Morrissey became angry with his former record label, Capitol Records , and accused the company of promoting "Satanism" through pop artist Sam Smith .
The reason for the discomfort was allegedly the shelving of the album Bonfire of Teenagers after Morrissey left Capitol Records at the end of 2022. In a statement on his official website , the musician expresses his indignation at the label's decision not to release his album and attacks Sam Smith's work.
“ Capitol Records (Los Angeles) proudly promotes Sam Smith’s ‘Satanism,’ but considers the honest truth of Morrissey’s factual album, Bonfire of Teenagers , the greatest threat of all and will not release it despite its contractual obligation and promise to do so,” Morrissey wrote.
The alleged "Satanism" linked to Sam Smith refers to a recent Grammy Awards that inflamed the local religious population and drew criticism from conservatives. The performance of the song "Unholy" featured pyrotechnics and dancers dressed in red, and Smith himself wore a top hat with horns, which was enough to generate accusations of "devil worship."
According to Rolling Stone UK , Morrissey announced in December that he had 'voluntarily withdrawn' from any association with Capitol Records , months after announcing that a new album would be released by the label and that it would be "the best of his career" .
In a recent statement, made in early February, the musician claims that the record label retained the rights to Bonfire of Teenagers , but refuses to release it in a possible attempt to "sabotage" the album.
The Grammys haven't yet made the performances available on their official channel, but you can check out Sam Smith's recent performance of "Unholy" at the 2023 Brit Awards :
