Morrissey accuses his former label Capitol Records of ‘sabotaging’ his new album

Morrissey has accused his former label Capitol Records of intentionally ‘sabotaging’ his new album, Bonfire of Teenagers.

The 63-year-old singer ‘voluntarily’ left the label, as well as its management company, in December 2022, a year after signing a contract with them.

Now, Morrissey has attacked the company, claiming that they have refused to release or return his 14th solo LP Bonfire of Teenagers.

A statement on his website posted Tuesday read: “Morrissey is ‘too diverse’ for Universal Music Group.

After all, Capitol Records (Los Angeles) won’t be releasing Morrissey’s Bonfire Of Teenagers album in 2021.

‘At the same time, Capitol Records (Los Angeles) is holding on to the album.

“Although Morrissey is officially signed to Capitol Records Los Angeles, there has been no mention of Morrissey on Capitol’s website or on their artist list.

“Morrissey has said that while he doesn’t believe Capitol Records in Los Angeles signed Bonfire of Teenagers to sabotage it, he is quick to come to terms with that belief.”

The post was then linked to an article on Medium written by Fiona Dodwell, which argued that Morrissey’s current unsigned status “proves the lack of true diversity in music.”

She wrote: ‘He has been continually criticized and crucified in the press for being outspoken and outspoken.

“Viewed from this point of view, it seems that being ‘diverse’ today really means conforming, or facing rejection.

‘You can be diverse, but only this way, not that way,’ the fine print seems to say.’

Hitmaker Big Mouth Strikes Again had planned to release Bonfire Of Teenagers this month, but announced in November that it had been pushed back, without offering a new release date.

A short statement at the time read: ‘Bonfire of Teenagers is no longer scheduled for a February release, as stated on this site.

“Your fate is solely in the hands of Capitol Records (Los Angeles).”

Morrissey was dropped by BMG in 2020, just a few months after he released his latest album, ‘I Am Not A Dog On A Chain’.

MailOnline has contacted Capitol Records for comment.

It comes after Morrissey slammed his former bandmate Johnny Marr last year, accusing him of “using my name as clickbait.”

In a lengthy open letter, the former lead singer of The Smiths asked the former guitarist of the group to refrain from speaking publicly about him, because “he doesn’t know him.”

The pair were bandmates for six years in the 1980s and released four albums together alongside Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce, but Morrissey noted that they haven’t spoken in 35 years.

In a blog post on his Morrissey Central website, the musician began: ‘This is not a rant or hysterical bombast. It’s a polite and quietly measured request: Could you please stop mentioning my name in your interviews?

‘Could you please talk about your own career, your own unstoppable solo achievements and your own music? If you can, could you leave me out of this?

The fact is that you don’t know me. You don’t know anything about my life, my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings. Yet he talks like he’s my personal psychiatrist with constant, uninterrupted access to my instincts.

The iconic Manchester band broke up in 1987 due to conflicts between the two members, but Morrissey has revealed that he wants Johnny to stop thinking he is “to blame for everything”.

He continued: ‘We haven’t known each other for 35 years, which is many lifetimes ago. When we met you and me we didn’t succeed. We both help each other to become who we are today. Can’t you just leave it like that?

Do you have to blame me persistently, year after year, decade after decade, for everything… from the 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami to the drip on your grandmother’s chin?’

Continuing his lengthy tirade, Morrissey told Johnny to “stop using my name as click bait.”

However, Johnny didn’t seem too concerned about the letter, taking to Twitter to write: “An ‘open letter’ hasn’t really existed since 1953, it’s all ‘social media’ now.” Even Donald J Trump had that down. Also, this fake news business… a little 2021, yeah? #makingindiegreatagain’.

Morrissey’s tirade came days after Johnny explained the reason he is not “close” with the singer, explaining that they are “so different” and that he has better relationships with other bandmates.

Speaking to Uncut magazine, he stated: “One of the reasons I’ve been in so many bands was because I wanted to be loyal to them.

‘I won’t be surprised to say that I’m very close to everyone I’ve worked with, except for the obvious one. And that’s not a big surprise because we’re so different, me and Morrissey.

“But with all these different musicians, I can pick up the phone with anyone, and pick up where we left off.”