Morrissey shares ‘Rebels Without Applause’, his first new single in three years

Morrissey has shared new song ‘Rebels Without Applause’, his first new single in three years – check it out below.

The track appears on the former Smiths frontman’s upcoming new album ‘Bonfire Of Teenagers’. The album, the follow-up to 2020’s ‘I Am Not a Dog on a Chain’, was announced back in May of 2021, with the singer dubbing it “the best album of [his] life”.

After being offered to the “highest bidder,” it was then revealed that the album would be released via Capitol Records in February 2023, but this month saw Morrissey confirm that the release date had been pushed back and that “its fate is exclusively in the hands of Capitol Records”.

Now, he’s shared the album’s second song, ‘Rebels Without Applause’, via Capitol. Half of the album has already been previewed at Morrissey’s live shows throughout 2022. ‘I Am Veronica’ was the first song to be unveiled from it at a May show in Phoenix.

Several tracks from the album, including the title track, then premiered at a Las Vegas show in July, including ‘Rebels Without Applause’ alongside ‘Sure Enough, The Telephone Rings’ and ‘I Live In Oblivion’. Another new song, ‘Kerouac’s Crack’, was debuted during a Blackpool show in September.

Listen to ‘Rebels Without Applause’ below.

In October, it was confirmed that Andrew Watt had produced ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’. Others that feature on the album include the Red Hot Chili Peppers‘ rhythm section – bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith – as well as former RHCP guitarist John Frusciante, Miley Cyrus and Iggy Pop.

This week, Morrissey shared a video of children mocking music critics, in promotion of his forthcoming album. The video sees one child approaching another, one of which is posing as a music journalist.

The scene shows the critic telling the Morrissey fan: “I don’t need to listen to the album; the review is already written,” after the fan encourages him to give it a good evaluation.

Live footage of Morrissey performing ‘I Am Veronica‘, the opening song on his forthcoming album, follows. We see the critic fall under something of a spell, becoming a firm Morrissey fan.

Earlier this week the singer cancelled two imminent dates on his current North American tour, citing “band illness”.

It comes after Morrissey cancelled his Los Angeles gig after just half an hour this month due to “unforeseen circumstances” – see footage of his departure below.

The singer was playing the Greek Theatre on Saturday, November 12 as part of a US headline tour when he departed the stage after nine songs. No official reason has been given for the cancellation yet, but some online are suggesting that the singer was “too cold” during his performance at the outdoor venue. Morrissey is yet to respond to any rumours about the termination of the gig.

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