Morrissey: Ringleader of the Gay Tormentors?

It may sound corny, but perhaps because it was recorded there, Ringleader seems somehow influenced by the grandeur and old world romance of the Eternal City. It may even be Morrissey's Roman Holiday of sorts, as many of its songs speak of a sexual awakening and hope for love.

With its thick, lush abbondanza style of musical arrangements; the formally posed, Toscanini like cover photo of Morrissey in tails playing the violin; and the CD's royal European pendant artwork, Ringleader of the Tormentors almost seems to harken back to some bygone, mid-century aristocratic era.

And is that an ascot Moz is wearing under his sports jacket on the CDs back cover? Morrissey is giving us good old-fashioned royalist splendor as a metaphor for grand classic rock.

And speaking of classic rock, Ringleader opens with “I Will See You in Far-Off Places,” no doubt influenced by the pounding groove and middle eastern modes of Led Zeppelin's “Kashmir”. This track serves to confidently announce Morrissey's return to heavier head-banging roots.

As with the issue of his being or not being gay (wherein artistically he sends out every conceivable signal that he is, but stops short of confirming it publicly), Morrissey stepped back when his Bush-bashing came to an officially heated head. In response to his being interviewed and taped by both British and American investigative agencies, Morrissey offered a response on Contact Music that interestingly reveals insights into both his political and personal conceptions of himself.

"I don't belong to any political groups, I don't really say anything unless I'm asked directly and I don't even demonstrate in public. I always assume that so-called authoritarian figures just assume that pop/rock music is slightly insane and an untouchable platform for the working classes to stand up and say something noticeable.”

I wonder if the FBI asked him directly if he is gay. If so, I wonder what he answered. Morrissey claims he doesn't reveal anything about himself unless he is asked directly. Yet he is famous for refusing interviews, and in the rare cases when he does grant one, the “gay question” is, conveniently if not incredulously, never asked.

Morrissey, like his longtime colleague in non-disclosure, REM's Michael Stipe, has in the past claimed an intense personal shyness as to why he doesn't explain more about his same-sex attractions to the world. Stipe has since opened up about his own same sex orientation.

Additionally, in their art-above-politics stances, both Stipe and Morrissey have remained akin in their dislike for being pigeonholed into confining sexual labels. They have also staunchly guarded their rights to personal privacy.

Morrissey can try to remain “gay” solely in the ideal world of his song lyrics. But in a society that is increasingly more tolerant, open, knowledgeable, inclusive and curious of gays, he runs the risk of losing relevance and even credibility by doing so.

He may even sense this now, as he states in track 8,“I'll Never Be Anybody's Hero Now”:

I'll never be anybody's hero now
They who should love me
Walk right through me
… I'll never be anybody's lover now

Will Morrissey remain relevant to the gay world, or will we walk right through him? Will fans continue to let him reveal himself only through his art, or will he have to come clean?

Only time will tell. And despite the “positively shocking” revelations on Ringleader, his sexual orientation remains a mystery.