In the alternative and indie scenes where Morrissey’s legacy thrives, the demographics are starkly white. You might expect a second-generation Irish immigrant, who now lives in Rome, not to spread such insidious xenophobia. The gates are flooded.” In language reminiscent of Goebbels, he moans on “…travel to England and you have no idea where you are”. In the early-2000s, Morrissey publicly lamented that "England is a memory now. In 1993 he released National Front Disco, which led to fans around the world singing along to racist chants. He told Q Magazine in 1992 that he didn’t “really think, for instance, black people and white people will ever really get on or like each other”. His draping himself in the Union Jack quickly becomes nod toward fascism. Morrissey’s audiences were often used as places for the NF and C18 to organise in the late 90s. In the early 90s, he famously took to a Finsbury Park stage, at a time when the area was overrun with race-based violence, wrapped in a huge Union Jack flag in front of an audience peppered with skinhead fans and National Front members. " Punk gigs at Bournemouth Village Bowl or Winter Gardens – the Clash, Damned, Jam, Generation X, Slaughter and the Dogs, Sham 69 – were like football hooliganism indoors with music and girls." Morrissey had a brief punk career before stepping out with The Smiths, which included a band called Slaughter and the Dogs, which gathered a number of skinhead and suedehead fans.
For example, a biography of the early formation of The Nosebleeds points out that around the same time Morrissey declared, "I don't hate Pakistanis, but I dislike them immensely." There is no nuance to be examined there.
In 1984 Morrissey famously said "all reggae is vile" in what may seem an innocent comment in isolation, yet it takes a more sinister form when considered amongst his consistent diatribe of bigotry. He has a historic hatred for foreigners and his fans need to do more to recognise his views and fight these messages. Since the start of his career, Morrissey has been outspoken against multiculturalism and immigration, citing his fears of a threatened English identity. This isn’t just an ageing old man sliding the simmering bitterness and racism typical of many elderly Brits. “Bengali in Platforms”, “England for the English”, “Asian Rut”, and “This is Not Your Country” are quotes you’d expect from the mouth of Boris Johnson but they are song titles by the king of alternative playlists, the heart of British indie, or the “second-greatest living British cultural icon” (according to the BBC in 2006).
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