Brandon Flowers on separating Morrissey from his art: "I'm not going to burn my Smiths CDs
Brandon Flowers has spoken about trying to separate Morrissey from his art, admitting that it’s “difficult”.
The Killers frontman is a huge fan of The Smiths singer, telling NME in 2019 that the musician is one of his “kings”.
In a new interview, Flowers discussed Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr’s surprise appearance during the Vegas band’s Glastonbury 2019 headline set, where they covered ‘This Charming Man’ together. Asked if he took people’s feelings about Morrissey’s politics into consideration when deciding to cover the song, Flowers told the Times: “I don’t think Marr should be held back because of Morrissey, so I don’t regret it.
“It is difficult to separate it from him, and I’m not going around playing the music in front of my kids.”
He continued: “Pick a song! Pick ‘What She Said’. If ‘What She Said’ came on the radio with my kids, I wouldn’t change it. It’s still an amazing song, so I’m not that serious, where I would change the station. I don’t agree with him, but I’m not going to burn my CDs by the Smiths or anything.”
While speaking to NME last year, Flowers described Morrissey as “unparalleled”, despite his problematic views. “He’s still a king,” he said. “He’s unparalleled in what he’s achieved and his prowess and his lyrics and his sense of melody, it’s just incredible. I forgot he was in hot water though, so I shouldn’t have brought him up.”
The Killers’ new album ‘Imploding The Mirage’, meanwhile, is set for release on May 29. The band have shared one song from the record so far – the Lindsey Buckingham-featuring ‘Caution’.
