Forget Blair: Morrissey's the man to heal Middle East - The Independent / Pandora
By Oliver Duff
Published: 22 June 2007

* Might we finally have found an envoy to soothe the troublesome types in Iran?

Excerpt:

The singer Morrissey last year contended that Bush and Blair's invasion of Iraq was "worse than terrorism... the action of egotistical monsters". Now, he reveals, he hopes to play a concert in Iran later this year.

The former Smiths frontman commented: "There are some great touring offers: New Zealand, South Africa, my beloved Scandinavia, Israel and Iran. I would love to sing in Tehran."

His spokesman, the improbably-monikered Mr Merck Mercuriadis, tells Pandora that Morrissey is "currently reviewing offers we've had - one of them is from Iran".

He added: "We're talking to the Foreign Office about travel guidelines."

It is unclear what kind of fanbase Morrissey believes exists in the Persian Gulf. Damien Hirst has led a "Britart diplomatic mission" to Iran but a pop concert would be far more problematic.

"It is likely that dancing would not be allowed," one Iranian tells me. (Dancing? Have you been to a Morrissey gig?) "And all of his song lyrics would need to be heavily vetted before he's granted permission. It would be very strictly controlled. Maybe he doesn't realise that because I can't see them being very promising conditions for a Western artist."

Mercuriadis comments: "I'm not aware of any censorship or anything like that but we're still at an early stage in planning. I'll let you know when it's confirmed."

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