World’s Oldest Record Store Bans Morrissey Albums
Today, just in time for Moz’s 60th birthday, the world’s oldest record store Spillers Records banned Morrissey records from its store, as Wales Online reports. The store, located in Wales’ Cardiff capital, will not stock his releases because of the singer’s fervent support for the far-right.
This month, Morrissey endorsed For Britain, an extremist-fringe right-wing political party in the UK. He wore a badge of their logo in the midst of his Broadway residency and sported a For Britain pin during his Tonight Show performance. The party’s founder Anne Marie Waters even shared a video thanking him.
Spillers’ owner Ashli Todd told Wales Online, “I’m saddened but ultimately not surprised that Spillers is unable to stock Morrissey’s releases any longer. I only wished I’d done it sooner.”
Morrissey’s never been shy about his political opinions, bigotry, and intolerance. Discussing China’s animal cruelty in a 2010 interview with the Guardian, he’s quoted as saying, “You can’t help but feel that the Chinese people are a subspecies.”
He initially shared his support for For Britain last year in an interview: “For Britain has received no media support and have even been dismissed with the usual childish ‘racist’ accusation…I don’t think the word ‘racist’ has any meaning any more, other than to say ‘you don’t agree with me, so you’re a racist.’ People can be utterly, utterly stupid.”
This week, Morrissey will release his 12th solo studio album and first-ever covers collection, California Son.