Johnny Marr interviews in The Mouth Magazine, Drowned In Sound

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY MARR - The Mouth Magazine

Excerpt:

The question that seems to rear its head (and increasingly so since The Stone Roses reformed) is: when will The Smiths do the same? But I think that your legacy is best left intact where it stands, and in any case, despite the public appetite, it’s probably in keeping with the spirit of The Smiths NOT to do it. Both yourself and Morrissey have intimated that you feel the same way. The perception seems to be that you fell out with each other, irreparably, and the whole relationship was parked for good. But I understand you have been in touch in recent years? Bearing in mind that 25 years brings a lot of changes to a person, could you even imagine writing with Morrissey again – or would it be a pointless exercise due to the associations and connotations with the past?
Well, those questions have either been answered many many times, or would take a year to discuss if I was so inclined. Who cares about all that stuff anyway? People seem to ignore the fact that I may have a lot of plans to do things and that maybe that might be more important to me as an artist, or as a person – going forward in life.

---

Also, posted by MORRIZSEY:

DiS meets Johnny Marr & Nile Rodgers - "The greatest artistic motivator in music is jealousy" - Drowned In Sound

 

[Anonymous]

"The Mouth Magazine" probably would have gotten a better response if they left out all mention of The Smiths and just asked Johnny if he would consider working with Moz again, one on one. Not in terms of a Smiths thing.

Seems like interviewers always blow it when they ask about Morrissey/Marr.

We know the Smiths ain't ever going to happen but I do think there would be a slightly better chance of a Morrissey/Marr collaboration. Why not ask in that form and not rehash the same tired Smiths reunion stuff?

 

[Anonymous]

People might not like to hear this, but I suspect Morrissey and Marr will never reform because they have no relationship. If Marr were in contact with Morrissey he'd say so. I am also inclined to think Morrissey is responsible for this, in spite of Marr splitting, initially. Morrissey has a history of cutting people off. He isn't really very adept at social skills, but I don't suppose he gives a flying f@ck about that...

 

[used to be a street boy]

"The Mouth Magazine" probably would have gotten a better response if they left out all mention of The Smiths and just asked Johnny if he would consider working with Moz again, one on one. Not in terms of a Smiths thing.

Seems like interviewers always blow it when they ask about Morrissey/Marr.

We know the Smiths ain't ever going to happen but I do think there would be a slightly better chance of a Morrissey/Marr collaboration. Why not ask in that form and not rehash the same tired Smiths reunion stuff?

Erm....... I suggest you read a little more thoroughly:

"it’s probably in keeping with the spirit of The Smiths NOT to do it. Both yourself and Morrissey have intimated that you feel the same way. The perception seems to be that you fell out with each other, irreparably, and the whole relationship was parked for good. But I understand you have been in touch in recent years? Bearing in mind that 25 years brings a lot of changes to a person, could you even imagine writing with Morrissey again – or would it be a pointless exercise due to the associations and connotations with the past?"

 

[Anonymous]

Erm......it was all put in context of the Smiths.

 

[Amy]

Well, Morrissey & Marr obviously didn't fall out "irreparably" because they reconciled in 1994, fell out again during the court case, made up again in the "Quarry" era etc etc. Johnny has said this so many times before - they tend to fall in and out of friendship, their contact is "fragmented" and intermittent, they go through periods of increased contact and then periods of no contact at all. Johnny said the last time he saw Moz face-to-face was 18 months ago, winter 2010, and since then they have exchanged emails sporadically and he isn't sure Morrissey wants to communicate. Moz is obviously the one "holding out" this time...I don't really blame Johnny for not wanting to talk about it, particularly when he's trying to get the new Healers outfit off the ground.

 

[markmustb1]

"People seem to ignore the fact that I may have a lot of plans to do things and that maybe that might be more important to me as an artist" = HHAAAAaaaaLmao !!
20 something yrs later .... Big plans , ahahaaaaAAAHHAA , I cant stop laughing

 

[used to be a street boy]

Erm......it was all put in context of the Smiths.

Erm, The Smiths were mentioned and it was clear the interviewer was against the idea - if you read again, actually The Smiths were mentioned in the context of working with Morrissey again / the future.

 

[Anonymous]

Erm....yeah but the point is....they (the Smiths) Don't have to be mentioned At All.

PS: what's with "Erm" when you started your post?? Weird.

 

[Anonymous]

For the 7th or 8th time, The Smiths will never reform. What were you doing in 198x ? Both artists have moved on.

Morrissey onto better things and better musicians (except for Marr who is a great guitarist but a hopeless singer) and the others, to nothing and nothing and nothing and nothing.....the odd appearance money here and there and a dj slot, but basically nothing........

The only sad thing is that Jonny's guitar playing will never be backed by an amazing male lead singer ever again.

Morrissey is unique and special. As someone said, he probably is the establishment and probably the male equivalent of the fantastic and adorable Debby Harry. Now with Boz, Gustav, Solomon and Tobias probably the best line up since 1992-5 in my opinion and also playing songs from the 80s in 2010-2012 with more style and better quality and better musical direction than The Smiths ever did.


Dont get me wrong, when The Smiths came out they were the best band in Manchester and probably in the world at that time but lacked promotion.

I mean this sincerely but The Cockteau Twins (4ad) and The Primitives got more promotion - talk about The North and The South debate, it was another world back then.

The Smiths are dead. So Joyce can come and post here and twitter on and say
what he likes but he will NEVER be in The Smiths EVER again. Thank god his boat has sailed into the distance. This charming man? No. A complete and bumbling disaster story. The court case was so unfair. The Smiths died in that courtroom and we all know it.

Morrissey is so better off with Boz than any of the other musicians he's worked with. He has also been very unlucky with some of the producers that he had after Ronson until Finn and Visconti. Can anyone give him that edge that was on 'Your Arse' and in patches on 'ROTT and "YoR" - Im not the only one hoping......

 

[used to be a street boy]

Erm....yeah but the point is....they (the Smiths) Don't have to be mentioned At All.

No, that's not really the point. Of COURSE The Smiths have to be mentioned. If you're asking "why was a reunion mentioned", There is a clamour from certain quarters for a reunion, and the interview reflects that, and so it should... But the way I read it, it was not asking "the question" ITSELF, it was asking ABOUT "the question", the issues around it... the clamour etc...
It was clear the interviewer didn't think a reunion was a good idea, but that's irrelevant. The Smiths were mentioned in the context of working with Morrissey again because The Smiths is the thing they last worked together on. The interview clearly put The Smiths into the wider context rather than the other way round.

PS: what's with "Erm" when you started your post?? Weird.

Erm, I don't really know.

 

[Anonymous]

For the 7th or 8th time, The Smiths will never reform. What were you doing in 198x ? Both artists have moved on.

Morrissey onto better things and better musicians (except for Marr who is a great guitarist but a hopeless singer) and the others, to nothing and nothing and nothing and nothing.....the odd appearance money here and there and a dj slot, but basically nothing........

The only sad thing is that Jonny's guitar playing will never be backed by an amazing male lead singer ever again.

Morrissey is unique and special. As someone said, he probably is the establishment and probably the male equivalent of the fantastic and adorable Debby Harry. Now with Boz, Gustav, Solomon and Tobias probably the best line up since 1992-5 in my opinion and also playing songs from the 80s in 2010-2012 with more style and better quality and better musical direction than The Smiths ever did.


Dont get me wrong, when The Smiths came out they were the best band in Manchester and probably in the world at that time but lacked promotion.

I mean this sincerely but The Cockteau Twins (4ad) and The Primitives got more promotion - talk about The North and The South debate, it was another world back then.

The Smiths are dead. So Joyce can come and post here and twitter on and say
what he likes but he will NEVER be in The Smiths EVER again. Thank god his boat has sailed into the distance. This charming man? No. A complete and bumbling disaster story. The court case was so unfair. The Smiths died in that courtroom and we all know it.

Morrissey is so better off with Boz than any of the other musicians he's worked with. He has also been very unlucky with some of the producers that he had after Ronson until Finn and Visconti. Can anyone give him that edge that was on 'Your Arse' and in patches on 'ROTT and "YoR" - Im not the only one hoping......

Um...

"COCKteau Twins"???

A sort of porno-indie band.

The Cocteau Twins were from Scotland so the idea that they received more promotion because they benefitted from a North/South divide falls down a little!

Also the idea that Boz is a better musician than any other that Morrissey has worked with isn't an opinion shared by many...Vini Reilly is a much more interesting musician than Boz will ever be and Alain Whyte was a far superior writer of pop songs than Boz will ever be. At least, that's how I see it.

 

[shayde]

it would be meaningless because the smiths formed around johnny's desire to be a musician and morrissey's desire to save himself from isolation - this was the drive to the smiths, and it's reflected in all their early music. johnny no longer writes worthwhile music and morrissey write embarrassingly, appallingly bad lyrics.. so what could two people who were once first rate and are now third rate (at best) hope to achieve in the autumn of their career?

they could of course prove the naysayers wrong..

 

[Deleted member 1074]

Morrissey onto better things and better musicians

The only sad thing is that Jonny's guitar playing will never be backed by an amazing male lead singer ever again.

Another sad thing is that Morrissey's voice will never be backed by anything other than mediocre pub rock without Marr or Whyte.

Now with Boz, Gustav, Solomon and Tobias probably the best line up since 1992-5 in my opinion

and also playing songs from the 80s in 2010-2012 with more style and better quality and better musical direction than The Smiths ever did.

Morrissey is so better off with Boz than any of the other musicians he's worked with.

 

[Amy]

"People seem to ignore the fact that I may have a lot of plans to do things and that maybe that might be more important to me as an artist" = HHAAAAaaaaLmao !!
20 something yrs later .... Big plans , ahahaaaaAAAHHAA , I cant stop laughing

Well, would it be better if he just sat around waiting for it to be 1985 again, like Rourke & Joyce?

 

[Anonymous]

I think for Morrissey the whole idea of working with Marr again would reek of failure. That he couldn't hack it as a solo artist and needed Marr after all. So it will never happen. Which is a shame, but life moves on.

 

[markmustb1]

Well, would it be better if he just sat around waiting for it to be 1985 again, like Rourke & Joyce?

I have not seen or heard anything to make me think otherwise ..
when ALL else fails ,now he has "plans" He's been proud to say he left
the band,His band ~How did it worked out?

 

[Amy]

I have not seen or heard anything to make me think otherwise ..
when ALL else fails ,now he has "plans" He's been proud to say he left
the band,His band ~How did it worked out?

Johnny's focus changed when he left the Smiths, it wasn't as though he was eager to form a "Smiths pt.2" and it just failed. He said he left the Smiths to preserve his own sanity, and he wanted to experiment with different forms of music and play/session with his friends...now he's done both. Working on a solo album has got to be a more valuable pastime than sitting around talking to journalists about The Queen is Dead, surely?

 

[Iarwain]

I think the most we can hope for (if you even hope at all), is maybe Marr joining Morrissey on-stage out of the blue for a gig. Possibly his retirement gig, at an intimate venue in Manchester? That would leave the Smiths' legacy intact, they wouldn't have to spend so much time together that they'd fall out, and the gig would be incredible. Absolutely incredible. We don't need or want new songs. From the videos of the Healers' stuff Marr has uploaded, he clearly hasn't lost it. And contrary to what some people say on here, Morrissey's still in fine form, vocally at least.

 

[Anonymous]

I think the most we can hope for (if you even hope at all), is maybe Marr joining Morrissey on-stage out of the blue for a gig. Possibly his retirement gig, at an intimate venue in Manchester? That would leave the Smiths' legacy intact, they wouldn't have to spend so much time together that they'd fall out, and the gig would be incredible. Absolutely incredible. We don't need or want new songs. From the videos of the Healers' stuff Marr has uploaded, he clearly hasn't lost it. And contrary to what some people say on here, Morrissey's still in fine form, vocally at least.

Why look back?