I'm leaning towards the 'publicity stunt' theory ;)
I don't think Morrissey and Billy McKenzie were rumoured to be lovers in the 80s, as far as I know the rumour only started because of this song. They met once for a few hours in 1984, as part of a press-staged 'date', and apparently they didn't get along especially well, at least according to what Morrissey said when asked about it in an interview shortly afterwards (he said they tried to find common ground, but there wasn't any, and he was 'shocked' when Billy walked out with his copy of a James Dean biography, or something like that).
The theory further falls down more than slightlly when you consider that it is highly unlikely the song "William, It Was Really Nothing" was written abotu Billy McKenzie, since 1) the lyrics don't suggest that (why would Morrissey sing about Billy being engaged to a 'fat girl'? Was he even engaged at the time? I don't think I've ever heard any information of that kind), 2) to anyone who's ever seen the 1960s film "Billy Liar", it should be more than obvious that the scenario of "William, It Was Really Nothing" is taken from that film, and that the eponymous William is in fact William Fisher aka Billy Liar, played by Tom Courtney - a young man from small-town, stuck in a job he hates (with an annoying boss called Mr Shadrock), and engaged to two rather obnoxious girls at the same time, one of them being quite plump (an engagement ring plays quite a part in the film, too). He is unsatisfied with his life and escapes the reality by daydreaming about himself as a great writer, a leader of an imaginary country called Ambrosia, etc. Finally he gets the chance to turn his dreams into reality and go to London with the girl of his dreams (played by Julie Christie) to become a writer for a famous comedian... (and I'll stop here so I wouldn't spoil the film completely.) It's also quite obvious that the film was the inspiration for two other Smiths songs: "Frankly, Mr Shankly" and "London", and there are a number of other phrases Morrissey took from it ("We could walk where it's quiet" - The Queen Is Dead, "combating ignorance and disease" - Vicar In A Tutu).
I'm leaning towards the 'publicity stunt' theory ;)
I don't think Morrissey and Billy McKenzie were rumoured to be lovers in the 80s, as far as I know the rumour only started because of this song. They met once for a few hours in 1984, as part of a press-staged 'date', and apparently they didn't get along especially well, at least according to what Morrissey said when asked about it in an interview shortly afterwards (he said they tried to find common ground, but there wasn't any, and he was 'shocked' when Billy walked out with his copy of a James Dean biography, or something like that).
The theory further falls down more than slightlly when you consider that it is highly unlikely the song "William, It Was Really Nothing" was written abotu Billy McKenzie, since 1) the lyrics don't suggest that (why would Morrissey sing about Billy being engaged to a 'fat girl'? Was he even engaged at the time? I don't think I've ever heard any information of that kind), 2) to anyone who's ever seen the 1960s film "Billy Liar", it should be more than obvious that the scenario of "William, It Was Really Nothing" is taken from that film, and that the eponymous William is in fact William Fisher aka Billy Liar, played by Tom Courtney - a young man from small-town, stuck in a job he hates (with an annoying boss called Mr Shadrock), and engaged to two rather obnoxious girls at the same time, one of them being quite plump (an engagement ring plays quite a part in the film, too). He is unsatisfied with his life and escapes the reality by daydreaming about himself as a great writer, a leader of an imaginary country called Ambrosia, etc. Finally he gets the chance to turn his dreams into reality and go to London with the girl of his dreams (played by Julie Christie) to become a writer for a famous comedian... (and I'll stop here so I wouldn't spoil the film completely.) It's also quite obvious that the film was the inspiration for two other Smiths songs: "Frankly, Mr Shankly" and "London", and there are a number of other phrases Morrissey took from it ("We could walk where it's quiet" - The Queen Is Dead, "combating ignorance and disease" - Vicar In A Tutu).