Express: "The Smiths split ‘bruised me emotionally, it turned to s*** with Morrissey’ – Johnny Marr" via Uncut Magazine (January 13, 2022)

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By George Simpson.

"JOHNNY MARR has been brutally honest about his painful memories from The Smiths break-up and shared how he talks to everyone from his incredible career except for Morrissey."


Excerpt:

Speaking in a new interview with Uncut, the 58-year-old said: “[The Smiths are] one of the things I’m proudest of. One of the things that I must be proud about – not only myself but the whole group, because that was our MO. Whatever s*** was going on, nothing got in the way of what was coming out of speakers – and there’s a lot to get in the way.

“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. But all of these different musicians, I can pick up the phone to anyone, and just pick up from where we left off.

“Everyone I’ve worked with has been great. The only thing that turned to s*** was The Smiths. Which is a shame, but s*** happens. I hate talking about the group I formed in those terms, the group I loved. But, y’know, let’s get some perspective.”



This story was picked up from March's Uncut Magazine interview - here in full:

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(* page 94 was adverts - omitted)

Note: the Express article appeared prior to having access to the Uncut article - so, the 'media item' became the thread title.
Regards,
FWD.
 
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OK, I had a chance to read the whole article and found it an interesting overview of Johnny’s long and interesting carrer. He deserves all the credit he is getting here.

Just one thing confused me: did he really say that he felt he had a very loyal relationship with all his songwriting partners except for Morrissey? Anyway, that is how I read it and it surpried me. I was always under the impression that Morrissey was very loyal to Johnny, albeit in his own strange and sick way. Loyal to the point of wanting to claim Johnny 100 % for himself and being extremely distrustful of all the other musicians that Johnny was hanging out with.
 
OK, I had a chance to read the whole article and found it an interesting overview of Johnny’s long and interesting carrer. He deserves all the credit he is getting here.

Just one thing confused me: did he really say that he felt he had a very loyal relationship with all his songwriting partners except for Morrissey? Anyway, that is how I read it and it surpried me. I was always under the impression that Morrissey was very loyal to Johnny, albeit in his own strange and sick way. Loyal to the point of wanting to claim Johnny 100 % for himself and being extremely distrustful of all the other musicians that Johnny was hanging out with.
It’s like a first love thing
Between them I think.
 
and this is the reason a reunion will never take place,thank f u c k for that.
he talks to everyone from his musical career except M,he is more or less telling the world that M is a terrible person and yet johnboy cant stop talking about this terrible person.
how many times has M been derogatory to marr in the last 5 to 10 years,cant recall too many or even any at all.
like son like father.
I doubt that Morrissey has been derogative about Marr in recent interviews, simply because Morrissey interviews have become a rarity over the last 5 to 10 years. We would have to go back to the times when Morrissey enjoyed a lot of exposure and was seen as the main person keeping the myth of the Smiths alive. I have no clear recollection of derogatory statements, but others here may know better.
 
OK, I had a chance to read the whole article and found it an interesting overview of Johnny’s long and interesting carrer. He deserves all the credit he is getting here.

Just one thing confused me: did he really say that he felt he had a very loyal relationship with all his songwriting partners except for Morrissey? Anyway, that is how I read it and it surpried me. I was always under the impression that Morrissey was very loyal to Johnny, albeit in his own strange and sick way. Loyal to the point of wanting to claim Johnny 100 % for himself and being extremely distrustful of all the other musicians that Johnny was hanging out with.
He said 'close' with everyone but Morrissey, and loyal in the context of the bands he's been in.

I wondered if what JM was getting at (with the loyalty comment) was that his desire not to disappoint his mates has sometimes trapped him in situations where he felt compelled to 'join' bands, when really he might have preferred to just do a few sessions and run. Instead, he ended up 'joining' and leaving lots and lots of different projects, yet he hates being called a 'session musician' .

He once said, "It's not like I had the big love of my life with The Smiths and I've since enjoyed a series of far more casual relationships." Which, of course, is exactly what it has been like - he's hopped in and out of projects on a very casual basis. No amount of flattering the Jarman brothers, Isaac Brock etc, etc is going to disguise that.
 
Going by various interviews, there doesn't appear to have been any particular blow up regarding their relationship in the past decade or so (whilst clearly there was plenty of bitterness from both sides during the early 90's), more a sense that on the rare occasions when they have positively reconnected, Morrissey has then ended up ghosting Johnny by cutting off contact and re-engaging radio silence. Which sounds like a very 'Morrissey' thing to do, and entirely in character. I can't find the exact quote at the moment, but I remember Johnny saying something like 'you can only hold out the hand of friendship so many times'.

The situation must be a bit odd for both of them - forever tied together by history, but after 35 years apart it must be like getting in touch with a long-divorced ex-wife, and just as awkward. At this point, I don't get any particular sense of bitterness, just regret that things ended as badly and messily as they did, which seems fair enough.
 
:)
nobody wants to touch :handpointright::guardsman::handpointleft: extended viper like hand FFS he ll
double cross you and make bad comments in his non stop interviews.:handok:

he has no 'loyal songwriting' partners FFS he was fired by everyone.:lbf:
why doesnt he go back to join that suco Mouse group? or the The The?
or any number of groups that booted him? :lbf:
he is weak minded:mask:

:hammer:
 
Going by various interviews, there doesn't appear to have been any particular blow up regarding their relationship in the past decade or so (whilst clearly there was plenty of bitterness from both sides during the early 90's), more a sense that on the rare occasions when they have positively reconnected, Morrissey has then ended up ghosting Johnny by cutting off contact and re-engaging radio silence. Which sounds like a very 'Morrissey' thing to do, and entirely in character. I can't find the exact quote at the moment, but I remember Johnny saying something like 'you can only hold out the hand of friendship so many times'.

The situation must be a bit odd for both of them - forever tied together by history, but after 35 years apart it must be like getting in touch with a long-divorced ex-wife, and just as awkward. At this point, I don't get any particular sense of bitterness, just regret that things ended as badly and messily as they did, which seems fair enough.
Fair points 😉
I wouldn’t be surprised if both of them decided at some point to rib each other, just to keep the ghost of the Smiths flickering for everyone’s financial interests.
Do they both need the money?
Probably not .
Do they like the accolades of being both attached to “ one of the greatest bands since the Beatles “
Absolutely yes .
We all have our own thoughts on such issues, as this crops up every now and then.
And it wasn’t that long ago that they managed to get together for the Sound of the Smiths....
I don’t recall any bickering then .
 
:)
nobody wants to touch :handpointright::guardsman::handpointleft: extended viper like hand FFS he ll
double cross you and make bad comments in his non stop interviews.:handok:

he has no 'loyal songwriting' partners FFS he was fired by everyone.:lbf:
why doesnt he go back to join that suco Mouse group? or the The The?
or any number of groups that booted him? :lbf:
he is weak minded:mask:

:hammer:
Is this 🙄 why you constantly
Gravitate to the man.
Silly suco nonsense

Leads to silly suco nonsense......
 
:)

and he was traumatized? doest he claim he quit and went on holiday?:)
i dont know that he can be traumatized unless the fact is that he was

IsMKPuY.gif

which of course we know has happened numerous time since.

the other lawnmowers are also traumatized because they wanted Moz dole instead of finding honest work🪴

simple facts case closed deliver the esse no more dumb articles QED:hammer:
 
You are correct it was on the Maladjusted tour and they did boo him and he said boo Steven Spielberg not me.
Yep. He realised then that slagging off Johnny to an audience of Smiths fans is a really bad idea.
 
:lbf:

where are all 'the smiths' fans when the infinitesimal tiny mini
:handpointright::guardsman::handpointleft: gigs take place?:laughing:

:hammer:
 
He said 'close' with everyone but Morrissey, and loyal in the context of the bands he's been in.
If this is what JM means by ‘putting things in perspective’, then it is just utterly disappointing. It just doesn’t feel right to deny that they were close in the earlier years of their songwriting partnership just because they had different personalities. They had a mutual fascination and admiration for each other, so I’d think that this led to some sort of closeness. Most likely, that feeling of closeness has evaporated over the years in the case of Morrissey, and apparently only in the case of Morrissey.
I wondered if what JM was getting at (with the loyalty comment) was that his desire not to disappoint his mates has sometimes trapped him in situations where he felt compelled to 'join' bands, when really he might have preferred to just do a few sessions and run. Instead, he ended up 'joining' and leaving lots and lots of different projects, yet he hates being called a 'session musician' .

He once said, "It's not like I had the big love of my life with The Smiths and I've since enjoyed a series of far more casual relationships." Which, of course, is exactly what it has been like - he's hopped in and out of projects on a very casual basis. No amount of flattering the Jarman brothers, Isaac Brock etc, etc is going to disguise that.
Interesting perspective. In my own experienc, loyalty can indeed come with the trap of always trying to please the other even when your heart is not in it.
 
If this is what JM means by ‘putting things in perspective’, then it is just utterly disappointing. It just doesn’t feel right to deny that they were close in the earlier years of their songwriting partnership just because they had different personalities. They had a mutual fascination and admiration for each other, so I’d think that this led to some sort of closeness. Most likely, that feeling of closeness has evaporated over the years in the case of Morrissey, and apparently only in the case of Morrissey.

Interesting perspective. In my own experienc, loyalty can indeed come with the trap of always trying to please the other even when your heart is not in it.
"What had happened since the serenity of our drive to Saddleworth Moor, when the coffin lid shifted and the old spark rose like a small miracle?"

In Autobio, that was Morrissey's response to watching Johnny stick the knife in (presumably in an interview) - so you get a sense that he was hurt but he wanted a reconciliation, even in the late 90s. Now, you've got Johnny saying that he reaches out but Morrissey ignores him.

The general impression I get is that the trust is gone - that Morrissey views JM as someone who offers him flowers, as it were, but stabs him in the back too. Compliments / back-stabbing / compliments / back-stabbing. And if JM wants to undo that, he might want to stop singing things like "Now I know how Johnny Marr felt" and saying that he's going on an "I Told You I Was Right" tour.
 
:lbf:

:rofl:
the "I Told You I Was Right Tour":laughing:
which of his imaginary 'tours' would that be?:mock:
the Killers tour?:lbf:

:hammer:
 
"What had happened since the serenity of our drive to Saddleworth Moor, when the coffin lid shifted and the old spark rose like a small miracle?"

In Autobio, that was Morrissey's response to watching Johnny stick the knife in (presumably in an interview) - so you get a sense that he was hurt but he wanted a reconciliation, even in the late 90s. Now, you've got Johnny saying that he reaches out but Morrissey ignores him.

The general impression I get is that the trust is gone - that Morrissey views JM as someone who offers him flowers, as it were, but stabs him in the back too. Compliments / back-stabbing / compliments / back-stabbing. And if JM wants to undo that, he might want to stop singing things like "Now I know how Johnny Marr felt" and saying that he's going on an "I Told You I Was Right" tour.
That is a beautiful and heartfelt quote from autobiography.

Time has obviously obscured and blurred the initial feelings, sensations and emotions that once glued them together. And it doesn’t help when trust has never been restored between them, as you mentioned. We better get used to these statements, while keeping our own (different) perspective on the story of The Smiths.
 
That is a beautiful and heartfelt quote from autobiography.

Time has obviously obscured and blurred the initial feelings, sensations and emotions that once glued them together. And it doesn’t help when trust has never been restored between them, as you mentioned. We better get used to these statements, while keeping our own (different) perspective on the story of The Smiths.
What's your perspective? (just curious)
 
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