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Morrissey

Morrissey Cancels Concerts as Canadian Man Is Charged With Online Death Threats Against Him
Music

Morrissey Cancels Concerts as Canadian Man Is Charged With Online Death Threats Against Him

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Canadian authorities have charged a 26-year-old Ottawa man whom they accuse of posting death threats against Morrissey online, the Ottawa Citizen reports. The man, Noah Castellano, is being charged with uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm, and he was released from custody on $5,000 bail, according to the report.

According to court documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen, investigators believe that Castellano is behind a Bluesky post from September 4 that reads: “Steven Patrick Morrissey when you perform at TD Place here in Ottawa next week on the evening of September 12th, 2025 at about 9pm, I will be present at the venue in the audience and I will attempt to shoot you many times and kill you with a very large gun that I own illegally.”

Morrissey toured the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe earlier this year, and he began his latest North America tour in Montreal on September 10. He played his September 12 show in Ottawa without incident, and continued his tour in Toronto and New York. Nevertheless, he has canceled tonight’s show, in Mashantucket, Connecticut, and tomorrow night’s, in Boston, citing “recent events and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both the artist and band.”

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Morrissey axes concerts over assassination threat
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Morrissey axes concerts over assassination threat

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Morrissey has cancelled two upcoming concerts following a “credible threat” to assassinate him on stage.

Morrissey axes concerts over assassination threat

The 66-year-old musician was due to play shows in Connecticut and Boston over the weekend but both have been axed after the threat was made.

A message posted on Morrissey’s official Facebook account on Friday (19.09.25), said: “In recent days, there has been a credible threat on Morrissey’s life. Out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both the artist and audience, tonight’s engagement at Foxwoods has been cancelled. We appreciate your understanding.”

A later message added: “Due to recent events and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of both the artist and band, the upcoming shows this weekend at Foxwoods and MGM Music Hall have been cancelled. All tickets will be refunded automatically at your original point of purchase. We appreciate your understanding.”

According to a report from Ottawa Citizen, which cited court documents, the threat was allegedly made by a 26-year-old man in a post shared to the social media platform Bluesky on September 4.

Meanwhile, Morrissey previously axed a Stockholm, Sweden gig during the summer, claiming he had “zero music industry support”.

He posted on the Morrissey Central website: “The pain at not reaching Stockholm this week is horrific for the band and crew. I know it’s impossible for people to understand, but we dream of Stockholm, Reykjavik, Trondheim, Helsinki, Aarhus … but there is no financial support from imaginary record labels to get us to such places.

“In the last seven days we have travelled into six countries, and we are travel-weary beyond belief. We can barely see.

“We pray to God that someone, somewhere can help us reach Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark … where we have thousands upon thousands of friends, yet absolutely zero music industry support.

“No label will release our music, no radio will play our music … and yet our ticket sales are sensational. What does this tell us about the state of Art in 2025?”




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Morrissey Email Soliciting Offers for Rights to Smiths Songs Shut Down
Music

Morrissey Email Soliciting Offers for Rights to Smiths Songs Shut Down

by jummy84
written by jummy84


Morrissey shut down an email to solicit offers for his rights to the Smiths’ music and other connected intellectual property, according to a post on his official website.

“The ‘eaves’ business email address has been switched off due to the colossal response to Morrissey’s announcement of his wish to pass his ‘Smiths’ interests over to an investor,” the post from Friday stated. “Although Morrisseys’ love for the songs of the Smiths era will never waver, he is tired of the disagreeable and vexatious characters involved in ‘The Smiths’ business.”

The post continued: “After thirty-eight years of insults and abuse, Morrissey has had enough. All (or most) of the ‘eaves’ emails will be answered in time.”

Last week, Morrissey Central and the singer’s official Instagram accounts posted an announcement that he was selling the entirety of his business interests in the Smiths. It is unclear if Morrissey created the posts. Reps for Morrissey did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s requests for comment. The posts, titled “A Soul for Sale,” included a quote attributed to the former Smiths frontman that said he was “burnt out by any and all connections” with his former bandmates, and wanted to “live disassociated” from them. He cited that it led him to put his rights to Smiths intellectual property up for sale. The announcement included an email address, which bounced back when Rolling Stone reached out for comment.

Up for grabs, per the announcement, are the “full and exclusive rights” to the name “The Smiths” created by Morrissey, all of the Smiths’ artwork created by him, All Smiths merchandising rights, all Smiths songs lyrically and musically, all synchronization rights, all Smiths recordings, and all contractual rights for Smiths publishing.

“I am burnt out by any and all connections to [Former Smiths members Johnny] Marr, [Andy] Rourke, [Mike] Joyce. I have had enough of malicious associations. With my entire life I have paid my rightful dues to these songs and these images,” he said per the quote attributed to him. “I would now like to live disassociated from those who wish me nothing but ill-will and destruction, and this is the only resolution.”

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Morrissey continued: “The songs are me – they are no one else – but they bring with them business communications that go to excessive lengths to create as much dread and spite year after year. I must now protect myself, especially my health.”

A rep for Marr did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment regarding the sale announcement. A rep for Joyce said he does not comment on what his former bandmates say or do.

The Smiths broke up in 1987 and Morrissey and Marr have had a tenuous relationship ever since. Last year, Marr revealed he said “no” to an offer Morrissey said he received from AEG Entertainment Group to reform the band alongside Marr.

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Though in 2008, they met at a pub to discuss a possible Smiths reunion. “In that moment it seemed that with the right intention it could actually be done and might even be great,” Marr wrote in his 2016 memoir Set the Boy Free. “For four days it was a very real prospect.” The potential reunion was fleeting, however, after Marr left to Mexico to tour with the Cribs. “And then suddenly there was radio silence,” Marr wrote. “Our communication ended, and things went back to how they were and how I expect they always will be.”

Drummer Joyce has been estranged from Morrissey and Marr following a 1996 lawsuit over the Smiths royalties that was contentious. After bassist Rourke died in 2023, a proper reunion was no longer possible.

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Morrissey Claims He’s Selling His Rights to the Smiths’ Catalog
Music

Morrissey Claims He’s Selling His Rights to the Smiths’ Catalog

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Morrissey would apparently like to divest from the Smiths. A post on his website claims that he “has no choice but to offer for sale all of his business interests in ‘The Smiths’ to any interested party / investor” because he is “burnt out by any and all connections to” his former bandmates: guitarist Johnny Marr, drummer Mike Joyce, and the late bassist Andy Rourke.

When reached by Pitchfork, representatives for Johnny Marr had no immediate comment to share from the guitarist. And Mike Joyce’s manager told Pitchfork that the drummer does not comment on the actions or comments of his former bandmates.

Morrissey is apparently trying to offload his stake in the Smiths’ band name, artwork, song titles, lyrics, recordings, merchandise, and rights to publishing and synchronization. There is also a Gmail address for “serious investors” to contact, but Pitchfork’s email to it bounced back.

“I have had enough of malicious associations,” wrote Morrissey. “With my entire life I have paid my rightful dues to these songs and these images. I would now like to live disassociated from those who wish me nothing but ill-will and destruction, and this is the only resolution. The songs are me – they are no one else – but they bring with them business communications that go to excessive lengths to create as much dread and spite year after year. I must now protect myself, especially my health.”

The Smiths broke up in 1987, five years after forming. In his 2016 memoir, Set the Boy Free, Marr discussed the possibility of reuniting with Morrissey in 2008. Music festivals such as Coachella have reportedly offered generous performance fees to entice the British jangle-pop staples to get back together, too, but the Smiths’ remaining members have rejected those deals. Last year, Morrissey said that he agreed to a “lucrative” offer for him and Marr to perform a global tour in 2025, but that Marr ignored it. In a statement to Pitchfork, Marr clarified: “I didn’t ignore the offer. I said no.”

Also last year, Morrissey asserted that Marr obtained the trademark rights to the Smiths’ name “without any consultation to Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection.’” Speaking with Pitchfork, Marr’s management said that, in 2018, “Marr reached out to Morrissey, via his representatives, to work together in protecting The Smiths’ name.” Following a lack of response from Morrissey, the guitarist decided “to register the trademark himself.”

“There is also an obvious media shift to delete me from being the central essence of the Smiths,” Morrissey wrote on his website in January, “but this cannot work because I invented the group name, the song-titles, the album titles, the artwork, the vocal melodies, and all of the lyrical sentiments came from my heart … and so it’s a bit like saying Mick Jagger had nothing to do with the Stones.”

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Morrissey Selling His Stake In The Smiths
TV & Streaming

Morrissey Selling His Stake In The Smiths

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Almost 40 years after The Smiths broke up, Morrissey is truly leaving the band.

At least the singer’s 50% stake in the iconic Manchester group.

On hiatus from touring this summer and about to start a series of shows in Canada, the East Coast and hitting Smiths stronghold of LA on October 25, the man known as Moz has put up for sale his rights to the songs, the name, the merch, and perhaps most importantly and lucratively the publishing.

In a post on Instagram Wednesday, Morrissey said he “has no choice but to offer for sale all of his business interests in ‘The Smiths’ to any interested party / investor.” Possibly running into the tens of millions at least, the successful bidder would purchase:

1. The name ‘The Smiths’, as created by Morrissey.
2. All Smiths artwork, as created by Morrissey.
3. All Smiths merchandising rights.
4. All Smiths songs lyrically / musically.
5. All synchronisation rights.
6. All Smiths recordings.
7. All contractual rights for Smiths publishing.

If there was any doubt of the origins of this surprise move by Morrissey, who broke ranks with his now ex-reps at Red Light Management / Pete Galli Management in 2024 after just a few months, the songwriter made it clear that he feels he doesn’t owe anything, to paraphrase a Smith tune, to his former bandmates living and dead. “I am burnt out by any and all connections to Marr, Rourke, Joyce,” he wrote today of Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, now deceased bass player Andy Rourke and estranged drummer Mike Joyce. “I have had enough of malicious associations. 

With legacy artists across all genres like Kiss ($300M for everything), Bruce Springsteen ($500M for his catalog), David Bowie ($250M for his catalog) and Michael Jackson (whose estate sold 50% of the Thriller singer’s music assets to Sony Music Group last year for $1.2B) cashing in, Morrissey’s move is neither crass nor careless by any measure.

Looking at The Smiths’ depth musically from their 1984 self-titled debut to their masterpiece of The Queen Is Dead in 1986 and more, plus the generation defining epic “How Soon Is Now?” song, the band is certainly a money maker even today.

Part of any estimation of the worth of Morrissey’s portion of the Smiths, who broke up in after five years together in 1987 not long after Marr left, has to be the stature the band has in contemporary culture. Specifically, as the soundtrack to many a life, from the 1980s and onward on both sides of the pond.

The band’s songs have been used in dozens of films from Pretty in Pink, The Wedding Singer, Never Been Kissed and Shaun of the Dead to Forgetting Sarah Marshall, (500) Days of Summer, The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Transformers spinoff Bumblebee. The Smiths also have appeared on TV’s Sex Education, Black Mirror, American Horror Story, Psych, That ‘80s Show and many more. Love Spit Love’s cover of the popular “How Soon Is Now?” was theme song of original Charmed series.

Like the Oasis and Guns’n’Roses reunion tours, a Smiths revival could see the band bigger on tour than they were in their heyday.

However, the trial balloon of a reunion tour for an an “eye-watering amount of money” was shot down by Marr last year. “It was a little bit about principles, but I’m not an idiot,” Marr said on a soccer podcast earlier this year. “I just think the vibe’s not right.”

The offer from AEG Entertainment Group came after bassist Rourke had died in May 2023. Morrissey, whose bookings are handled by WME, initially said Marr ignored the “lucrative offer.” In September 2024, Marr posted his response online, stressing he didn’t “ignore the offer — I said no.” 

Adding to antagonism between the two songwriting partners, both of whom hav had pretty stellar solo careers the past four decades, has been Marr’s 2018 trademarking of The Smiths name. Learning in 2018 that no one had actually obtained the band’s trademark of itself, the guitarist had his team complete the paperwork. Morrissey, a.k.a Steven Morrissey, claimed Marr made the move “without consultation.”

At the time, Marr said not true.

“A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself,” Marr said in a September 2024 statement. “It was subsequently agreed with Morrissey’s lawyers that this trademark was held for the mutual benefit of Morrissey and Marr. As a gesture of goodwill, in January 2024, Marr signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey. Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign.­­­­­­­­”

As of now, Morrissey is taking offers.

Reps for Johnny Marr, who is a frequent collaborator with Hans Zimmer on film scores in recent years, did not respond today to Deadline’s request for comment on Morrissey’s sale news. Or to quote the title of one of the band’s 1986 songs, Is It Really So Strange?

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