Row resolved: Morrissey's autobiography to be published this month

The Smiths frontman appears to have patched up relations with his publishers, Penguin, following a reported last-minute disagreement

Adam Sherwin
Friday 04 October 2013 19:39 BST
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The row over Morrissey's autobiography has been resolved
The row over Morrissey's autobiography has been resolved

The on-off saga of Morrissey's autobiography appears to have been resolved after Penguin confirmed that the book will be published on 17 October.

Last month, the former Smiths frontman claimed "a last-minute content disagreement" with Penguin had led the deal to "collapse".

Despite initially saying he was seeking a new publisher, Morrissey has now patched up relations with Penguin.

The book, simply called Autobiography, will be published as an instant "Penguin Classic", in accordance with the singer's wishes.

Originally set for a mid-September publication, it will be priced at £8.99 in paperback and made available as an e-book. Penguin Classics will publish it in the UK, Europe and the Commonwealth.

The memoir is expected to lift the lid on the 54-year-old's life growing up in Manchester and his relationship with his former bandmates in The Smiths.

He has enjoyed a successful solo career since the band split up in 1987, but is also known for outspoken views on animal cruelty, politics and the royal family.

This year, the singer suffered a series of what he referred to as "medical mishaps" which led to him cancelling his US tour.

He was also forced to cancel part of his South American tour in July due, he said, to a "lack of funding".

Voted the second greatest living Briton in a 2006 BBC poll, coming behind Sir David Attenborough, Morrissey was also called "devious" and "truculent" by a High Court judge during a court dispute over the Smiths' royalties, an experience which the singer is expected to reflect upon in the book.

The publication announcement followed weeks of speculation, after a statement on the Morrissey fan site True To You said the deal had been cancelled following a content dispute. Penguin refused to comment at the time.

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