But now you only call meWhen you're feeling depressedWhen you feel happy I'mSo far from your mind

Dodwell is right in one respect; Morrissey still has many fans. Many profess to have no interest in his political views, regarding him solely as a musical content provider, a beat maker, a purveyor of vocals. This is bollocks, of course; they're clearly hugely invested in him. In any case, if you're capable of blithely setting aside his views, then there's something badly missing in you.

"everyone ultimately prefers their own race."

Complaining to Tim Jonze in The Guardian about the "high cost" of immigration, in his imagination, to "British identity" as he conceived it from afar. Wearing a pin in support of far right group For Britain, led by anti-Islam activist Anne Marie Waters, for whom he has kind words - he rejects the "childish" label of racism; "I don't believe the word 'racist' has any meaning any more", he has said, a statement only the most obtuse and whitest of white men could come out with. Most recently, after Stormzy's triumphant Glastonbury headlining set, Morrissey shared a YouTube video in which some bloke attacks the rapper, using the headline "Nothing But Blue Skies For Stormzy … the gallows for Morrissey."

Then I came up against 'Bengali In Platforms'. This, and later 1991's 'Asian Rut', I deplored; I found 'Bengali In Platforms' possibly well-meaning but deeply patronising and utterly out of touch with the sensibilities of his very hip Asian fans. I knew. I was married to a Sikh woman at this time; her brother, Gurbir Thethy, adored The Smiths, subversively basing his dance at Sikh weddings on that of Morrissey.

And then, in 1986, Morrissey was interviewed by Frank Owen in Melody Maker and insisted that there was a conspiracy to maintain the presence of black music in the charts. He'd already remarked on the vileness of reggae, the awfulness of Diana Ross.

The Smiths were necessary.

This is the sort of ambiguous comment which seems to invite an assenting nod of the head but could easily have been uttered by Nigel Farage. Similarly, 'Irish Blood, English Heart', in which he sang, I've been dreaming of a time when/ To be English is not to be baneful /To be standing by the flag not feeling shameful/ Racist or partial/ Irish blood, English heart, this I'm made of /There is no one on earth I'm afraid of/ And I will die with both of my hands untied."

The former Smiths frontman has become an increasingly controversial figure in recent years for a string of remarks and his support for the far right. He voiced support for EDL founder Tommy Robinson in the wake of his sentencing for contempt of court, saying: “It’s very obvious that Labour or the Tories do not believe in free speech … I mean, look at the shocking treatment of Tommy Robinson.” He described halal meat preparation as evil and “requires certification that can only be given by supporters of Isis”; he told the NME in 2007 that “the higher the influx into England the more the British identity disappears … the gates of England are flooded. The country’s been thrown away”; and in 2010 described Chinese people as a “subspecies”.