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Morrissey: Difference between revisions
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During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, ''[[The Queen Is Dead]]''. The album was released in June 1986, shortly after the single "[[Bigmouth Strikes Again (single)|Bigmouth Strikes Again]]". The single again featured Marr's strident acoustic guitar rhythms and lead melody guitar lines with wide leaps. The record reached number two in the UK charts.<ref name="guinness book" /> However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told ''NME'', "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle."<ref name="mainstream">Kelly, Danny. "Exile on Mainstream". ''NME''. 14 February 1987.</ref> Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of [[heroin]]. He received notice of his dismissal via a Post-it note stuck to the windshield of his car. It read, "Andy – you have left The Smiths. Goodbye and good luck, Morrissey."<ref>{{cite web | author=Harris, John | title=The Smiths - Trouble At Mill/The Queen Is Dead and beyond: part 3 | work=Johnharris.me.uk | url=http://www.johnharris.me.uk/arch/interview/Smiths/Smiths_pt3.htm | accessdate = 2007-04-22}}</ref> Rourke was temporarily replaced on bass by [[Craig Gannon]] (formerly a member of Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera), but he was reinstated after only a fortnight. Gannon stayed in the band, switching to [[rhythm guitar]]. This five-piece recorded the singles "[[Panic (single)|Panic]]" and "[[Ask (single)|Ask]]" (with [[Kirsty MacColl]] on backing vocals) which reached numbers 11 and 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart,<ref name="guinness book" /> and toured the UK. After the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon left the band. The group had become frustrated with Rough Trade and sought a record deal with a major label. The band ultimately signed with [[EMI]], which drew criticism from the band's fanbase.<ref name="mainstream" /> | During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, ''[[The Queen Is Dead]]''. The album was released in June 1986, shortly after the single "[[Bigmouth Strikes Again (single)|Bigmouth Strikes Again]]". The single again featured Marr's strident acoustic guitar rhythms and lead melody guitar lines with wide leaps. The record reached number two in the UK charts.<ref name="guinness book" /> However, all was not well within the group. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told ''NME'', "'Worse for wear' wasn't the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle."<ref name="mainstream">Kelly, Danny. "Exile on Mainstream". ''NME''. 14 February 1987.</ref> Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of [[heroin]]. He received notice of his dismissal via a Post-it note stuck to the windshield of his car. It read, "Andy – you have left The Smiths. Goodbye and good luck, Morrissey."<ref>{{cite web | author=Harris, John | title=The Smiths - Trouble At Mill/The Queen Is Dead and beyond: part 3 | work=Johnharris.me.uk | url=http://www.johnharris.me.uk/arch/interview/Smiths/Smiths_pt3.htm | accessdate = 2007-04-22}}</ref> Rourke was temporarily replaced on bass by [[Craig Gannon]] (formerly a member of Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera), but he was reinstated after only a fortnight. Gannon stayed in the band, switching to [[rhythm guitar]]. This five-piece recorded the singles "[[Panic (single)|Panic]]" and "[[Ask (single)|Ask]]" (with [[Kirsty MacColl]] on backing vocals) which reached numbers 11 and 14 respectively on the UK Singles Chart,<ref name="guinness book" /> and toured the UK. After the tour ended in October 1986, Gannon left the band. The group had become frustrated with Rough Trade and sought a record deal with a major label. The band ultimately signed with [[EMI]], which drew criticism from the band's fanbase.<ref name="mainstream" /> | ||
In early 1987 the single "[[Shoplifters Of The World Unite (single)|Shoplifters Of The World Unite]]" was released and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="guinness book" /> It was followed by a second compilation, ''[[The World Won't Listen]]'' – the title was Morrissey's comment on his frustration with the band's lack of mainstream recognition, although the album reached number two in the charts<ref name="guinness book" /> – and the single "[[Sheila Take A Bow (single)|Sheila Take A Bow]]", the band's second (and last during the band's lifetime) UK top-10 hit.<ref name="guinness book" /> Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr – saw them on the verge of splitting. In August 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time the group's fourth album ''[[Strangeways, Here We Come]]'' was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr growing frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. ''Strangeways'' peaked at number two in the UK but was only a minor US hit,<ref name="guinness book" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=5703&model.vnuAlbumId=15763|title=Artist Chart History - The Smiths: Albums|publisher=[[Billboard|''Billboard''.com]]|accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref> although it was more successful there than the band's previous albums. The album received a lukewarm reception from critics, but both Morrissey and Marr name it as their favourite Smiths album | In early 1987 the single "[[Shoplifters Of The World Unite (single)|Shoplifters Of The World Unite]]" was released and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.<ref name="guinness book" /> It was followed by a second compilation, ''[[The World Won't Listen]]'' – the title was Morrissey's comment on his frustration with the band's lack of mainstream recognition, although the album reached number two in the charts<ref name="guinness book" /> – and the single "[[Sheila Take A Bow (single)|Sheila Take A Bow]]", the band's second (and last during the band's lifetime) UK top-10 hit.<ref name="guinness book" /> Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr – saw them on the verge of splitting. In August 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time the group's fourth album ''[[Strangeways, Here We Come]]'' was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey becoming annoyed by Marr's work with other artists and Marr growing frustrated by Morrissey's musical inflexibility. ''Strangeways'' peaked at number two in the UK but was only a minor US hit,<ref name="guinness book" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=5703&model.vnuAlbumId=15763|title=Artist Chart History - The Smiths: Albums|publisher=[[Billboard|''Billboard''.com]]|accessdate=2008-08-13}}</ref> although it was more successful there than the band's previous albums. The album received a lukewarm reception from critics, but both Morrissey and Marr name it as their favourite Smiths album. A couple of further singles from the album were released with earlier live, session and demo tracks as B-sides, and the following year the live album ''[[Rank]]'' (recorded in 1986 while Gannon was in the band) repeated the UK chart success of previous albums. There have been many more compilations released since the group's demise as the group's back catalog is now in the hands of Warner Music following Rough Trade's bankruptcy. | ||
In 1996, Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lion's share of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive twenty-five percent henceforth. As Smiths' royalties had been frozen for two years, Rourke settled for a smaller lump sum to pay off his debts and continued to receive ten percent. While the judge in the case described Morrissey as "devious, truculent and unreliable", he did not state that the singer had been dishonest.<ref>{{cite web | author=[[BBC News]] | date=11 December 1996 | title=Rock band drummer awarded £1m payout | format=http | work=BBC, ''cited at'' Cemetrygates.com | url=http://www.cemetrygates.com/vault/news/court.html | accessdate = 2007-04-22}}</ref> Morrissey claimed that he was "...under the scorching spotlight in the dock, being drilled..." with questions such as " 'How dare you be successful?' 'How dare you move on?'". He stated that "The Smiths were a beautiful thing and Johnny [Marr] left it, and Mike [Joyce] has destroyed it."<ref name="importance being">Nine, Jennifer. "The Importance of Being Morrissey". ''Melody Maker''. 9 August 1997.</ref> Morrissey appealed against the verdict, but was not successful.<ref>{{cite web | year=1998| title=Joyce vs. Morrissey and Others | format=http | work=England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions | url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1998/1711.html | accessdate = 2007-02-16}}</ref> | In 1996, Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lion's share of The Smiths' recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive twenty-five percent henceforth. As Smiths' royalties had been frozen for two years, Rourke settled for a smaller lump sum to pay off his debts and continued to receive ten percent. While the judge in the case described Morrissey as "devious, truculent and unreliable", he did not state that the singer had been dishonest.<ref>{{cite web | author=[[BBC News]] | date=11 December 1996 | title=Rock band drummer awarded £1m payout | format=http | work=BBC, ''cited at'' Cemetrygates.com | url=http://www.cemetrygates.com/vault/news/court.html | accessdate = 2007-04-22}}</ref> Morrissey claimed that he was "...under the scorching spotlight in the dock, being drilled..." with questions such as " 'How dare you be successful?' 'How dare you move on?'". He stated that "The Smiths were a beautiful thing and Johnny [Marr] left it, and Mike [Joyce] has destroyed it."<ref name="importance being">Nine, Jennifer. "The Importance of Being Morrissey". ''Melody Maker''. 9 August 1997.</ref> Morrissey appealed against the verdict, but was not successful.<ref>{{cite web | year=1998| title=Joyce vs. Morrissey and Others | format=http | work=England and Wales Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Decisions | url=http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/1998/1711.html | accessdate = 2007-02-16}}</ref> | ||