Johnny Marr: ‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad I left’ - The Sun

Courtesy of an interview in the current Sun:

‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad I left’ - The Sun

It's an interesting, short, piece, especially at the end:

Marr refuses to talk about the 1996 court case which saw Joyce take Morrissey and Marr to court over royalties (Morrissey and Marr took most of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten per cent each to Joyce and Rourke.) He confesses: "I don't like getting too serious. And I don't want to be disrespectful because they were my mates. I have nothing but great fondness for The Smiths. When I left I felt relieved but did it at the right time.

"I last saw Morrissey a couple of years ago and we hung out for an afternoon and it was pretty funny.

"I'm going to be hanging out with and maybe playing with Andy soon and then getting an email now and then off Mozza is nice. People think The Smiths are bad news, especially when we split, but it's not.

"The Smiths were bloody brilliant and I'm eternally proud of that."​


Additional excerpts posted in the thread by joe frady and Amy:

..."And people think that I quit because there was some tensions, some fighting, but it wasn't like that. I've never hung around for long. Even after The Smiths when I've played with The The, Modest Mouse or The Cribs it's been the same. The idea of staying in the same place year in year out, it just doesn't work for me and never has."

..."I felt there was no one else on the planet who was listening to The Marvelettes, The Shirelles, Shangri-Las and Dusty Springfield. That's why I had the nerve to go and approach Morrissey when I was putting the group together, because he was the only other person I knew who liked the music I liked."

..."But nothing's ever happened since the band split that made me think it was the wrong move to finish it."

..."And when there was any controversy with tracks like Handsome Devil (about child abuse) and Suffer Little Children (about The Moors Murders), I'd back [Morrissey] up. I thought my friend was great and I thought everything my friend did was great. It was a great friendship and I learned a lot from being in that band so young"
 
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Re: Article: Johnny Marr: ‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad

A surprisingly nice article, actually. Morrissey claims he wasn't consulted about the re-masters, but there is no way that is true. I wish he'd have been as "hands-on" as Johnny seemingly was, instead of bitching from the sidelines. But then, he's got American shows to sell so maybe distancing himself from his former band is the right thing to do just now.

Marr seems like he'd be more than up for a gig or two with Moz.. I wonder if the only thing stopping Morrissey is that he doesn't want to hurt Boz et al's feelings... "Don't take this the wrong way, lads, but I'm going to sing with Johnny for a while. He know's how to play the songs".
 
it hurt like the bejesus when they actually split, but i love the preservation of the legacy. plus i dig their individual careers. stay classy johnny and thanks for the great sounds.
 
WOW! Johnny Marr positive about The Smiths! Nice to hear he's going to perform with Rourke again soon and has emails from good ole Morrissey.
 
Of course Morrissey is going to distance himself from the new remasters - because his share of the money ends up going to Joyce. But he hasn't actually issued the usual 'I urge my fans not to buy this shoddy re-issue' statement he usually does on True To You.

And yes - some kind of Morrissey/Marr reunion collaboration would be Heaven - but, as Johnny is admittedly so flightly - any reunion would only be a short term thing. Morrissey has spent the past couple of decades forging a strong solo career - he's trying to get a new solo record contract at this point in time - he must be slightly wary about it getting derailed and overshadowed by the ghost of the Smiths.
 
The Smiths: a special, defiant, truly incomparable band.

Morrissey & Marr... I really love those guys! :)
 
The big revelation was learning Morrissey uses email!
 
Johnny is a total gent - The only surprise is that the Sun of all papers have som many nice things to say about The Smiths - Must be David Cameron's influence...!
 
Re: Article: Johnny Marr: ‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad

WOW! Johnny Marr positive about The Smiths! Nice to hear he's going to perform with Rourke again soon and has emails from good ole Morrissey.


I can't remember Johnny having anything bad to say about The Smiths.
 
As good as The Smiths were in their day, Duran Duran were best the band of the 1980s. I saw both in their prime, but no could hold a candle to Duran Duran. Morrissey's voice, live, always had a slight vacant expression, in those days, whereas Le Bon hit the notes with a rasp of danger.
 
I wonder if Marr would ever be interested in producing a Morrissey album. (And if Morrissey would be similarly interested.) Imagine Johnny, Boz, Jessie, and perhaps Alain all in the studio together.
 
Re: Article: Johnny Marr: ‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad

troll

As good as The Smiths were in their day, Duran Duran were best the band of the 1980s. I saw both in their prime, but no could hold a candle to Duran Duran. Morrissey's voice, live, always had a slight vacant expression, in those days, whereas Le Bon hit the notes with a rasp of danger.

I heard Duran Duran during a sound check as a friend was in the opening act. Morrissey could sing better with Jesse Tobias cock in his mouth.
 
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"As good as The Smiths were in their day, Duran Duran were best the band of the 1980s. I saw both in their prime, but no could hold a candle to Duran Duran. Morrissey's voice, live, always had a slight vacant expression, in those days, whereas Le Bon hit the notes with a rasp of danger."

Brilliant. Why take an eedgit to a party when you can always find one there.
 
What the f*** was Johnny Marr doing talking to the f***ing S*n? Lost a lot of respect for him now. A boneheaded paper for morons.
 
Re: Article: Johnny Marr: ‘I have nothing but fondness for The Smiths...but I’m glad

As good as The Smiths were in their day, Duran Duran were best the band of the 1980s. I saw both in their prime, but no could hold a candle to Duran Duran. Morrissey's voice, live, always had a slight vacant expression, in those days, whereas Le Bon hit the notes with a rasp of danger.
Are you having a laugh? Morrissey's voice was hugely superior to Lebon's simply because of the lyrics that would roll out of his lips. What issues did Lebon ever sing about? Are they still relevant. No!! Don't say Duran were better; they were mananged and marketed to produce crass pop. There is no comparison.
 
Duran have done some good songs like Ordinary World. They are not in The Smiths league, by a long margin, but perhaps still underrated. Don't think they were manufactured, though they are from Birmimngham! Manufactured bands are twats like Take That.
 
re=le,bon hit the notes with a rasp of danger. 13th july 1985,live aid,le,bon hit the notes with the rasp of a choirboy.give them their dues they did a great live cover of steve harleys come up and see me ( make me smile).was a b side.
 

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