Rumination, Litigation, Reunification(?) and Recrimination

Part III: The Dissolution of the Smiths

August 1987 saw the denouement of the Morrissey-Marr partnership, but not necessarily the dissolution of the the Smiths as an ongoing enterprise. It was at this time that Morrissey extended an invitation to guitarist Ivor Perry¹ to come into the studio to join him, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce for an impromptu recording session. This effort to maintain the group sans Marr proved to be for naught. As later recalled by Stephen Street (the producer present for this session):

“There was one session with Ivor Perry. Two days were booked at a studio in Wilesden [North London] and we did one day of that. The following day, which was a Sunday, I got a phone call from Andy Rourke saying that Morrissey had gone back to Manchester and that the session was cancelled. It was quite obvious to all concerned that it wasn’t going to work with Ivor Perry. There was a song recorded on that session called Bengali In Platforms, but it was nothing like the Bengali In Platforms that subsequently ended up on Viva Hate. In fact I don’t even remember Morrissey putting the vocal down in that session – it was just a title he had knocking around”

As signaled by Morrissey’s hasty exit to Manchester, this anemic effort to salvage the Smiths in the wake of Marr’s absence proved exceptionally short-lived. Supposedly, Perry did not possess the technical skill to match that of Marr. For his part, Perry distanced himself from any suggestion that he attended the recording session as a potential replacement for Johnny Marr, and that notwithstanding any thoughts to the contrary, that producer Street in fact sabotaged his efforts with Morrissey:

“I just want to set the record straight about this session as Stephen Street seems to have some kind of issue with me and in both books and here he puts forward the impression that I was somehow a disaster and should not have been in such talented company […] I also made it clear to all concerned that I wanted nothing to do with being considered as some kind of replacement for Johnny Marr. I had great respect for the Smith’s and knew that it was not going to be feasible to step into such a role and never wanted to…”

It was at this same time that producer Stephen Street presented Morrissey with some demoes he had made, which Morrissey liked. As Morrissey stated in a later interview with Sounds Magazine, “At the time there were no other people presenting things and I happened to like what Stephen had done. It happened very quickly.”²

Street’s demoes, along with other songs he co-wrote with Morrissey, were recorded that autumn (without Rourke and Joyce) and appeared on the latter’s debut studio album, Viva Hate. Without fanfare, Morrissey’s career as a solo artist was born.

For his part, Marr immediately pivoted away from his former colleagues and played guitar on Bryan Ferry’s ‘The Right Stuff’, an adaptation of the Smiths’ ‘Money Changes Everything’, as well as ‘Limbo’, ‘Kiss And Tell’, and ‘Seven Deadly Sins’, all of which appeared on Ferry’s Bête Noire studio album. In addition, Marr (briefly) joined the Pretenders as an official member in August 1987, touring with them later that year. He then left the Pretenders, and teamed up with The The from 1988 to 1994, recording two albums with the group. Marr also formed Electronic with New Order's Bernard Sumner, which was sporadically active throughout the 1990s. Aside from work as a session musician, Marr has released four solo albums to date.

Litigation

In March 1989, Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke started legal proceedings against their former bandmates, arguing that they were equal partners in the Smiths, and that they were each entitled to a 25 percent share of the band's profits on all activities other than songwriting and publishing. A heavily in-debt Rourke settled almost immediately, accepting a lump sum payment of £83,000 plus 10 percent of royalties in return for renouncing all further claims. Joyce proved more resilient, continuing with the litigation.

The case finally reached the High Court of Justice in December 1996. After a seven-day hearing the court ruled in favor of Joyce, ordering that he receive approximately £1 million in back-payments and 25 percent of royalties going forward. While Joyce may have prevailed in the courtroom, his efforts extinguished any prospect of his being part of any Smiths reunion.

Potential Smiths Reunion

A reformation of the Smiths has been a tantalizing prospect since that distant summer of 1987. It was not until Marr penned his autobiography that fans learned just how close this prospect almost became reality:

“One day in September 2008 we were only a couple of miles apart in south Manchester and arranged to meet up in a pub nearby. I was happy to see him – it was 10 years or more since we’d last met. We caught up with personal news and family and reminisced a bit. Then our conversation turned to deeper things. Morrissey started to talk about how our relationship had become owned by the outside world, usually in a negative way. We had been defined by each other in most areas of our professional life. I appreciated him mentioning it, because it was true […] Suddenly we were talking about the possibility of the band reforming, and in that moment it seemed that with the right intention it could actually be done and might even be great…We hung out for a while longer, and after even more orange juice (for me) and even more beer (for him) we hugged and said our goodbyes. Morrissey and I continued our dialogue and planned to meet up again…and then suddenly there was radio silence. Our communication ended, and things went back to how they were and how I expect they always will be.”³

In 2016 Morrissey caused controversy in some circles by announcing his support for both Brexit and U.K. politician Nigel Farage. In doing so, Morrissey unwittingly drove a wedge between himself and Marr. While politics was no factor in the disintegration of the Smiths, come three decades hence it figured prominently in any discussion of a reunion of the band; when asked about Morrissey's Brexit stance, Marr commented that he and his former bandmate "probably don’t have much ideologically in common anymore." Marr added that “If it is the case that he’s pro-Farage, then there would be a slight drawback in that I think, as anyone can imagine.”

In early 2022 a full-blown, veritable feud emerged between Morrissey and Marr, the catalyst of which being the latter’s interview with Uncut magazine published that January in which he stated that “It’s a simplistic way of putting it, but one of the reasons I’ve been in so many bands was because I wanted to be loyal to them. It won’t come as any surprise when I say that I’m really close with everyone I’ve worked with – except for the obvious one. And that isn’t that much of a surprise because we’re so different, me and Morrissey.”

Barely a couple of weeks later Morrissey issued an open letter to Marr, which is worth printing in full in order to truly appreciate its emotive depth, as well as its gravitas:

“This is not a rant or an hysterical bombast. It is a polite and calmly measured request: Would you please stop mentioning my name in your interviews? Would you please, instead, discuss your own career, your own unstoppable solo achievements and your own music? If you can, would you please just leave me out of it?”

“The fact is: you don’t know me. You know nothing of my life, my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings. Yet you talk as if you were my personal psychiatrist with consistent and uninterrupted access to my instincts. We haven’t known each other for 35 years - which is many lifetimes ago. When we met you and I were not successful. We both helped each other become whatever it is we are today. Can you not just leave it at that? Must you persistently, year after year, decade after decade, blame me for everything … from the 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami to the dribble on your grandma’s chin?”

“You found me inspirational enough to make music with me for 6 years. If I was, as you claim, such an eyesore monster, where exactly did this leave you? Kidnapped? Mute? Chained? Abducted by cross-eyed extraterrestrials? It was YOU who played guitar on ‘Golden Lights’ - not me.”

“Yes, we all know that the British press will print anything you say about me as long as it’s cruel and savage. But you’ve done all that. Move on. It’s as if you can’t uncross your own legs without mentioning me. Our period together was many lifetimes ago, and a lot of blood has streamed under the bridge since then. There comes a time when you must take responsibility for your own actions and your own career, with which I wish you good health to enjoy. Just stop using my name as click-bait. I have not ever attacked your solo work or your solo life, and I have openly applauded your genius during the days of ‘Louder than bombs’ and ‘Strangeways, here we come’, yet you have positioned yourself ever-ready as rent-a-quote whenever the press require an ugly slant on something I half-said during the last glacial period as the Colorado River began to carve out the Grand Canyon. Please stop. It is 2022, not 1982.”

Marr responded to his erstwhile friend’s statement with exceptional brevity, stating that "an 'open letter' hasn't really been a thing since 1953." However, the substance of what Morrissey wrote is indeed incontrovertible - Marr had proven himself to be more than happy to lambast him in the public square.

Within a year Andy Rourke passed away. Between this unfortunate event, Joyce’s permanent self-inflicted estrangement, and Marr’s markedly personal hostility, the prospects of a reunion of the Smiths was seemingly lost forever.

When Oasis announced in August of this year that they were embarking upon a reunion tour, a fan tweeted that if Oasis could get back together, then the Smiths could as well. In response, Marr tweeted an image of Nigel Farage, as if to say that Morrissey’s support for a right-leaning UK politician was sufficient grounds to scotch even a hint of a Smiths reunion.

However, the matter was not quite concluded as later that same month saw a stunning revelation from Morrissey, who stated:

"In June 2024 AEG Entertainment Group made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as 'The Smiths' throughout 2025. Morrissey said Yes to the offer; Marr ignored the offer. Morrissey undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November. Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order."

No doubt stung by Morrissey’s barbed (but accurate) statement, Marr quickly denied Morrissey's claim that he ignored the offer, asserting that he instead simply "said no" to it. Suffice it to say, this exchange is likely the last of the various nails in the Smiths coffin.

In today’s day and age, one who wishes to avoid controversy and potential banishment at the hands of the woke mob must say the correct things and publicly affirm “approved” views - any divergence, and sometimes even reticence, is met with swift and assured punishment. Silence isn’t sufficient - one must be vocal in parroting the party line (conformity of thought). This is worth keeping in mind when considering Marr’s drum-beat condemnation of Morrissey’s every utterance and stance for upwards of a decade running. In the end, only Morrissey - publicly pilloried and a commercial outcast at this point in time - has shown himself to be genuine and in firm possession of a surfeit of personal and artistic integrity, the critics be damned.

The inevitable passage of time, coupled with pride, the injury of fractious dialogue, and last but not least, political leanings, have effectively closed the book on the question of a reunion. However much we may wish to return to what was, some things are better left in the past.

1. Ivor Perry was formerly the guitarist for Easterhouse, which was an indie rock group from the mid to late 1980s known for jangly guitars and leftist political leanings. Easterhouse played one of their first gigs (on August 30, 1983) as the support band for the Smiths, but only after Ivor Perry convinced Morrissey to let them have the opening spot.

2. Sounds. Confessions of a Bigmouth…Private Diary of a Middle-aged Man. June 18, 1988

3. Marr, Johnny, Set The Boy Free (November 2016)