David Bowie refuses to let Morrissey use his image on new release

David Bowie tells EMI not to use an image of him and Morrissey together afer it was proposed as artwork for the former Smith singer’s new release. David Bowie and Morrissey may have been friendly enough once to be photographed together, but it appears there’s no way Bowie’s allowing those memories to remain in the public eye now.

Morrissey is releasing a re-mastered version of the 1989 single The Last of the Famous International Playboys on April 8. However, according to Morrissey fanzine, True To You, when Bowie heard that the artwork of the new CD was to feature a previously unseen image of him and the Smiths singer, he asked EMI not to run it.

The record was previously released with a photograph of Morrissey as a child, climbing a tree. It went to number six in the Top 40 in 1989. The photo in question for April’s release was taken by Linder Sterling in 1992, which doesn’t belong to Bowie, but is licensed to EMI.

Morrissey and Bowie toured together in 1995, but the pair parted ways before its end after a rumoured disagreement. Since then the Smiths singer hasn’t held back in voicing his opinions on Bowie. In January’s edition of Uncut, Morrissey discussed Mick Ronson, the late guitarist who played with Bowie and produced Morrissey’s 1992 album, Arsenal. Morrissey said, “None of David’s $20,000-a-day US guitarists had a single grain of Mick’s natural style, and even Eno only worked with David for 14 days.”

He also called Bowie “Showie” and said that the public only fell in love with Ziggy Stardust during a 2004 interview on The Jonathan Ross Show. Morrissey said that Bowie was “only relevant by accident” in a GQ interview in the same year.

Source: The Telegraph