Morrissey has revealed that he "officially died for nine minutes" after a bout of food poisoning in Peru in 2013, which caused him to cancel the remainder of his South American tour.
In an interview with Alternative Nation, the singer covered a number of topics - from his staunch vegetarianism to US politics to rap music and being 'stalked' by Killers frontman Brandon Flowers.
Of rap music, he said "… of course I’m not inspired by rap but I can see how ‘Fear Of a Black Planet’ or ‘Mamma, Don’t You Think They Know?’ jumps ahead with everything Nina Simone was doing with ‘To Be Young, Gifted And Black’. I think rap has scared the American white establishment to death, mainly because it’s true."
He was also critical of Barack Obama's handling of the many police controversies involving black people, particularly the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Missouri. "If Michael Brown had instead been one of Obama’s daughters, I don’t think Obama would be insisting that the nation support the so-called security forces!," he said. "How can they be called security forces if they make the people feel insecure? Obama seems to be white inside."
He also revealed that he has finished writing a novel and it "is with the publishers who are deciding on a date to publish", and later mentions Brandon Flowers going all fanboy on him at a hotel. "I could see him hiding and I knew what he was doing… which was quite funny," he said. "Well, to me, anyway."
The full interview can be read here.
