David Bowie has taken issue with Morrisey‘s plans for a photograph of The Thin White Duke and the former Smiths singer to be used as cover art for a reissue of Morrissey 1989 single, The Last Of The Famous International Playboys (original cover above).
As reported by Contact Music, the single will be rereleased as part of a new retrospective package of Morrissey’s back catalogue, due out in April. Originally the reissue was to bear a previously unreleased image of the two but now Bowie has asked record company EMI to prevent the use of the photo.
Although it is presently unclear why Bowie is asking that the photograph not be used, EMI released the following statement in regards to the matter:
“David Bowie has ordered EMI UK not to run the proposed artwork for Morrissey’s April 8th issue of the remastered The Last of the Famous International Playboys single and CD. Although Bowie has no legal rights to the photograph, most of his back catalogue is presently licensed to EMI.”
Bowie’s petulance is perhaps poorly timed, as Morrissey was recently hospitalised in the States with a suspected bleeding ulcer, forcing the singer to cancel a bunch of dates on his US tour.
