Morrissey has hit out at the BBC for not playing his new single ‘Notre-Dame’, claiming that “diversity is a lie”.
The former Smiths singer shared a new post on his website Morrissey Central yesterday (July 5), in which he claimed that ‘Notre-Dame’ had reached Number Six in the “Official UK Chart” without radio support.
The track is currently listed at Number Six on the Official Singles Sales Chart, while also reaching Number Five on the Physical Singles Chart and Number Four on the Vinyl Singles Chart. It has not, however, charted on the main Official Singles Chart.
“The public wants to hear the song, but the BBC will not play it even though their stations are a public service duty-bound to reflect public taste. Obviously not!” Morrissey wrote. “If the song is suspected of independent thought – God forbid!”
“It is not played, therefore, under these circumstances, any station that pledges allegiance to diversity is lying. When people say ‘Diversity is our strength’ they fail to mention how their notion of ‘diversity’ entails very strict Third Reich regulations and punishments. I wonder why people can’t simply be honest about these things?”
‘Notre-Dame’ appears on Morrissey’s 14th solo album ‘Make-Up Is A Lie’, which arrived in March and marked his first new album in six years. It reached Number Three on the Official Albums Chart.
The song was first released in February, inspired by the tragic fire at the historic Parisian cathedral in 2019. In early live performances, Morrissey sang the lyric, “Before investigations they said, ‘It’s not terrorism”, although in the studio version, it has been switched to, “Before investigations they said ‘There’s nothing to see here’.”
He later announced a European ‘Make-Up Is A Lie’ tour, which is underway now, and he has also confirmed a five-date UK arena run for December. Those dates will take him to Brighton, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow and Leeds, and you can find any remaining tickets here.
Morrissey has recently been selling reworked versions of iconic The Smiths merchandise with his own name replacing the band’s, and he also shared a lengthy attack on Johnny Marr last month, accusing his former bandmate of dividing The Smiths’ audience “into factions”.
His team also reportedly had a parody post of ‘The Malefactors’ enemy list taken down after it went viral online, with R.E.M.’s Mike Mills later responding to being included on the list.
Morrissey also recently shared an update on what he described as “the very worst case of online identity fraud”, saying that a lawsuit was ongoing.
He also cancelled multiple shows in the US earlier this year, citing “artist illness” and an “adverse reaction to a prescription medication”. He then axed a live date in Valencia in March “due to sleep deprivation”.
