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. "

 

[SteveTheNutter]

Of course Moz cares. This is the whole point of their dynamic. Moz cares and Johnny doesn't.

Yes. For example:

 

[Anonymous]

It's time for Marr to stick up for his old partner and say he is not a racist.
That would be a good headline.
Noel Gallagher has championed Moz in the past, he should have the guts to say it too.
They should stop thinking of their own careers and put an end to all this nonsense.

This information has surfaced again:

 

[countthree]

Yes. For example:

If she thought Marr was a hypocrite she shouldn't have said it in his own face in this way. He was a guest and he deserved to be treated with respect. Even when she tried to apologize later she was rude.

On the other hand Morrissey was charming and he seemed much more involved during the interview.

 

[countthree]

This information has surfaced again:

I will believe Marr told it if he says it publicly. Then it remains the discussion about the veracity of those sayings. Morrissey is under attack.

 

[firstodie]

I don't like Marr, I never have. He got what he needed from Morrissey and then when he became bored he played the victim of Morrissey's petulance. Marr's a fantasist. Jeez, I even remember him saying that Happy Hour was a direct rip-off of I Want The One I Can't Have, and that if he bumped into any of the Housemartins, he'd cause them serious harm. Andy made Marr. Marr played jangly guitar and hid his lack of songwriting ability behind effects pedals and overdubs. The way Andy's bass slinks into the intro to That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, is sheer genius. And please don't mention that hair. How old is he? That hair alone shows his complete lack of self - awareness. I think Morrissey was cast aside like a worthless rag and has done well not to stick the knife into Johnny the way Johnny has made snide remarks in the past, about him. I'd like to see Morrissey vent his anger on Marr now, and crush him. Perhaps also stop playing Smiths songs. Time for Morrissey to be unequivocal and bear his teeth where Marr is concerned and make the divorce final. This would also help allay claims of him smearing the legacy. Perhaps Morrissey could be more vocal about Johnny's tepid 'career', post - Smiths, and have a bit of fun in challenging him to prove his worthiness as a 'guitar god'. Vent your anger on Marr, Morrissey, there's at least three great albums in that! Also, he could try to be a little more contrite with Andy and Mike, to alienate Marr even more and expose him as the spineless sneak he really is. For too long, he's been hiding behind Morrissey's social ineptitude to make himself look like the maligned arbitrator who did his best to keep everyone happy, but failed...pish.

 

[countthree]

Talking about lies and hypocrisy, it's curious the same people who accuse Morrissey of being a racist in this site and put themselves on the side of criminal social bullies are the ones who said multiple times here that his band was integrated by lawnmowers. Do we need to remember the names?

 

[Amy]

One thing that seems vindictive about this is that Marr has always known how much Morrissey cared about him - so he knows he's cutting him here. When he really wants to sting M, this is where he goes, time and again.

Marr: "I've never attached much value to his opinions."

Meanwhile:

 

[Anonymous]

I will believe Marr told it if he says it publicly. Then it remains the discussion about the veracity of those sayings. Morrissey is under attack.

If you read his further comments he said it was either Gannon, Rourke or Marr that told him.

 

[Anonymous]

This information has surfaced again:

If Marr really wanted Muhammad Ali I'm glad that Moz stood his ground because I like the Elvis sleeve

 

[countthree]

If you read his further comments he said it was either Gannon, Rourke or Marr that told him.

He didn't put it better with that comment.

 

[snoddywilko]

I really don’t understand all the uproar about Morrissey's comments. Anyone would think he had beheaded Sadiq Khan, or something, the way everyone is reacting.

Anyone who has been a fan of Morrissey will be aware that he has always been flippant with his statements & is very easy to ridicule, especially when being quoted out of context. He says outrageous things, that can sometimes surprise or even shock, but there is usually a well thought out idea behind the point he is making. Whether you agree with his points, or not, is another thing.

But really, can somebody tell me what he has said that is so awful that he deserves such hatred & bile from people who once called themselves fans?

Oh, on a side-note: I would like to counter-balance the current bashing in this thread of URBANUS by saying: “keep up the good work, you’re about the only interesting person on here & always make me chuckle”

 

[Anonymous]

I really don’t understand all the uproar about Morrissey's comments. Anyone would think he had beheaded Sadiq Khan, or something, the way everyone is reacting.

Anyone who has been a fan of Morrissey will be aware that he has always been flippant with his statements & is very easy to ridicule, especially when being quoted out of context. He says outrageous things, that can sometimes surprise or even shock, but there is usually a well thought out idea behind the point he is making. Whether you agree with his points, or not, is another thing.

But really, can somebody tell me what he has said that is so awful that he deserves such hatred & bile from people who once called themselves fans?

Oh, on a side-note: I would like to counter-balance the current bashing in this thread of URBANUS by saying: “keep up the good work, you’re about the only interesting person on here & always make me chuckle”

It's a fair question but things are very different this time.
For the first time in 35 years of having a public profile, he has given his official endorsement to a political party. A far-right political party, For Britain. This from the man who wrote Margaret on the Guillotine. He has also given his support to a notorious far-right activist, Thomas Robinson. This is new ground for Morrissey, hence the reaction.

 

[Charlie Cheswick]

It's a fair question but things are very different this time.
For the first time in 35 years of having a public profile, he has given his official endorsement to a political party. A far-right political party, For Britain. This from the man who wrote Margaret on the Guillotine. He has also given his support to a notorious far-right activist, Thomas Robinson. This is new ground for Morrissey, hence the reaction.

There's the thing where he just kept at it too. Usually he'd say something iffy about the Chinese being a subspecies or white murderers being no worse than KFC slaughterers and clear off for a while, this time he disagreed with people disagreeing so much he kept at it until a good portion of his fans just f***ed him off. A one off comment is easy to let blow over, brow beating us over the head with right wing nonsense to breaking point probably wasn't the best career move.

 

[vegan.cro spirit# 454]

I don't like Marr, I never have. He got what he needed from Morrissey and then when he became bored he played the victim of Morrissey's petulance. Marr's a fantasist. Jeez, I even remember him saying that Happy Hour was a direct rip-off of I Want The One I Can't Have, and that if he bumped into any of the Housemartins, he'd cause them serious harm. Andy made Marr. Marr played jangly guitar and hid his lack of songwriting ability behind effects pedals and overdubs. The way Andy's bass slinks into the intro to That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore, is sheer genius. And please don't mention that hair. How old is he? That hair alone shows his complete lack of self - awareness. I think Morrissey was cast aside like a worthless rag and has done well not to stick the knife into Johnny the way Johnny has made snide remarks in the past, about him. I'd like to see Morrissey vent his anger on Marr now, and crush him. Perhaps also stop playing Smiths songs. Time for Morrissey to be unequivocal and bear his teeth where Marr is concerned and make the divorce final. This would also help allay claims of him smearing the legacy. Perhaps Morrissey could be more vocal about Johnny's tepid 'career', post - Smiths, and have a bit of fun in challenging him to prove his worthiness as a 'guitar god'. Vent your anger on Marr, Morrissey, there's at least three great albums in that! Also, he could try to be a little more contrite with Andy and Mike, to alienate Marr even more and expose him as the spineless sneak he really is. For too long, he's been hiding behind Morrissey's social ineptitude to make himself look like the maligned arbitrator who did his best to keep everyone happy, but failed...pish.

Im glad you pointed this out. He cant even really play the guitar he has but that on chicka riff he plays endlessly . Also he comes across as a bit gay, much gayer than Moz. A lot of gay musicians have a beard
wife to keep the chickdom away. The hair at 55 years old, the tattoos on the neck READING WILLIAM BURROUGHS they way he sits on that video. Something about it just aint right.

His career is over after the disastrous CALL THE COMET not that hes ever had
much of one. Yes due to Moz he carries himself as some sort of sucko beethoven but happily
those days are coming to a close.

 

[TJ Burns]

It is pretty difficult for someone to be taken out of context or misunderstood 100% of the time over the span of years.

 

[Peppermint]

Yes. For example:

Poor Morrissey. Friend-zoned in the full glare of Spanish TV. Johnny appears monumentally hungover here.

 

[Jamie]

One thing that seems vindictive about this is that Marr has always known how much Morrissey cared about him - so he knows he's cutting him here. When he really wants to sting M, this is where he goes, time and again.

Marr: "I've never attached much value to his opinions."

Meanwhile:

I don't think "Forgive Someone" is about JM. If it's based on a real person at all, it would seem to be someone from M's school days.

Poor Morrissey. Friend-zoned in the full glare of Spanish TV. Johnny appears monumentally hungover here.

To be fair, you'd be monumentally hungover, too, if you were stress-drinking because you were effectively managing your band due to your partner's inability to keep a manager for more than a couple months.

 

[Anonymous]

This doesn’t surprise me at all. Maybe he played the tactical waiting game, in the hope of a smiths reunion, I’d imagine he doesn’t want one now? Morrissey is fast becoming a man only his mother will love.

Well said! I still have your fanzine

 

[Peppermint]

I don't think "Forgive Someone" is about JM. If it's based on a real person at all, it would seem to be someone from M's school days.



To be fair, you'd be monumentally hungover, too, if you were stress-drinking because you were effectively managing your band due to your partner's inability to keep a manager for more than a couple months.

I had never thought Forgive Someone was about Johnny, but having just revisited the lyrics I can't help but wonder. Maybe it relates to their meeting a couple of years earlier? Having said that it's such a terrible song that I can't bring myself to ponder it too deeply

Oh, and completely agree about Johnny having earned the right to a five-year hangover.

 

[URBANUS]

My posts in this thread was a bad attempt on my behalf to troll the hell out of people.

I am against nazis cause I don't believe in any kind of socialism. Sorry if you comments meant you believed I actually stand behind them myself. Don't shoot the messenger.