Johnny Marr on Morrissey's politics - interview in Sky News

Johnny Marr distances himself from Morrissey's Brexit views - Sky News
The legendary guitarist says his bandmate's recent political proclamations suggest The Smiths are better off staying split up.

Excerpts:

He told Sky News that if reports Morrissey said he liked Nigel Farage "a great deal" and that the Brexit result is "magnificent" are true, they no longer share the same beliefs.

He said: "Yes that's probably right - I always forget about that, it's stuff I hear second hand and I don't believe everything I read but if that is the case that he's pro-Farage, there would be a slight drawback in that, as anyone would imagine."

"As far as Brexit goes, I'm proud again to be in the minority. No-one ever says the majority is right, I've been in the minority a lot - when I was younger and now," he said.

He said: "At the time when Thatcher came into power, young people were really against it - the meanness of it, the disappointment.

"My personal politics were that I thought decency and society should look after people who need a helping hand and I still think that and I think the Conservative government stood for the opposite of that and I still do."
 
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We all know Morrissey has some harmless common sense patriotic views and Marr has liberal views and wants foreign totalitarian rule that breaches the Bill of Rights. Is this a surprise to anyone?
 
I don't see why Johnny would need to "distance" himself from someone he was in a band with for 5 years, 29 years ago? Why would anyone assume they shared the same views? Oh right, b/c they were in a band together for 5 years, 29 years ago...
Agreed. I've never seen them on the same page ever. That's why their dynamic worked so well. They both loved James Dean and the girl groups of the sixties but that's where the common ground ended.
 
Yeah, that's right: leaving the EU will definitely protect and further the interests of ordinary people. That was, and is, the obvious intention of the extremely wealthy, privileged people who advocated a "leave" vote. Clearly.

Surely there is no-one more entitled and privileged than Cameron (or actually Blair these days) and they were very very VERY pro-remain.
 
Here's the twitter thread that Johnny-Brexit-Nazis headline was about.


"What the f*** are you talking about ? Do you think refugees are going to your house ? You're an idiot."
Sounds like arguments on this board.
But I was wrong to think his words weren't specific. Thank you for the context.
 
"What the f*** are you talking about ? Do you think refugees are going to your house ? You're an idiot."
Sounds like arguments on this board.
But I was wrong to think his words weren't specific. Thank you for the context.
There should be more refugees accepted in Canada. Let's populate this lonely country.
 
Just listening to "Irish Blood, English Heart" alone appears to outline that Morrissey is feeling what large swathes of ex-Labour supporting voters in this country (myself included) are feeling - lines such as "I've been dreaming of a time when/The English are sick to death of Labour and Tories" and "to be standing by the flag not feeling shameful/racist or partial" show a distrust of both the traditional left and right of British politics and displeasure at the growing creep of people to the left-far left who view any form of displays of nationality as some kind of racist leaning.

Nigel Farage is, to many people tired of the same old parliamentary troughers, a breath of fresh air to a political class in both Westminister and Strasbourg/Luxembourg and you get a feeling that he actual means what he says which is very rare, if not unknown, in his profession.

Many working class, ex-Labour supporters such as Tony Parsons supported Farage's position on controlling immigration and leaving the European Union but that doesn't mean they are now fully signed up members of the far right, far from it, and people who look to attack Tony or indeed Morrissey for these views are misguided.

Many families and close friends in this country who voted differently in the EU referendum would have managed to carry on as normal post June 23rd so it's odd to think that Morrissey and Marr wouldn't have a relationship due to how each other view the result.
 
Many working class, ex-Labour supporters such as Tony Parsons supported Farage's position on controlling immigration and leaving the European Union but that doesn't mean they are now fully signed up members of the far right, far from it, and people who look to attack Tony or indeed Morrissey for these views are misguided.

Tony Parsons is a grade A c***. He's not "far from it" at all.
 
Surely there is no-one more entitled and privileged than Cameron (or actually Blair these days) and they were very very VERY pro-remain.

Agreed. However, Farage and Johnson etc. are also extremely and undeservedly wealthy, from undeservedly privileged backgrounds and very well connected. They are not ordinary people, despite purporting to speak for us and despite presenting themselves as though they're standing up to a powerful elite on our behalf: they are the elite.

My point is that it's wrong to portray our secession from the EU as implying greater democracy in future, yet that is how a "Leave" vote was sold to voters. That's still how it's being portrayed. Many voters lapped up the rhetoric about "unelected bureaucrats in Brussels telling us what to do" - too ready to believe that, without EU "interference", our interests will be fully reflected in future legislation passed by Westminster. Many of the people - maybe a majority - f***wittedly bought into the pretext that leaving the EU will ensure greater democracy and self-government; it won't.

The "British people" will be no more sovereign post-secession than they have been hitherto.
 
Just got via post...Johnny Marr 'Set the Boy Free'

the Autobiography

Got the hardcover, haven't time to get it a little read, just want to write that the hardcover had I wished the cover printed on the book, I got a sorta paper round the hardcover who one can put off , and what you see is just a black book no words back or front, only at the side, so if you put em in a shelve, you can read...MARR..set the boy free...logo from bookcomapny, 'century' ..see now I'm writing the back paper is folding because I looked at the side...

well enjoy...Marr's autobio is released
 
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Still waiting for mine.

For anyone else in the same position, you can download the first three chapters for free on Kindle.
 
Johnny has just been interviewed on Radio 5live. He seemed in good spirits and batted away the inevitable reunion question with aplomb. Nothing controversial said or hinted at. He did say that he missed Morrissey as a 'mate' and that he wrote 'How soon is now' one Sunday afternoon after smoking a spliff (he wrote 'William...' and 'Please, please, please...' during the same weekend, but this has been well documented before).

Someone more technically accomplished will no doubt post a link to the BBC catch up radio site.
 
He hasn't set out to distance himself. He was asked a direct question to which there was only one answer he could honestly give.

I guess I didn't make my point clear enough. I'm talking about how silly it is for the press to frame it that way:

"Johnny Marr distances himself from Morrissey's Brexit views - Sky News"

I'm guessing other than vegetarianism and some favorite artists, Johnny and Morrissey don't share a lot of views these days, and why would they?
 
Trying to release a single on the back of the Paris murders, oh the irony .
Making cheap digs at Bowie , getting people to post a picture of you, Nancy and a dog on FB , with a statement . Basically saying " I prefer a dog to Bowie " oh the irony.
Saying you respect life . Then waving a jewish flag in Israel . Oh the irony .

Morrissey relied on his phoney relationship with thug Jake for his book. The perfect love story is a hoax . Jake has been saying he hates moz for 15 years , at least .
He doesn't respect him at all. He hates him even more since his partner fell in love with that younger years morrissey look a like Ally , Alan whatever his freaking name is . I hear she was all set to leave but moz clone wanted nothing to do with it and moved to America ( even his clone is a weirdo twat ).
Now she isn't even to listen to Moz at home . Jake banned it
Stop pretending Morrissey hasn't f***ed his career up look at the respect and love in 80s, 90s, early 2000 . Look now . His career and his music are a mess . Nobody but nobody thought World Peace was a great important record . Just a "Not bad " record .
Johnny may not be edgy , but he isn't a racist c*** like Morrissey . Hes also a hell of a lot smarter than Moz the alcoholic . There is only 4 years difference in age yet Morrissey looks 30 years older .
f***ing Morrissey the f*** up
This is supposed to be a 'fan' site, not a 'I hate everything about Morrissey' site. Nobody likes a sycophantic slag but you are seriously in need of a camomile tea or something to settle you down. A muzzle perhaps.
 
I guess I didn't make my point clear enough. I'm talking about how silly it is for the press to frame it that way:

"Johnny Marr distances himself from Morrissey's Brexit views - Sky News"

I'm guessing other than vegetarianism and some favorite artists, Johnny and Morrissey don't share a lot of views these days, and why would they?

I know. People, and by people I mean mostly the press, make it seem like they're at war. The ramones members can't have had to much to agree on when it came to politics but they still talked to each other and made music. Having a different view didn't used to mean automatic hate and conflict
 
Why should one be proud of one's nation?
"Because you just are. Because it's there in your bloodstream. It's the environment you grew into and up with. And you just have an innate pride and a sense of preservation and also as you get slightly older you realise how much of it is constantly being removed, and that strikes you as being quite a sad thing."

What do you miss about Britain, then?
"Well, even though I'm working-class I miss a certain polite middle-classness. Which I know is absolutely pathetic, but the gentler side of England, the softer side. Which I know doesn't make much sense, but it doesn't make much sense to me."

What do you think of the current furore about asylum seekers?
"I think I can hear teacups rattling. (A butler arrives with a tea trolley) You see, that's the England I miss. Perfect. Sorry, your question is?"

Because of the fuss about asylum, questions of national identity seem to be at the forefront again.
"Yes. It's so difficult, isn't it?"

Do you think there'll always be those flashpoints?
"Well, it's a question of how many people you'll continue to allow to flood into the country, regardless of where they're from or why they're arriving. It's a question of space. And they're very tight about it in the United States, so it stands to reason why they should be here. But it's very difficult when people are being persecuted."

-From the April '04 NME interview "The Guv'nor Returns" by Alex Needham.

http://motorcycleaupairboy.com/interviews/2004/guvnor.htm
 
No time to read all these but it's worth remembering that when Steve recently praised Nigel Farage, he praised George Galloway in the same sentence who's about as left wing as they come. They're both anti-establishment - I'm guessing that's why they appeal to him. It's also worth noting that he backed Bernie Sanders in the US election - the most left wing of all the candidates. And that he's also said positive things about Jeremy Corbyn. Morrissey, although muddled and prone to saying some ridiculous stuff when it comes to politics, is ultimately a bit of a lefty - as is Johnny Marr.
 

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