Billy Bragg claims it is 'beyond doubt' that Morrissey is spreading far-right ideas | Music | The Guardian 9/7/19 5'27

Billy Bragg claims it is 'beyond

doubt' that Morrissey is spreading
far8right ideas
Bragg also calls out the Killers’ Brandon Flowers for describing the
former Smiths frontman as ‘a king’ despite controversies

Laura Snapes
Mon 8 Jul 2019 17.56 BST

Billy Bragg, left, and Morrissey. Composite: Alicia Canter/Getty Images

Billy Bragg has condemned Morrissey for sharing a video from a YouTube channel that
argued that the British establishment is using Stormzy to promote multiculturalism at the
expense of white culture. The video, which has since been removed, contrasted the positive
critical response to Stormzy’s headline set at Glastonbury with headlines detailing
Morrissey’s support for far-right groups. Morrissey posted it on his de facto website,
Morrissey Central, under the title: “Nothing But Blue Skies For Stormzy … the gallows for
Morrissey”.

Writing on Facebook, Bragg said: “My first thought was to wonder what kind of websites
Morrissey must be trawling in order to be able to find and repost this clip on the same day
that it appeared online?” He questioned why Morrissey’s post had not received more
coverage in the media.

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Morrissey has not responded to Bragg’s remarks. The Guardian has contacted the singer’s
management for comment.

Bragg questions remarks made by Killers frontman Brandon Flowers to an NME reporter
who asked the noted Smiths fan how he felt about Morrissey in light of his explicit support
for the far-right party For Britain. “He’s still a king,” Flowers said. “He’s unparalleled in what
he’s achieved and his prowess and his lyrics and his sense of melody. It’s just incredible. I
forgot he was in hot water, though, so I shouldn’t have brought him up.”

Brandon Flowers, left, with former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr

at Glastonbury. Photograph: Jim Dyson/Getty Images

Bragg wrote: “I have to wonder if Flowers really understands the ramifications of

Morrissey’s expressions of support for the far-right For Britain Party?” In May, Morrissey
performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon wearing a badge in support of the
party, and affirmed his support in a recent interview with his nephew for Morrissey Central.

Bragg asked of Flowers: “As the writer of the powerful Killers song Land of the Free, does he
know that For Britain wants to build the kind of barriers to immigration that Flowers
condemns in that lyric?”

Morrissey has claimed that the media who report on his views are pursuing a vendetta
against him. In an interview posted on Morrissey Central, he said that “as a so-called
entertainer, I have no human rights”.

Bragg described this as a “ridiculous position made all the more troubling by the fact that it
is a common trope among rightwing reactionaries. The notion that certain individuals are
not allowed to say certain things is spurious, not least because it is most often invoked after
they’ve made their offensive comments. Look closely at their claims and you’ll find that
what they are actually complaining about is the fact that they have been challenged.”

Bragg drew attention to a new report by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a UK-based anti-
extremist organisation, that said the nationalist “great replacement” theory that the white
Christian European population is being replaced by non-European people is entering
mainstream public discourse.

Bragg claimed that Morrissey was helping to spread right-wing ideas. He continued: “Those

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Billy Bragg claims it is 'beyond doubt' that Morrissey is spreading far-right ideas | Music | The Guardian 9/7/19 5'27

who claim that this has no relevance to his stature as an artist should ask themselves if, by
demanding that we separate the singer from the song, they too are helping to propagate this
racist creed.”

Topics
Billy Bragg
Morrissey
The Smiths
The Killers
Brandon Flowers
Indie
news

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