Morrissey has said that a forthcoming greatest hits collection of songs by the Smiths is being released without his “approval or involvement.”

The album is due to be released later this year in the United Kingdom via the Warner Music Group. It will join a number of existing retrospectives of the band's music.

In the same statement, Morrissey also addressed the decision to push back the release of his new solo album, 'Years of Refusal', to next February.

The singer said the date change was “at the wish of Universal Music', adding: “There is also, at this stage, still no US label for the album since Morrissey withdrew from Decca US after their poor promotion for the 'Greatest Hits' release."

(by Jason Gregory)