If he is CEO of Attack though (does anyone know for sure if he still is – otherwise maybe he’s searching for a ‘deal’ or could he set up solo?), he could organize an associated site to clue people in to the news in his world. If he wants wiggling room, he might read up on a few governmental or legal reports whose opacity and scope for interpretation are myriad, leaving everyone guessing but no-one guaranteed! If there are legal issues about what he can publicise, that might complicate things more than we can imagine.

That’s all I can think of for now ‘cos I’m exhausted and ready for someone to ‘sing me to sleep’! Over to you!

Would we care so much one way or the other if this wasn't true about Morrissey?: 'I am now a central part of your mind's landscape whether you like it or not!'

Yeah right these are Moz;s own words. He never defended himself before, why would he start now?

Thank god i didnt book it. Seriously, i would have considered sueing. I live in Birmingham and a simple trip to the Isle of Wight+ ticket+ accomodation etc would have meant my summer holiday being literally WASTED on His Majesty Morrissey.

Thank God i didnt book it! It's been advertised for about 5 months,Morrissey, for the sake of f*ck! Do you think the fans that make your bank account so fat are a bunch of idiots?(actually, i think they are now)

Why did you release your statement NOW?

Also... QUITE SIMPLY...i know every band cancel some gigs every now and again, but WHY DOES IT HAPPENS SO MUCH WITH BLOODY MORRISSEY???????????

There's thousands of people here who have spent a fortune about the IoW in the past few months. Ultra-rich Morrissey couldnt give a toss.

claude birmingham uk

you're all over-reacting a bit. don't hate morrissey, he really DOES love us, and i know these things. all these awful things you're calling him are so unnecessary. he's HUMAN, afterall. a very busy human.

and what of the upcoming album signing he mentioned? does this not excite anyone? am i alone? it looks it.

A bond of trust has been abused, something of value may be lost................why waste good time fighting the people you like who would fall defending your name.................Hold on to your friends.........just bear in mind, there just might come a time when you need some friends.

Did anyone else notice that whoever wrote that statement misspelled "realize", they spelled it "realise". No way that Morrissey would make this kind of error. You've been tricked.

Im telling you who knows exactly what went on in the 5 years of the smiths. I recall reading somewhere that he has done something similar whilst in the smiths , " if Morrissey didnt get out of bed , then it didnt happen" or words to that effect.You can understand why Johnny said " see ya" , I wouldnt put up with that shit...would you?.Millionaire Morrissey doesnt give a shit about his fans and this proves it. Hard earned money paid by fans to see him do a 45min set , thats devotion and he could have saved his fans money but did nothing. If the statement is from Mozzer then from what he has wrote he knew he wasnt playing IOW and then blamed sanctuary , its all a load of rubbish.I worship the ground the Moz walks on but i wouldnt be star struck if i ever met him , at the end of the day he is just a guy from Mancheste. He is no more important than Doctors , nurses police officers etc etc on this planet and i think we need to remember that. I think he needs to be told exactly how the fans feel about this , if he already doesnt know.

Is Morrissey capable of having any kind of mature, consistent relationship with anyone? In one's teens and early twenties, this is excusable, but at forty-six, it becomes incredibly pathetic, and unattractive. It's a form of permanent adolescents, and well, shallow.

Unfortuantley, we know how hideous the music business can be, but at some point, you have to wonder why it keeps happening to Morrissey.

He dispalys one of the most ridiculous aspects of being a genuine loner: Not giving a fuck about anyone but himself. A lot of people with a history of low self-esteem will often fein this quality, but Morrissey is the real deal. It's absolutely clinical.

Mother's take note: If you don't want your children to become social retards, get them off the tit. Hopefully, Morrissey's mother is reading this post.

What odds on Morrissey parting company with Sanctuary prior to another studio album being released?

Morrissey,

I hope that you are reading these comments since you obviously know of the comments from last night about IOW. The main thing that I wanted to say is that I hope that if it is announced that you are coming back to TN, on tour for the next album, that you do indeed know about it so I won't have spent a lot of hard to come by money, as a lot of the people on this site have to go to IOW.

I was not planning on going to IOW, as it is too far away for someone with my health problems. However, I feel for all of those that have spent hundreds, or thousands, on tickets, reservations, etc. I'm really sorry and I can only imagine how you all must feel. The disappointment,the sadness, and debt, I am sure...it would be tough to get over.

Oh, and love to you too, Morrissey! Whatever happens, I love you.

Shell

My condolences for those who spent their hard-earned money getting tickets and booking transportation and hotels for this show.

However, I think the lesson is clear: Do NOT spend a large sum of money to attend a Moz show unless you take out an insurance policy first. And it may not hurt to have a lawyer on hand in case of emergency. You can never be too careful.

They still have not sent a link or cut and pasted Morrissey's response to him "pulling out" of IOW!

That is one point that you can't argue with Morrissey on: Sanctuary does what it wants. If he really was involved with Sanctuary, they would've told us about him not being scheduled for IOW long ago. No one there obviously listened to the Janice Long show, either! Also, they would've NOT suggested that Deano was out of the band. It looks like they like gossip for gossip's sake.

On these accounts, it does look like Morrissey has reason for a lawsuit. I do know that Morrissey has pulled out of gigs before, cancelled at the last minute, etc., but Sanctuary still has so much to answer for.

Shell

Still have my unused ticket to Carngie hall New York....

I love this site. The drama is so... stimulating.

What a great day! Woke up late because my Morrissey alarm clock didn't go off. Then I notice my favourite Moz shirt has a stain down the front so I had to change to my least favourite Moz shirt with a hole in the left pit. No time for my Moz approved veggie brunch. Then my Citroen with Moz painted on the hood runs out of fuel. Lost my job selling Moz memorabilia. Came home, cried and stained my "Last Night I Dreamt" pillow case. Fell asleep and dreamed I was at the gates of hell and who is there guarding the door feckin' Morrissey! and he won't let me in! He always has to ruin everything!!!

(Warning: this post is for humour purposes only!)

The fact everyone believes this post is written by Morrissey takes some believing.

I very, very much doubt the authenticity of this statement.

Yes, it's to Julia. But he's NEVER communicates over the internet, or never has done, and before I reason against this being a geniune Morrissey statement, some other points;

1. I never heard the Janice Long announcment, did you?

2. 'True To You' is a virtually redunadant site, and if Morrissey has chosen to communicate through it, it means he has chosen Julia Riley as his spokeswoman. I know the first 'You Are The Quarry' details were released there, but still.... He knows Morrissey Solo is the direct route to the fans.

If this statement is genuine, we have not only underestimated Julia, but unhappily misjudged Morrissey's political sense.

3. "I can't control Sanctuary". Yes you can, Morrissey, you have them wound around your finger because you sold a million records last year. And you'd never have it any other way. They tripple backflip when you snap your fingers, so don't blame them.

4. So you've dropped them have you? Jeeeez, this means at least a 4 year wait before a new album. Christ Alive, you posed with the Johnny Thunders guitar they gave you on signing for the last single and now you decide they're screwing you?

5. It's amazing Morrissey's so shocked at the Isle Of White cancellation. This (I think false) announcement would lead us to believe he never knew he was booked to play it. Which is obviously nonsense.

6. RE: NEW ALBUM. "Everything is in hand, and ready". No, this is not Morrissey writing, this is a hoaxter. There's not been a single hint that new material has been written, and if Morrissey has lyrics, he don't have no songwriters. The Alain question reeks of shit and I can't see Boz contributing under these circumstances.

7. Okay, all Morrissey fans vote on this. On tackling the Deano question, Moz writes 'that's just the way it goes'. COME ON! Morrissey would never quote his own lyric in his first internet announcment. This IS a hoaxter.

8. He then claims he has no control over Morrisseymusic.com. Yeah, okay. He'd have flung sixty lawyers at it as readily as he throws bean skins into the garbage. Yes, he has nothing to do with the artistic look of morrisseymusic (which is obvious) but he gets consulted on every change and inclusion. He's a canny business man.

So we might never know, and it'll raise the Julia thing again, but I don't think this is Morrissey.

Nobody could ever answer my question as to whether the contract with Sanctuary was for only one studio album -- now we have the answer. They went all out on that one record (though the videos left something to be desired) and Morrissey made them a lot of money, so I'm surprised the contract wasn't extended mid-term.

Now that we know for sure that there's a new album (great news, which most people have eschewed in favour of bashing Moz for his non-appearances) we'll see which record companies line up with offers. It's different than the post-Maladjusted years, because Morrissey had a fantastic comeback last year (a word he hates, but so be it). Does this mean that any demos written by Boz (officially a Sanctuary artist) for Moz would by proxy make the album a Sanctuary affair? I don't understand the musik bizness!

Glad Morrissey mentioned the Fuji Rock cancellation of last year. I had bought my tickets/transportation etc. (which amounted to US$500 or so) when the word came in. I was very disappointed but moved on and sold my ticket by auction a couple days later. IOW whingers, do the same please!

wow, cleared the air with that one, clear concise and to the point.

but, still shocking in that he shouldn't care about what gossip the boards are floating around about this or that theory. Never called for a response before.
He must be fed up with the industry again. (a fair and just renewal of dissapointment true)
I trust the source on this, Julia.
but also I liked this statement for more emotional reasons, I read the statements of dissapointment from those 16 and 17 years olds that bought tickets, and think how nice that they have a response to their dissapointment.

what about Merck M.?

he was Morrissey's tour manager, and working for
Santuary

Merck and Morrissey have been seen together at
parties, gigs and at his home after the last tourgigs

and there's Boz signing with Sanctuary

my thoughts is that Morrissey putting the presure on Sanctuary for a new deal,cause I bet there are
a few recordlabels in line happy to sign him

and there's always $$$$$$$$$$ involved, after Quarry, Morrissey can ask a bit more than the 500,000 $ he got from Sanctuary in 2004

The more I read the majority of the statements of hatred in this website, the more startled I became: it was just like reading how truculently furious the crowd became in "Notre Dame de Paris" (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) when the clergy and the eminent political figures were running too late to display themselves before the public...or how the collective madness set in underpaid mine workers who were starving (but this ailment, at least, has a moral justification behind it)

So, you love Morrissey for his music, and, in a blink of an eye, you hate him because you lost thousands? Not that I don't think what happened to you was awful, but I just can't see how it SANELY justifies statements such as the ones you made against him. Outrage for loosing money is one thing; and you should be. But using it to abase Morrissey in the most degrading possible way is a far worse kind of damage. Also you having paid all that dough to see him, as I realize, it doesn't prove you love or have ever loved him; all it proves is that it takes a financial matter, a fiasco caused by an unclear set of facts regarding IOW, for your alleged love for him to disappear like bubble bursting with a single touch...And it took only this to prove that, despite your fanaticism, or your fascination with Morrissey, you had those degrading thoughts about him already, in a dormant state, in the back of your minds, and it took this event for them to become active. You are the clinical, pathological cases, because, instead of trying to sue the record company, or fighting in court to get your money back (but you probably think Morrissey has it already sent to a Swiss account...)you act just like the insane crowd in Hugo's novel...La haine mythique...I, by the way, really recommend you read it, it might teach a thing or two about collective schizophrenia and misguided hatred...
You might even REALIZE you are exaclty what you said Morrissey was.

It would suffice to hear his music, though, to figure out he is not "precisely" a cold freak, or a chic egocentric dandy posing as a fashionable messiah (see, even I can make up horrid definitions, it's so easy when you can just thoughtlessly use a snappy game of words ...IT'S SO EASY TO LAUGH, IT'S SO EASY TO HATE/IT TAKES GUTS TO BE GENTLE AND KIND).

Got art?

really.

Morrissey,

GET YOUR OWN PERSONAL OFFICIAL WEBSITE.

Make your own announcements, tour details and lineup information and then there will be no one left to blame for future mistakes.