Universal Denies Morrissey's Allegation That They Denied His Attempts To Reissue Single

Universal Music have denied claims made on the Morrissey fan site True To You that they denied the former Smiths frontman permission to reissue his single 'I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris'.

Morrissey allegedly claimed on the fan site True To You that Universal blocked his attempts to reissue the single, released in 2009 on the Years Of Refusal album, in the wake of the Paris attacks. On the fan site, it is claimed that instead of granting Morrissey permission to reissue the single out of tribute to the victims of the horrendous attacks a fortnight ago in the French capital, Universal instead are planning their own tribute with artists currently on their roster.

Universal have disputed to the suggestions made on the fan site stating,

"We have not received – let alone refused – any request from Morrissey himself related to 'I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris'. While we have not been contacted directly by Morrissey, after seeing the comments on his website last week, we asked his representative to confirm his intentions and which charity he had in mind to support via the song's proceeds. We have yet to receive a reply"

The statement continued, "Many people at Universal Music have been personally affected by the events in Paris. The implication that we have blocked a request from Morrissey in favour of another tribute 'utilising our current crop of Universal artists' is hurtful and wrong."

True To You, the fan site where Morrissey allegedly made the comments have yet to confirm that Morrissey was behind the allegations.

You can watch the video for 'I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris' below.