Earlier this year, rumors began to circulate that The Smiths might make like Oasis and reunite. Such speculation never came to pass, but it did reignite the long-simmering public feud between former bandmates Morrissey and Johnny Marr, with the former claiming Marr ignored the lucrative offer and the latter clarifying, “I didn’t ignore the offer — I said no.” Now, in a rare new interview posted on Medium, Morrissey explains why he was interested in the proposition in the first place.
“I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible,” the former Smiths frontman said. “We’ve all begun to grow old. I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime. It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”
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When asked how he feels about the guitarist today, Morrissey didn’t hold back, saying that “he seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s.”
“He gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion,” he continued. “He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies, and my song titles. Is this hypocrisy or self-deception? He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr, and I’ve had just about enough of his bitchslap comments. I’ve quietly put up with them for over thirty years.”
The 2024 spat between the former Smiths bandmates extends beyond potential reunion drama. Morrissey claimed that Marr “blocked” several re-issues and compilations and called out Marr for acquiring the trademark rights to the name of their iconic ’80s act behind his back (an allegation Marr has since disputed).
Elsewhere in the Medium interview, Morrissey turned his focus from Marr to cancel culture and the shelving of his unreleased album Bonfire of Teenagers. He reiterated that the decision was the label’s and not his own, took shots at The Guardian, and said things like, “To be cancelled is the modern version of lynching, isn’t it?” You know, classic Moz stuff.
Morrissey recently wrapped up a North American tour. He also has a trio of New Year’s Eve concerts in Los Angeles on the horizon (get tickets here).
