Bigmouth will strike again - unless he gets an apology from the NME over an article that sets him up as being someone who should have been part of the guest list at the Oxford Union earlier in the week. The interview behind the write-up that finally appeared seems to be a patchwork of questions and answers leaving plenty room for ambiguity. The essence of the story is that Morrisey was presented by an NME interview as complaining about the level of immigration and different races in England. Under the headline 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' (the title of one of The Smiths top hits) the NME suggested that the former Smiths frontman had used his big mouth to bad mouth the fact that England was not as english as he might like - the suggestion being he was displaying potentially nationalistic tendencies. The outraged Morrisey - through his representatives and legal team - is having none of it. Aside from the fact that he now lives in Rome and previously lived in the US he claims he has been grossly misrepresented and defamed. The suggestion that he has nationalistic views might seem at odds with the peace loving, vegetarian lyrics his previous songwriting (such as 'Meat is Murder') would seem to embrace. What is clear is that what appeared in the NME was an inelegantly compiled write-up of a pieced together interview. Unless the NME can prove there is more behind their story than sloppy journalism big mouth will strike home with a libel action.
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