Morrissey takes issue with Wikipedia

Morrissey complained about inaccuracies in his biography reported by Wikipedia which listed him as a former member of two bands with which he claims to have “no connection”, The Nosebleeds And Slaughter And The Dogs. The former frontman of Smiths published a message on its official blog yesterday complaining about the inaccuracy of Wikipedia, which is edited and managed directly by users.

“Wikipedia lists me as a former member of Slaughter And The Dogs and The Nosebleeds. I have never been in The Nosebleeds and have no connection with Slaughter And The Dogs. Is there anyone on Wikipedia smart enough to put things in clear? Probably not.”

Stereogum reports that Morrissey’s friend Stephen Pomfret discussed Morrissey’s apparent involvement with the Nosebleeds in the 1992 book ‘Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance’, written by Johnny Rogan. The volume reports a collaboration between Morrissey and Billy Duffy, member of the Nosebleeds (and future The Cult), listing songs entitled ‘The Living Jukebox’, ‘Toytown Massacre’ and ‘(I Think) I’m Ready For The Electric Chair’ for which Morrissey appears to have written the lyrics.

In the 2013 book ‘Autobiography’, Morrissey admitted to having once performed with an “unnamed” band that included Duffy and the “rhythm section” of the Nosebleeds. That performance dates back to 1978 and in this regard Rogan wrote about it recognizing Morrissey as “the new inexperienced singer of the Nosebleeds” saying that he “clearly lacked the powerful presence of the unforgettable former singer Ed Banger, but his collaborations with Duffy suggested that they had the basis of a promising songwriting team and the potential to pursue a fruitful new direction.”

Also in ‘Autobiography,’ Morrissey insisted that the show was a one-off: “The story had trapped me for a long time and now it must let me go. But my time with Billy is already over. He’s been captured by the excellent Theater of Hate who are ready for Top of the Pops and rather than bury my face in the mud I’m happy for him.” As for the punk band Slaughter And The Dogs, fans have always claimed that Morrissey wrote and recorded songs with the band, but nothing is known about these songs.