Trivia / Morrissey

• Bury Your Art: Miley Cyrus recorded backing vocals for "I Am Veronica", and Morrissey described his working relationship with her as amiable. However, she later asked that her parts be removed; Morrissey blamed the decision on Creative Differences with "a key figure in 'the circle,'" while others speculated that Cyrus backed out due to Morrissey's controversial statements on immigration and Islam. The issue became a moot point when Capitol Records chose to block the song's parent album, Bonfire of Teenagers, from release.
• Channel Hop: Too many to list, as Morrissey has switched labels frequently. Also, in the 2000s and The New '10s he would have his EMI albums reissued on defunct labels owned by the company, such as Liberty and Major Minor.
• Creator Breakdown: After losing his infamous lawsuit against Mike Joyce over The Smiths royalties, Morrissey recorded the song "Sorrow Will Come In the End," bemoaning the lawsuit. The song was cut from the UK release of Maladjusted for fear of legal action. That lawsuit, and not the supposed rift between Morrissey and Johnny Marr, is perhaps the main reason why a Smiths reunion is highly unlikely.
• Keep Circulating the Tapes: World Peace is None of Your Business was pulled from sale three weeks after its release following a disagreement between Morrissey and Harvest Records. The album isn't impossible to find, but it's no longer available from official channels and has disappeared from streaming sites. Harvest's sister label, Capitol Records, would snag the rights to it when Morrisey signed onto them, but his departure from Capitol and their blocking of Bonfire of Teenagers puts the fate of World Peace is None of Your Business in doubt.
• Referenced by...: David Bowie recorded a Cover Version of "I Know It's Gonna Happen Someday" on Black Tie White Noise. As Morrisey's version was a pastiche of Bowie's style, Bowie himself and his biographers had fun pointing out the circularity of it.
• Screwed by the Lawyers: Bonfire of Teenagers was recorded with the intent of being Morrissey's first release on Capitol Records, onto whom he signed after being dropped by BMG. However, at the end of 2022, he left the label before the album's planned release date of February 2023; Capitol still held the rights to it, and their parent company, Universal Music Group, chose to withhold it from release for unspecified reasons. Without Music the World Dies was rush-recorded in the wake of this, with Morrissey refraining from finding a label to sign onto until after finishing the album.

---