The Killers Frontman Brandon Flowers Defends Morrissey: "He's Still a King"

BY Sarah MurphyPublished Jul 3, 2019

The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers isn't shying away from his love of Morrissey, despite the latter's recent streak of controversial political opinions.
 
Speaking to NME at Glastonbury this past weekend, Flowers listed off a string off his all-time favourite artists, referring to them as "kings."
 
"Yeah, I have about 15 kings. Liam [Gallagher] is one of them," he said. "Don Henley, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey would be a king, Bono would be a king, Springsteen would be a king."
 
When questioned about Moz's problematic political stances, Flowers remained adamant in his admiration.
 
"He's still a king. He's unparalleled in what he's achieved and his prowess and his lyrics and his sense of melody, it's just incredible," Flowers said. "I forgot he was in hot water though, so I shouldn't have brought him up."

Moz's camp is clearly taking Flowers' comments as a win, as they shared the NME interview on Twitter.
 
It didn't stop Morrissey's old bandmate Johnny Marr from joining the Killers onstage at Glastonbury for a cover of the Smiths' "This Charming Man" and the set closer, "Mr. Brightside."
 
In recent months, Morrissey has been publicly supportive of For Britain, a far-right party that is often criticized for its anti-Islamist beliefs. In an attempt to justify his support of the party, he argued, "Everyone ultimately prefers their own race."
 
Artists like Broken Social Scene's Ariel Engle and Billy Bragg have since spoken out against Morrissey, though Nick Cave recently sort of defended Morrissey and the Smiths' musical legacy.

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