NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: So much...

NO MORE MR. NICE GUY: So much for the new, improved, user-friendly Morrissey. The English mope-master abruptly canceled several interviews, including one with Rolling Stone’s Jim Farber, and flew back to England from L.A. without a by-your-leave--also standing up the video crew hired to shoot the clip for his new single.

This was supposed to be the time when Morrissey was turning on the charm in order to elevate his status from cult hero to superstar--that’s why he’s signed up with the powerful Steifel/Phillips management firm, which handles the likes of Rod Stewart. Morrissey was apparently cooperative and affable in interviews already completed for RayGun, Details and Billboard, but stiffing Rolling Stone is not generally considered a good career move for someone who wants to reach a wider audience.

Morrissey’s new publicist, New York-based Michael Pagnotta, doesn’t know what prompted the singer to bolt, but says it’s just the kind of thing that comes with the territory of a temperamental artist. He doesn’t think it will hurt the campaign.

“He’s interesting enough and his (upcoming) album is good enough that I don’t think people are put off,” he says. “It’s just a matter of rescheduling it so the writer and magazine will be inconvenienced as little as possible.”

It may be too late. A source at Rolling Stone says that the editors there have, for the time being at least, cooled to the idea of a Morrissey feature.