Morrissey has alleged that the iconic photo of The Smiths outside Salford Lads' Club was all his idea, saying it 'wasn't, isn't, and never shall be' a decision made by the band.
The former frontman of the iconic band has been in the headlines recently having just released his 14th studio album Make-Up Is A Lie. Last month, the musician also upset fans after cancelling a European show just a few hours beforehand due to 'sleep deprivation'.
Using his website for his musings, the 66-year-old from Urmston has now made comments regarding the photo of The Smiths, which was shot by renowned photographer Stephen Wright in 1985 for the inside cover of their third album The Queen Is Dead.
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Once hailed as the 'Abbey Road photo of the 80s', the black and white photo led to the Ordsall recreational club, on Coronation Street, serving as a spot of pilgrimage for fans of the band. One of the images from the collection is also exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery.
In a post over the weekend, Morrissey said the photograph came about because of him, disputing any claims that it was a mutual decision by the rest of the band, including Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce.
The singer wrote: "For those who care about detail, being photographed outside of Salford Lads Club was not a Smiths idea or design, it was solely my idea, to which as usual the other three initially viewed as more unnecessary Morrissey lunacy.
"Now that millions of people come from all over the world to be photographed on that very spot, it is claimed as a Smiths idea. It wasn't, it isn't, and it never shall be. If I had suggested a photo outside Kellogg's the likelihood is that the other three would have done that instead."
It's not clear what sparked the post in the first place, but it is something which photographer Wright has also previously pointed out. At the time a young photographer, Wright shot five reels of film with 36 pictures on each, with a £150 Nikon camera. He later got a card from Morrissey thanking him for his work, adding he felt that 'a sweeter set of photos were never taken'.
In an interview with PRS For Music in 2016, Wright said it was 'Morrissey's choice' to head to the Lads' Club. Speaking to the M.E.N. in 2015, Wright recalled of the shoot: "It was shot on a dark dismal day. I met them at Piccadilly Station. I had the most nerve wracking night the day before. I couldn't sleep because of the excitement of meeting them."
He added: "The picture is not very posed. They were moving around and I was moving about. It's not the picture that is a classic - it's the band that are classic. It's a combination of Salfordian folklore and the greatest band of the 80s."
