Today (October 17) marked the release of Morrissey's Autobiography in Europe and the UK via Penguin, and a batch of excerpts from the book are already floating around concerning details about his personal and professional life.
BBC has published a number of excerpts from the book, and here are a few of the juicier tidbits:
● The notoriously private singer confirms in the tome that he started up a serious personal relationship with Jake Owen Walters back in 1994, noting that after the pair met at a restaurant, Walters followed him home and "steps inside and stays for two years." Morrissey added of the affair, "For the first time in my life the eternal 'I' becomes 'we', as, finally, I can get on with someone."
● He discussed having a child, or rather a "mewling miniature monster," with Tina Dehghani.
● He goes into detail on his 1996 court battle with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, noting that the skinsman delivered "constant inaccuracies and assumptions vomited out with leaden fatigue." Of judge John Weeks, he criticized: "The pride of the pipsqueakery...begins his judgment by falling flat on his face: He brilliantly announces to the world how the Smiths formed in 1992 — his judicial accuracy not to be questioned!"
● His classic Viva Hate closer "Margaret on the Guillotine" had Britain's Special Branch put under investigation to determine whether or not he was in fact a threat to the then Prime Minister. "I am drilled and recorded on tape for one hour under the penetrating glare of Special Branch," Morrissey wrote.
● Before finding fame with the Smiths, Morrissey wrote a spec script for British soap opera Coronation Street, which never ended up being filmed. "I whip off a word-slinger's delight wherein young take on old as a jukebox is tested in the Rovers Return," he explained of the script. "Swords cross, heads bump and horns lock, and the episode fades with Violet Carson addressing the camera, one eyebrow arched, with, 'Do I really look like a fan of X-Ray Spex?'"
● Apparently, Morrissey was almost kidnapped, or so he believes. He writes he was targeted by Mexican kidnappers after a show in Tijuana in 2007, explaining his driver took him down a dark rural road 20 minutes after having promised they were only four minutes from the U.S. border. Moz and his security guard were able to leave the car, but were left in the middle of nowhere.
Other areas covered include his childhood, a long-documented battle with NME, how he met Johnny Marr, and interactions with Factory founder Tony Wilson, UK DJ John Peel, and more.
Autobiography is currently unavailable in North America.
BBC has published a number of excerpts from the book, and here are a few of the juicier tidbits:
● The notoriously private singer confirms in the tome that he started up a serious personal relationship with Jake Owen Walters back in 1994, noting that after the pair met at a restaurant, Walters followed him home and "steps inside and stays for two years." Morrissey added of the affair, "For the first time in my life the eternal 'I' becomes 'we', as, finally, I can get on with someone."
● He discussed having a child, or rather a "mewling miniature monster," with Tina Dehghani.
● He goes into detail on his 1996 court battle with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, noting that the skinsman delivered "constant inaccuracies and assumptions vomited out with leaden fatigue." Of judge John Weeks, he criticized: "The pride of the pipsqueakery...begins his judgment by falling flat on his face: He brilliantly announces to the world how the Smiths formed in 1992 — his judicial accuracy not to be questioned!"
● His classic Viva Hate closer "Margaret on the Guillotine" had Britain's Special Branch put under investigation to determine whether or not he was in fact a threat to the then Prime Minister. "I am drilled and recorded on tape for one hour under the penetrating glare of Special Branch," Morrissey wrote.
● Before finding fame with the Smiths, Morrissey wrote a spec script for British soap opera Coronation Street, which never ended up being filmed. "I whip off a word-slinger's delight wherein young take on old as a jukebox is tested in the Rovers Return," he explained of the script. "Swords cross, heads bump and horns lock, and the episode fades with Violet Carson addressing the camera, one eyebrow arched, with, 'Do I really look like a fan of X-Ray Spex?'"
● Apparently, Morrissey was almost kidnapped, or so he believes. He writes he was targeted by Mexican kidnappers after a show in Tijuana in 2007, explaining his driver took him down a dark rural road 20 minutes after having promised they were only four minutes from the U.S. border. Moz and his security guard were able to leave the car, but were left in the middle of nowhere.
Other areas covered include his childhood, a long-documented battle with NME, how he met Johnny Marr, and interactions with Factory founder Tony Wilson, UK DJ John Peel, and more.
Autobiography is currently unavailable in North America.