Morrissey signs with Capitol; new album features Iggy Pop, Miley Cyrus, Flea, more
Morrissey has fallen out of favor in the last couple years, following aligning himself with far-right and pro-Brexit parties in the UK and saying all sorts of dumb, reprehensible stuff, but that has not kept him from inking a deal with Capitol Records, who will release his new album in February. The deal excludes the UK, where Morrissey remains unsigned.
The album is titled Bonfire of Teenagers, was made with producer Andrew Watt, and features a lot of musicians you might not expect to agree to be on a Morrissey record in 2022. Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith and former bandmate Josh Klinghoffer were the main session players on the album, and it also features Flea, Miley Cyrus, and Iggy Pop, whose upcoming album was also produced by Watt (and features Smith and Klinghoffer).
Spin notes that Eddie Vedder, who has also collaborated with Watt, told journalists at a listening session for his album Earthling that Bonfire “was some of the greatest Morrissey I’d heard since back when it was the greatest Morrissey. This was like solid, great Morrissey, the whole time.”
The album includes a number of songs Morrissey has already been playing on tour, including the title track, which is about the 2017 Manchester bombing outside a Ariana Grande show that has already had its detractors — the song references the bomber, who was an Islamist extremist — citing Morrissey’s right-leaning stance on immigration.
In addition to the new album, Capitol Records has also acquired the rights to Morrissey solo albums Southpaw Grammar, You Are the Quarry, Ringleader of the Tormentors, Years of Refusal, and World Peace Is None of Your Business, and will release them in deluxe vinyl editions.
Morrissey will also be in North America for a fall tour soon that includes NYC-area shows at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on November 30 and Newark’s NJPAC on December 1.
Bonfire of the Teenagers:
I Am Veronica
Rebels Without Applause
Kerouac’s Crack
Ha Ha Harlem
I Live in Oblivion
Bonfire of Teenagers
My Funeral
Diana Dors
I Ex-love You
Sure Enough, the Telephone Rings
Saint in a Stained Glass Window
Morrissey – 2022 Tour Dates:
11/11 – Ontario, CA @ Toyota Arena
11/12 – Los Angeles, CA @ Greek Theatre
11/14 – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
11/15 – El Cajon, CA @ The Magnolia
11/18 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
11/22 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union
11/23 – Denver, CO @ Paramount Theatre
11/25 – Minneapolis, MN @ The Fillmore
11/26 – Milwaukee, WI @ Riverside Theatre
11/28 – Washington, DC @ The Anthem
11/30 – Brooklyn, NY @ Kings Theatre
12/01 – Newark, NJ @ New Jersey Performing Arts Center
12/03 – Philadelphia, PA @ The Met
12/04 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
