Morrissey has lashed out at tributes to the late Sinéad O’Connor, and has claimed people are only praising her now “because it’s too late”.
It seems the former frontman of iconic Manchester band The Smiths is living up to his recent controversial label and proving to be his outspoken self once again, as this time, he’s decided to take aim at the tributes paid to Sinéad O’Connor by celebrities and the media, accusing them of “not having the guts” to support her when she was “alive and looking for you”.
Legendary Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor sadly passed away at the of 56 yesterday, her “devastated” family confirmed in a statement.
O’Connor was most well-known for her famous 1990 cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, as well as for releasing 10 critically-acclaimed solo albums throughout her revered career.
Sinéad O’Connor passed away at the of 56 / Credit: Sinéad O’Connor (via Facebook)
She was also known for being a vocal advocate for women in the music industry, for campaigning for women’s reproductive rights, and for publicly speaking out against the Catholic church, but was also known to have Bipolar Disorder and had been candid about her struggles with mental health over the years.
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The singer’s death came 18 months after the death of her 17-year-old son Shane, who had been on suicide watch before his passing.
Her cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but is “not being treated as suspicious” by police.
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In the hours since O’Connor’s death, many fans, famous names, and musicians and industry figures have publicly paid their tributes – but Morrissey has hit out at this response, and has taken to his personal website to have his say in an open letter.
Morrissey hits out at Sinéad O’Connor tributes claiming it’s ‘too late’ / Credit: Morrissey (via Facebook)
Titled ‘You Know I Couldn’t Last’, Morrissey wrote that “the cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead… [but] you praise her now ONLY because it is too late”, adding that many didn’t “have the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you”.
He continued: “She was dropped by her label after selling seven million albums for them. She became crazed, yes, but uninteresting, never.
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“She had done nothing wrong. She had proud vulnerability… and there is a certain music industry hatred for singers who don’t ‘fit in’ (this I know only too well), and they are never praised until death – when, finally, they can’t answer back.
“Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a “feminist icon”. And 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber… when it was YOU who talked Sinead into giving up…
“You didn’t have the guts to support her when she was alive”/ Credit: Wikimedia Commons
“Because she refused to be labelled, and she was degraded, as those few who move the world are always degraded.”
The 64-year-old former frontman turned solo artist – who has always been outspoken throughout his career, but has more recently become a widely divisive and heavily critiqued figure due to publicly voicing his views on a number of contentious topics spanning the genres of politics, race, culture, religion, and more – closed out his letter by calling O’Conner “a challenge” but one that “couldn’t be boxed-up”.
Manc music legends James announced MASSIVE hometown show
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester music legends James have just revealed a massive hometown show here in the city centre as part of a landmark domestic arena tour.
Daisy bucket hats at the ready.
James is arguably the epitome of what it is to be the understated, underdog British band; they’ve gone about the business of making quality music somewhat quietly for several decades now, but they’ve had a fresh wave of interest over the past year or so
Having opened up for the likes of Catfish and the Bottlemen’s comeback shows, not to mention playing multiple big festival slots in recent months alone, they’ve now announced a huge run of UK arena shows – and nowhere does a James crowd quite like us Mancs.
Details have been announced for our 2026 UK arena tour, and we’re delighted to be joined by very special guests @dovesmusicblog with tickets going on general sale this Friday at 9:30am. Access the ticket pre-sale on Wednesday via our official store: https://t.co/DwpGrAUESZ NBL x pic.twitter.com/A4CWVpCooL
Announced as part of the celebrations around their Nothing But Love ‘best of’ LP, which pulls tracks from James’ whopping 18 studio albums, the new run of UK arena shows in 2026 follows on from numerous noteworthy shows this calendar year.
In addition to the aforementioned outdoor gigs, like their stunning sold-out night at The Piece Hall in Halifax – not too far from frontman Tim Booth’s hometown in Yorkshire – the indie veterans also celebrated a huge landmark in 2025.
Surpassing the milestone of 40 years as a band, with a lineup that’s remained largely intact and only really grown in terms of live session players and touring bandmates.
The new “definitive” greatest hits record also includes two brand-new songs in ‘Wake Up Superman’ and ‘Hallelujah Anyhow’, both of which are produced by Leo Abrahams, who worked with the band on their long-awaited number one album Yummy in 2024 – a feat loooong overdue if you ask us.
As evidenced by the sheer amount of new material they continue to put out and the almost non-stop touring, they remain one of the most prolific artists in the country. FACT.
You can see the rest of James’ upcoming tour dates, including a healthy number of Northern stops in the likes of Liverpool, Leeds and more.
James UK arena tour dates 2026
Fri 2 Birmingham Utilita Arena
Sat 4 Leeds First Direct Bank Arena
Tues 7 Aberdeen P&J Live
Wed 8 Glasgow OVO Hydro
Fri 10 Newcastle Utilita Arena
Sat 11 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena
Mon 13 Cardiff Utilita Arena
Tues 14 Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
Fri 17 London The O2
Sat 18 Manchester Co-op Live
With James returning to Manchester for their Co-op Live arena debut next April, along with a sensational support slot from fellow local legends, Doves (I know, how lucky are you lot?!), you can bank on this one selling out quickly.
General admission goes on sale this Friday, 10 October at 9:30am, so you’d better be ready to grab yours in a flash.
You can find the ticket link HERE, and we’ll see you in the crowd for a good ol’ singalong.
Featured Images — Ehud Lazin/Press shots (supplied)
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Electronic icons Kraftwerk announce first Manchester gig since 2017
Danny Jones
Pioneering German band Kraftwerk have announced their first UK tour since 2017, with fans having to wait almost a decade for another Manchester gig.
Thankfully, they’ll be heading back down the Autobahn and across the channel for a return to our shores soon enough with a long-awaited list of British and Irish live dates.
Kraftwerk remains one of the most groundbreaking groups in the electronic scene to this day, having paved the way for generations of new artists to keep experimenting with the genre in the 50+ years since their formation.
Heading back to Manchester early next year, die-hards will no doubt snap these tickets faster than you can say ‘Das Model’.
For anyone unaware of these veritable legends of electronica and the world of alternative/Euro-synth pop, Kraftwerk formed all the way back in 1970 and went on to shape the modern music industry, bridging the gap between music and the digital age.
Best known for tracks like ‘Computer Love’, ‘The Robots’, ‘Pocket Calculator’ and the aforementioned on named after the national motorway network, they spearheaded futurism in the musical landscape from the outset.
It seems only fitting, therefore, that their upcoming highly anticipated return to the UK comes as part of their ‘Multimedia’ tour.
While they have played a number of live shows all over the globe this year, including an extensive run in the US, next spring will be our domestic visit from Kraftwerk in nine long years.
Credit: Press shot (supplied)
You can see the full list of UK and Ireland tour dates – including a handful of Northern gigs – down below:
Spanning a total of 15 UK dates, as you can see, there will also be tickets to see Kraftwerk nearby in the likes of Liverpool and with our mates over in Sheffield.
Kraftwerk legend Ralf Hütter famously played a set inside our city’s velodrome at the National Cycling Centre for Manchester International Festival (MIF) back in 2009, and has collaborated with the event on multiple ocassions.
In fact, that very performance was seen as a turning point for MIF, so the Manc Kraftwerk connection speaks for itself; O2 members can obviously get pre-sale, but general admission tickets go live from 9am this Friday, 10 October.
Emily Sergeant -
27th July 2023 
