Morrissey hits back at Sparks, looks back at friendship with David Bowie

"I stood by Sparks for many years and I promoted them in my own humble way whenever I could"

Morrissey has responded to recent comments made by Sparks and reflected on his friendship with David Bowie.

The former Smiths frontman was speaking to his nephew Sam Esty Rayner for a new interview on his official website.

Sparks frontman Russell Mael previously criticised the singer over his views on politics and race.

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He told the Press Association in 2018: “I’m totally in agreement with anybody being disillusioned [with Morrissey] because I am as well.

“It seemed so inconsistent, all these perspectives that he has on those various issues, just stupid, dumb kind of things. I obviously don’t agree with any of these things. They’re just so ill-conceived and wrong.”

Asked whether this upset him, Morrissey told his nephew in the new interview, titled ‘Turning The Inside Out’: “Amazingly, no, because I’m quite used to it.

“I stood by Sparks for many years and I promoted them in my own humble way whenever I could, and they were famously people without opinions so I was surprised that they kicked me in the teeth. It came across as an almost fiendish ingratitude.”

He added: “Oh, the pain of parting! [laughs]. They will always be important to me as a memory.”

In the past, Morrissey cited Sparks as an influence and even wrote to NME as a teenager in 1974 to praise their music.

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Morrissey / David Bowie (Picture: Getty)

Moving on to talk about Bowie, he praised the late icon and reflected on his friendship with him.

“He was always laughing at something, or smiling at least, and never spoke about anything in depth. I’d say something not remotely funny and he’d burst out laughing,” Morrissey said.

Bowie and Morrissey‘s live cover of T-Rex classic ‘Cosmic Dancer’ was officially released as 7 inch single earlier this year and went to Number One in the official UK vinyl singles chart.

In the same interview, Morrissey also hit out at the UK’s pandemic response saying society over the last 18 months has been akin to slavery.

“The bigger problem is that nobody can any longer agree with anyone else, and this is the main outcome of Con-vid,” Morrissey added.

“It has brought the worst out in people, and we weren’t ever in this together. We are deprived of seeing and hearing other people, and above all, you want to be with others who see and hear what you see and hear, because this is basic oxygen for the human soul. Take it away and people are dead.”

‘Bonfire Of Teenagers’, Morrissey’s first album since leaving his label deal with BMG, will be released later this year and sold to the highest record label bidder.

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