I do
Wait, you’re blaming Johnny’s jokey tweet about Farage for Morrissey’s downfall? I don’t get it, why would it affect him that much. Moz admires Farage, he’s said so.
I felt that tweet wasn't an isolated thing, as Johnny usually responds to reunion comments either by ignoring or rebuking them (and without mentioning the Morrissey shaped elephant in the room). It was possibly a sign of private frustrations spilling out into public. They were presumably in contact back in June r.e. the reunion offer + greatest hits album. So when the Oasis tour was announced, Johnny thought he'd go and poke the bear on social media for publicity.
And instead of parrying the thrust and deflecting with wit, Morrissey took the bait. He went on a month-long spree of accusatory rants and just ended up looking like an absolute tit. It was the Open Letter melodrama all over again but with more hostility.
But outside the echo chambers of twitter, few people in the Real World care about Morrissey's views on Farage or whoever. I'm sure as a successful and extremely rich musician, he knows this.
Nikki Minaj sells out stadiums, and her female fanbase doesn't care that she's married to a convicted child rapist whose presence at shows has to be legally declared to ticket holders before entry. Gary Glitter's voice and music was featured in a major Hollwood film. Ranting about deporting immigrants and hating black people still hasn't cancelled Eric Clapton.
It's difficult to 'cancel' you once you have a product that makes $$$$$. And fans often care more about their emotional attachment to the music than the artist's personal history. If a Smiths tour was announced tomorrow, most of the people wailing about Morrissey would be showing off their presale codes on tiktok.
What's really stymied Morrissey's music career is a combination of half-cancelled tours, dull commercial choices and a refusal to copy Marr and work on his legacy persona/public image. Would the casual fan (not the average MSOLO poster) prefer the jangly wit of Suedehead, or the embittered funeral dirge of Notre Dame and Bonfire?
Most B list legacy acts signed to big labels rely on the wider pool of average joes to consume tour tickets and media. And the average joe who'd be expected to fill most of the 10k seats at the venues Morrissey dreams of playing have higher standards than the parasocial stalkers and guestlist grifters who chain themselves to the front row at all 30 dates.
They want to hear 15 classics, 1-2 fan favorites, and 5-6 Smiths hits thrown in on top. Not a half-assed How Soon Is Now?, followed by Munich air disaster and sure enough the telephone rings. No mid-show walk outs or cancellations because its cold and he forgot to bring a sweater.
He's spent years refusing to work to the same standard as every other ageing artist signed to a major label, so how can he expect to receive the same pampered deals and luxury treatment?
He was a fool to reject Marr's original Smiths offer back in 2010. Even a one-off Glastonbury reunion gig and an occasional tour every 5 years would have dovetailed nicely with the arrival of the Spotify model. Many old/defunct bands followed a similar path (ie Blur). He'd have been richer, his solo career would be healthier, *and* he'd have the pick of the old-fashioned record company litter.
Morrissey backed himself into a corner through his lack of modern business sense. Instead of working on future-proofing the last decade of his career against the digital age, he raged against it... and now here we are in 2024, where a grown man in his mid 60s has tried to claim his ex bandmate is the one
preventing him from making money off his own legacy and music, and not his own bullish choices.
Judge John Weeks was right when he said Marr was more intelligent than Morrissey. On paper, Marr has far less commercial or artistic appeal. And yet he's built multiple income streams, a worldwide network of collaborators and a comfortable career most side men could only dream of.
As the frontman Morrissey owns the eternal, immortal legacy of the Smiths, yes... but you can't enjoy your immortality when you're dead. In old age, Marr seems to have ended up living the better life.
It's not too late to turn things around and become the indie Leonard Cohen, but that would require a complete 180... and replacing Dodwell and The Nephew with a decent social media and PR assistant
