Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Oasis Respond To Manchester Terrorist Attack
Morrissey, the world-famous lead singer of The Smiths, has responded to the tragic terrorist attack in his hometown of Manchester that claimed the lives of 22 people and also left scores injured at Ariana Grande’s concert at Manchester Arena.
“Celebrating my birthday in Manchester as news of the Manchester Arena bomb broke. The anger is monumental.
“For what reason will this ever stop?
“Theresa May says such attacks ‘will not break us’, but her own life is lived in a bullet-proof bubble, and she evidently does not need to identify any young people today in Manchester morgues. Also, ‘will not break us’ means that the tragedy will not break her, or her policies on immigration. The young people of Manchester are already broken – thanks all the same, Theresa. Sadiq Khan says ‘London is united with Manchester’, but he does not condemn Islamic State – who have claimed responsibility for the bomb. The Queen receives absurd praise for her ‘strong words’ against the attack, yet she does not cancel today’s garden party at Buckingham Palace – for which no criticism is allowed in the Britain of free press. Manchester mayor Andy Burnham says the attack is the work of an ‘extremist’. An extreme what? An extreme rabbit?
“In modern Britain everyone seems petrified to officially say what we all say in private. Politicians tell us they are unafraid, but they are never the victims. How easy to be unafraid when one is protected from the line of fire. The people have no such protections.
“Morrissey
“23 May 2017.”
Morrissey took to Facebook to upload the above passage, and he was immediately met with criticism for his attack on Prime Minister Theresa May, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Queen Elizabeth, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan. Spin even went as far as to write an article titled, “Morrissey Says Something Predictably Dumb About The Manchester Bombings.”
The singer, whose solo career since The Smiths split in 1987 has also been hugely successful, has previously courted controversy with his comments and actions. Back in 1992 he carried a Union Jack flag on stage at a London concert, and then performed in front of two photographs of female skinheads, which provoked claims that he was dabbling with fascist and far-right imagery. In a 2010 interview with The Guardian, Morrissey remarked, “You can’t help but feel the Chinese are a sub-species,” when discussing animal cruelty, while last year he insisted that Britain’s decision to leave the European Union was “magnificent.”
But it wasn’t just Morrissey that used social media to respond to the devastating attacks on Manchester. Johnny Marr, the guitarist for The Smiths alongside Morrissey, took to his own Twitter account to post a simple tribute to his hometown.
Manchester stands together.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) May 23, 2017
Liam Gallagher, the lead singer for Oasis, also took to his own Twitter account to show his support for his home city of Manchester in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In total shock and absolutely devastated about what's gone down in MANCHESTER sending Love and Light to all the family's involved LG x
— Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) May 23, 2017
Noel Gallagher, who performed in Oasis alongside his younger brother Liam, wasn’t quite as quick to respond to the tragedy, a move that was met with some criticism from fans, especially as one of his Twitter pages, which is run by his label Sour Mash Records and not personally by the musician, instead promoted an article about his top 10 songs. However, Noel Gallagher later took to his own Instagram account to post his very own tribute to the city.
Manchester police have confirmed that the man responsible for the attack was 22-year-old Salman Abedi, who was born in Manchester in 1994 but had moved back to Libya, where his parents were born, in recent years, only to return to the city in northern England in the last few days and carry out the mass murder of 22 individuals.
[Featured Image by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images]
