Ed Sheeran says Morrissey is talking ‘absolute bollocks’ after being insulted by singer

The former Smiths frontman had claimed the public are being 'force-fed' the pair

Ed Sheeran has responded to criticism from Morrissey, who recently delivered a damning indictment of the music industry, painting it as being entirely under the control of major labels “force feeding” the public artists such as Sheeran and Sam Smith.

The former Smiths frontman had dismissed the modern music climate as “stringently controlled, obvious and predictable”, with Sheeran taking to Twitter to brush off the comments as “absolute bollocks”.

Responding to NME’s reporting of Morrissey’s remarks, Sheeran wrote: “even you guys should think this is absolute bollocks. Taking me out of the equation, Sam was the least predictable success story of the last year.”

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Morrissey had been speaking to Colorado-based publication Boulder Weekly ahead of an upcoming live date in the area when he was quizzed on his feelings about the music industry in 2015.

He said: “There are no bands or singers who become successful without overwhelming marketing. There are no surprise success stories. Everything is stringently controlled, obvious and predictable and has exactly the same content.

NMEAndy Hughes/NME

“So, we are now in the era of marketed pop stars, which means that the labels fully control the charts, and consequently the public has lost interest. It’s very rare that a record label does something for the good of music.”

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“Thus we are force-fed such as Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith, which at least means that things can’t possibly get any worse. It is sad, though. There’s no spontaneity now, and it all seems to be unsalvageable.”

Morrissey has also announced a handful of UK live dates. The singer, who is currently touring North America, has scheduled shows in London and Hull for later this year.

The former Smiths frontman will play Hull Arena on September 18, followed by a pair of gigs at London’s Eventim Hammersmith Apollo on September 20 and 21.

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