Johnny Marr interview in Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant; mentions Smiths split

‘Bij alles wat ik deed stonden fans en journalisten te luisteren of het wel genoeg op The Smiths leek’ - De Volkskrant

Some interesting comments by Marr on The Smiths split. Please note: these are (amateurish) translations from a (journalists) translation in Dutch.

"The best decision I ever made was running away from The Smiths. I never regretted it, it really was done. Always when somebody calls again: gee, what a shame, I think: dude, you should know. The chemistry between Morrissey and me had worked out. We weren't friends, the only thing that tied us were shared musical preferences. When we could no longer find each other in music, it was done."

"I initially laughed at Morrisseys sarcasm and was touched by his strong anti-macho texts. But after five years of references to Oscar Wilde and sixties films, I was slightly done with it. I myself read J.G. Ballard and William S. Burroughs. I loved dystopian literature. Morrissey was actually more romantic."

"Morrissey and I were different in almost anything. Always. OK, thanks to his lyrics to Meat Is Murder, I stopped eating meat, but otherwise I've never attached much value to his opinions. All I can say is that The Smiths stood up for the rightless and the oppressed, the marginalized ones in our society because of their sexual orientation, race or descent. That is what The Smiths stood for. And we called ourselves leftwing. Morrissey engaging himself with disseminators of hatred is horrible, but I have felt so far away from him for so long that I can't really worry about it. What he does, says or sings, doesn't interest me. And please note: even he can not rewrite our history. I do not recognize anything in him what we once stood for as a band. "
 
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You absolute c***!

Surface all my respect ! Are we the only ones who noticed the nazi scum of Urbanus the SS?
I think it's high time someone blocks wiews like these on that forum.
In France , I'll take Urbanus the SS to court with his comments.
 
The Smiths needed this to be said. They really were a near perfect band who stood for certain things and the politics was entwined with the band. The art and the message was never seperate. Over the years Morrissey has been chipping away at the legacy and it needs somebody in the band to put it straight. If Morrissey wants to shit on his solo career that's up to him but The Smiths are certainly worth fighting for.
 
The Smiths were never ‘leftwing’ though, though some on the left may have claimed them.
It seems all rather revisionist to me, but in the end it doesn’t matter, The Smiths are untouchable.
 
The Smiths were never ‘leftwing’ though, though some on the left may have claimed them.

Well they did appear at Red Wedge, which was "a collective of musicians formed in the UK in 1985, who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher." (Wikipedia.) So I beg to differ.
 
I would be interested to know which part of The Smiths weren't left wing. Just listen to the lyrics. Hence the outrage when David Cameron said he was a fan. Strangely enough Weller put it best in terms of The Jam when he asked if Cameron thought Eton Rifles was about a f***ing jolly boys' outing.
 
Well they did appear at Red Wedge, which was "a collective of musicians formed in the UK in 1985, who attempted to engage young people with politics in general, and the policies of the Labour Party in particular, during the period leading up to the 1987 general election, in the hope of ousting the Conservative government of Margaret Thatcher." (Wikipedia.) So I beg to differ.
I know but Billy Bragg and Paul Weller spearheaded that movement and I don’t think Morrissey ever so much as mentioned it in interviews. He certainly never said anything in support of Labour.
The Smiths were always about the individual and in that sense beyond politics, as I think Morrissey still is really.
 
They weren't mates, the only thing that tied them were shared musical preferences.

They weren't though despite how much they may have liked each other. The stories always entailed Morrissey going off somewhere and the rest of the band would be hanging out, smoking and drinking. The two band members who would have been mates were Johnny and Andy.
 
They weren't though despite how much they may have liked each other. The stories always entailed Morrissey going off somewhere and the rest of the band would be hanging out, smoking and drinking. The two band members who would have been mates were Johnny and Andy.

That was always the divide in the studio, wasn't it? Morrissey did 9am to 5pm and the rest of the band did 5pm till dawn.
 
Such a pity that long term The Smiths and Morrissey fans are getting in this tornado of insults, division and hatred. How far we are from what it used to be. Those who followed them from day one know what I mean. The Smiths/Morrissey/Marr fans used to be like a nice collective, almost like a brotherhood, but now... How sad!!
 
Nah, depends on your perspective.
This site has been rules by trolls for a long time (10 years at least I think) but elsewhere there certainly is still that bond between fans. Certainly at gigs.
And whenever I meet someone who likes The Smiths or Morrissey there is that special connection.
 
Such a pity that long term The Smiths and Morrissey fans are getting in this tornado of insults, division and hatred. How far we are from what it used to be. Those who followed them from day one know what I mean. The Smiths/Morrissey/Marr fans used to be like a nice collective, almost like a brotherhood, but now... How sad!!

It's because the message has changed. Once it was it takes guts to be gentle and kind, now it's hate thy neighbour. Hate breeds hate Gejo.
 
It's because the message has changed. Once it was it takes guts to be gentle and kind, now it's hate thy neighbour. Hate breeds hate Gejo.

He was hardly ever gentle and kind though. Wasn’t he always the bigmouth. I don’t think much of what he said in the smiths is different from how he feels now. Now he’s just talking about different topics
 
I know but Billy Bragg and Paul Weller spearheaded that movement and I don’t think Morrissey ever so much as mentioned it in interviews. He certainly never said anything in support of Labour.
The Smiths were always about the individual and in that sense beyond politics, as I think Morrissey still is really.




In His Own Words : Morrissey , p . 41 - " ... I don't feel any alliance with him ( Neil Kinnock ) but if one must vote , this is where I feel the black X must go ..."
 
I think that after releasing one of the worst albums of all time, the catastrophic CALL THE COMET:drama:
its high time Drama J retires. Open up a hair helmet/tattoo parlor saloon with the Ayatollah Haslam.:popcorn:
 
Virtue throwing Moz under the bus. Using him to get media time for another drab album.

Could anyone direct me to Marr’s post-Smiths works of quality? I will make it into an E.P.
 
‘Bij alles wat ik deed stonden fans en journalisten te luisteren of het wel genoeg op The Smiths leek’ - De Volkskrant

Some interesting comments by Marr on The Smiths split. Please note: these are (amateurish) translations from a (journalists) translation in Dutch.

"The best decision I ever made was running away from The Smiths. I never regretted it, it really was done. Always when somebody calls again: gee, what a shame, I think: dude, you should know. The chemistry between Morrissey and me had worked out. We weren't friends, the only thing that tied us were shared musical preferences. When we could no longer find each other in music, it was done."

"I initially laughed at Morrisseys sarcasm and was touched by his strong anti-macho texts. But after five years of references to Oscar Wilde and sixties films, I was slightly done with it. I myself read J.G. Ballard and William S. Burroughs. I loved dystopian literature. Morrissey was actually more romantic."

"Morrissey and I were different in almost anything. Always. OK, thanks to his lyrics to Meat Is Murder, I stopped eating meat, but otherwise I've never attached much value to his opinions. All I can say is that The Smiths stood up for the rightless and the oppressed, the marginalized ones in our society because of their sexual orientation, race or descent. That is what The Smiths stood for. And we called ourselves leftwing. Morrissey engaging himself with disseminators of hatred is horrible, but I have felt so far away from him for so long that I can't really worry about it. What he does, says or sings, doesn't interest me. And please note: even he can not rewrite our history. I do not recognize anything in him what we once stood for as a band. "

He was quite happy for morrissey to protect their interests in court against Joyce, and to let him do the talking as usual if he wasn't that interested in morrissey s opinion!
If he wants to distance himself from morrissey then he should talk about something else.
He strikes me as being a tad disingenuous in writing off their history together. I had more respect for him in the interviews where he doesn't diss morrissey or even reference him at all.
He's not protecting The Smiths legacy,, it will always stand in its own right no matter what's said by anyone 30 year's later. The Smiths will always belong to the fans.and the truth and beauty if the lyrics will always resonate.
Like that Haslam man, he's promoting his bit of a career.
O well enough said.
 
Yeah, Marr, do why did you and Morrissey discussed a reunion a few years after you left and why you did contact him regarding the same even afterwards?
 
He was quite happy for morrissey to protect their interests in court against Joyce, and to let him do the talking as usual if he wasn't that interested in morrissey s opinion!
.

That was so “leftwing” of Marr yes, trying to deny the other half of the smiths their due pay.
 
The Smiths legacy,, it will always stand in its own right no matter what's said by anyone 30 year's later. The Smiths will always belong to the fans.and the truth and beauty if the lyrics will always resonate.
Like that Haslam man, he's promoting his bit of a career.
O well enough said.

I think that's exactly what Johnny is saying, that the Smiths legacy will stand on its own no matter what happens with Morrissey or himself. Also, he's not the one bringing up the Smiths and Morrissey, it's always the interviewer. And of course, that is what he is doing these interviews for, to promote his new album.
 

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