Fans back Morrissey in 'NME' racism row

After the week he's just had, Morrissey can at least sing with some authority that famous line: "Now I know how Joan of Arc felt." Ever since NME published its now notorious interview with the outspoken singer, in which he said Britain had lost its identity and has been "flooded" with immigrants, the former Smiths frontman has risked the bonfire of his own reputation as an idol for successive indie generations.

But the average Morrissey fan, it seems, is determined to defend the reputation of a singer they say remains one of the country's best songwriters, not withstanding the occasional unfortunate soundbite.

Since the furore erupted this week, websites, online forums and blogs have been inundated with messages of support for the singer. One area where fans are mobilising in force is the social networking site Facebook, where a number of groups have been created to stop the rot in their favourite singer's reputation.

Vicky Smart, a 21-year-old fan from Birmingham, has set up her own group, "NME should be sued for printing lies about Morrissey". She believes those who feel Morrissey's remarks were racist have not understood the satirical way in which the singer often parodies society.

"Anyone who thinks Morrissey is a racist is ignorant and clearly doesn't understand him," she said. "What he loves is 'Englishness'. He loves everything quaint and twee about the country. He sings about Oscar Wilde, working-class men and going down the pub. Sure he's controversial sometimes but you have to remember his lyrics are usually funny and satirical."

But other fans believed Morrissey was making a deliberately political statement and supported him for being unafraid of political correctness. "Morrissey said exactly what most people are thinking," said Martin Corcoran, from Manchester. "He wasn't being racist, he was being patriotic, something that seems to have become a dirty word in this tatty, apologetic excuse for a once-great nation."

Now the stage looks set for an intense legal battle as Morrissey seeks to clear his name and NME defends its journalistic integrity.

The Morrissey-sanctioned fan website True-To-You.net has posted the recent correspondence flying back and forth between Morrissey and NME lawyers. Lawyers acting on behalf of Morrissey have now sent a letter to the NME editor, Conor McNicholas, demanding a personal apology and damages. They have accused NME editors of doing a "hatchet job" on the original interview conducted by the freelance journalist Tim Jonze and accuse the music magazine of deliberately taking what Morrissey said out of context.

NME has written back to say it stands by the story and "will retain the transcript of the interview pending any trial". Its lawyers also said they had been unable to contact Mr Jonze because he was in Thailand but that they will ask him for the tapes of the interview.

Morrissey was dogged by racism allegations in the Nineties following a string of records that had an ambivalent attitude to race. One song, "Bengali in Platforms", had the lyrics, "Life is hard enough when you belong here", which upset many Asian fans.

Peter Agland, of Preston, Lancashire, was one of the few fans willing to admit someMorrissey lyrics made for uncomfortable listening. "As an anti-racist campaigner, I find 'Bengali in Platforms' a bit of an embarrassment," he said. "I don't think that makes Morrissey a racist, but I think it shows an acute lack of awareness of racism."

He expressed surprise that more Morrissey fans did not look at the singer's lyrics with a critical eye. "I [hope] to put forward the idea that you could still love the man and his music, while vocally opposing racism and the uglier shades of nationalism."