As a substitute lap of honour for The Smiths, there was talk of a box set of rare and unreleased Smiths music. Is that possible, given that The Smiths released pretty much everything the recorded.

I was approached by the record company [Warners] a few years ago with the box set idea, and I was somewhat sceptical until I was sent some live concerts and monitor mixes. Then it started to sound like a really good prospect. There are some curios, instrumentals, a few odd films shot by people on these enormous old video cameras on the balcony at gigs in Wolverhampton in the 80s they are really impressive, they'd make great DVDs. There's the Troy Tate album [the first version of The Smiths debut album which was scrapped and never released] which is a really interesting sound and a great picture of the band at a time when most people aren't aware of us. That early, embryonic period where we had our very first live set, songs like *These Things Take Time, You've Got Everything Now, Wonderful Woman* just the band's live show recorded very, very well. It's a fascinating thing and it¹s not quite the band that people know. It's a very odd band. I can¹t put my finger on what it is, and I was in it. But unfortunately the record company *now* seem to regard The Smiths as something they've inherited in the attic, almost an inconvenience. I despair of what's going on with the Smiths catalogue.

How do you mean?

They're putting the albums out shoddily, mid-price releases with cheap sleeves, bad reproductions of the artwork. I¹ve wanted to remaster the albums properly for years, but there is no-one at the record company whose job it is to look after The Smiths. I find it incredible and frustrating, and most fans of music would find it a ridiculous state of affairs.

Warners have the catalogue in perpetuity. What happened was, when Rough Trade was going through bad times in the early 90s Morrissey and I mortgaged our houses so that, for literally about five minutes, we owned the catalogue ourselves. We then immediately sold it on to Warner Brothers with the promise that it would be looked after as a major historic British group would be. That¹s far from the way The Smiths is being handled right now. It really is being devalued. You can see there¹s no love there. With The Beatles, the Stones, possibly The Doors or Fleetwood Mac there seems to be someone behind it who really loves the music. We seem to be getting thrown out there in the bargain bins in a really cheapo fashion.

Are you pursuing it? Has Morrissey any interest in pursuing it?

Not right now because Modest Mouse is my main concern, and I don¹t think I can do it on my own. I wrote to Morrissey about it, he hasn¹t replied so far but we'll see. I'm just pissed off because the music doesn't sound as good as it could. I'll settle for that, and re-releases with decent sleeves on. It's beautiful music and it's being treated like shit. But apart from that, I can't and won't ­run the band on my own.

[LATER, AT GLASTONBURY]

There have been some developments since we last spoke, Johnny says. Morrissey has replied to Johnny's letter and the two are addressing the Smiths catalogue issue with Warners together for the first time in some years. It seems likely that the box set will come out some time in the next eighteen months. There's a crack of light ­maybe The Smiths will finally get the treatment they deserve as the best British rock band of the last thirty years.