Johnny Marr on chances of working with Morrissey in the future - Steve Wright show (February 28, 2022)

It was a strange little interview on Steve Wright on Radio 2 this afternoon, with Johnny. Aside from Steve mentioning The Smiths once at the very start, in his intro about Johnny, they were not mentioned at all, even when Johnny was talking about his early years as a musician, etc. And then there was a brief exchange near the end that went something like this:

Steve Wright: Now, are you OK with me asking you the question that you probably don't want me to ask you about? You know the one.
Johnny: Sure, go for it.
Steve Wright: When did you last talk to Morrissey, or have any contact with him?
Johnny: I guess, 18 years ago. Maybe 15?
Steve Wright: Wow. And so, what are the chances of you ever maybe working together in the future?
Johnny: Zero.

And that was that.

---

Clarification (March 1, 2022):
The exact wording of Steve's question to Johnny was:

"So what do you see in the future for any kind of personal professional relationship with Morrissey? Could that ever happen?"

To which Johnny replied: "Oh let me think about that...zero?" (cue laughter)

 

[Jamie]

I'm always slightly amused by the sheer vitriol of the people here who put in the boot on Johnny, as if he personally slighted them or left their band - and I don't just mean the very obvious trolls. In reality, most would be clambering over each other to throw their monies at any new collaboration/concerts he'd ever potentially do with Morrissey.

 

[Vegan Cro Spirit .777]

Regarding talking about Morrissey, I saw a recent interview with Johnny where he said if someone asks him a question in good faith, he's going to answer it. He said he's not like Prince, he's not going to take questions behind a beaded curtain. I mean, if he feels like answering a question, let him. Why should Morrissey constrain what Johnny should say. Would Morrissey operate under such a constraint? I hardly think so, Morrissey is about speaking one's mind freely.

O YES ask him an earnest question about the
and see where that gets you. Or about the erotic swimwear
or since when back in they he read books on ballard

here is this dutch interview from a few years ago, LePepe Papping away
with the Moz psycho babbling:

"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. "

obviously the Pep has jumped the
as he wrote 0 of the Smiths lyrics, but he is an expert on them.
the tiny twerp is psychic knowing what everybody thinks and does, a regular Miss Cleo

he never attached much value to Moz opinions since HIS opinions
appear to be contained inside Moz Smiths lyrics
narcissism a-1
THE SMITHS STOOD FOR RIGHTLESS!!!
I KNOW BECAUSE I WROTE NONE -as in ZERO=
OF THE LYRICS

his narcissism is obvious when he makes up reading books
Moz reads books????? JR what books can I say i read???
AH YES BALLARD!!


I DONT WORRY ABOUT IT!! NOT ME!! IM COOL!!
I TALK MOZ 24/7 but I REPEAT IM NOT WORRIED AT ALL IM COOL!! IM SMOOTH!!!
IM DEBONAIR!!

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

I'm always slightly amused by the sheer vitriol of the people here who put in the boot on Johnny, as if he personally slighted them or left their band.

In a way it is them and their band. It’s a fan mentality to take it personally, for better or for worse.

In reality, most would be clambering over each other to throw their monies at any new collaboration/concerts he'd ever potentially do with Morrissey.

Well a collaboration wouldn’t be just Marr.

 

[Dean B]

"And if they're Northern that makes it even worse and....
If we can destroy them, you bet your life we will destroy them..
If we can hate them well, we may as well.."
Right Johnny?

 

[El Stevo]

I'm always slightly amused by the sheer vitriol of the people here who put in the boot on Johnny, as if he personally slighted them or left their band - and I don't just mean the very obvious trolls. In reality, most would be clambering over each other to throw their monies at any new collaboration/concerts he'd ever potentially do with Morrissey.

That's what I mean - "as if he personally slighted them or left their band"

 

[El Stevo]

I agree, its not at all surprising though, I mean this is called Morrissey Solo , not Smiths-Grouped
It happens on lots of band websites.
Beatles ones often have anti-Paul posts etc . On Suede ones, you get lots of anti BB comments

To suggest Marr has no to little talent is just stupid and it invalidates, everything else these people say.
Especially when you think of M's other fellow songwriters- Alain,Boz and Jesse. All of them, far from great players and songwriters, Certainly. not as talented or intelligent as Johnny.
None of them are really known outside the Morrissey world, either.

Johnny has managed to be a very well known figure which is hard for group members that were not the front person.

Jesse and Alain and boz do not just butcher Smiths songs, either. Can you remember the hatchet job they did on Suede Insatiable Ones . awful.

Still, Johnny isn't quite the "Mr Nice Guy" he likes to make out.
Before Johnny got Electronic together, he went up to Hooky, and asked him to be in the band.
Hooky said no. So he then asked Bernard
When Hooky told Bernard that Johnny tried to steal him away, Johnny denied it , right in front of Hookys face

Also, at this point, Johnny could say "no more M related questions" in his interviews.
However, maybe he just thinks ' ok, M handed me a gift. It helps me so I will run with it"

Its sad to watch Johnny pretend he hasn't been taking potshots at M for years.- its got way way worse, since he decided M was "toxic"

At last, thank you for answering my question without resorting to sarcasm (not you but others on these pages).

The venom and bile which seems to come with the territory.

Thanks again

 

[marred]

I didnt think they wanted to work together again or would, so I don't think Johnny made any sort of decision here, it had been made already.

Exactly my point. I don't even want them to work together again. They need each other like a hole in their heads.

 

[Redacted]

Exactly my point. I don't even want them to work together again. They need each other like a hole in their heads.

I don't want them back together again either and I agree that they don't need each other. I do think Johnny needs to talk about Morrissey to promote himself, but it's not healthy and it's not indicative of a friendship.

 

[Amy]

Why the Hatred for Johnny Marr?

I met him a few years ago at a Little Barrie gig in Manchester and he was a very nice guy.
Very polite, courteous and engaging (Never once mentioned Mr Morrissey).

To suggest he is of little talent and was carried by Morrissey is nothing short of stupid.
Not the greatest lyricist, granted but then, Morrissey isn't the greatest guitarist.

Reading the Marr-bashing comments online leaves me bewildered.

I don't hate Mozzer but he seems to be the one berating people left, right and centre - What has Johnny done to upset everybody?

Reading these posts is a bit like listening to children in the schoolyard.

I'm not defending any 'hate' here but even as a huge Johnny fan, his heartless reaction to the letter and his sneering attitude towards Morrissey has made my skin crawl.

He really will say anything to get a few laughs from the Twitter crowd, he's shown that he'll kick a man when he's down and that's not the Johnny we all grew up loving. He read that letter, knew exactly what would be beneath it and poured salt in the wound. Who does that? And previous interviews - claiming they were "not friends" even in the Smiths is absolutely preposterous.

At a certain point, you run out of excuses for his pettiness and the whole "martyr" image he tries to create for himself. Any Smiths fan knows that Morrissey loved Johnny to the ends of the earth and now JM is practically pissing in his face, whilst soaking up the extra attention of being The Acceptable Smith at the same time. It's revolting. And if it's true that he hasn't been in touch with Morrissey in 15 years, it means he didn't bother to reach out when his Mum died either. Nice.

For me, it has left a really bad taste. I thought no, I won't buy your shitty album, I won't go to store signings, I don't want to hear you anymore. Johnny has been seriously over-exposed in this PR blitz and he needs to shut up, grow up and go away.

 

[Redacted]

I had not seen that 2018 interview before.
He may have stopped drinking and drugging, but he is not sober, he is miserable dry drunk, and that is the kindest thing I can say about him. He has a lot of mental issues.

 

[Catholic]

He read that letter, knew exactly what would be beneath it and poured salt in the wound. Who does that?

Amy, I hope I do not begin to sound oleaginous . . .

But I continue to feel strangely, deeply moved by your empathy for Morrissey here and by your careful reading of this tragedy.

Now, I don't know these things like you know them. But I wonder . . . maybe Marr doesn't know "exactly what would be beneath it" ?

Maybe he's not like you . . . maybe he's not got the same empathetic cognition, as you? Many men don't. Maybe Marr's more dense, rather than being that cruel . . . ?

Please forgive me for repeating: your caring love of Moz, despite disillusionment, is really moving.

I've been reading your comments in connection with pg 266 of the Autobiography and I wonder if you've sussed things that haven't even crossed Marr's mind?

 

[Tahini Tomato]

Amy, I hope I do not begin to sound oleaginous . . .

But I continue to feel strangely, deeply moved by your empathy for Morrissey here and by your careful reading of this tragedy.

Now, I don't know these things like you know them. But I wonder . . . maybe Marr doesn't know "exactly what would be beneath it" ?

Maybe he's not like you . . . maybe he's not got the same empathetic cognition, as you? Many men don't. Maybe Marr's more dense, rather than being that cruel . . . ?

Please forgive me for repeating: your caring love of Moz, despite disillusionment, is really moving.

I've been reading your comments in connection with pg 266 of the Autobiography and I wonder if you've sussed things that haven't even crossed Marr's mind?

I’d like to add that Marr sounded wounded by Morrissey’s letter. Why assume that Marr wasn’t hurt and embarrassed by it? He said he thought it was meant to insult him. Why wouldn’t he lash out as well? It was really an ill-conceived move on Moz’ part.

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

She is the exact reason the Worlds Morrissey fans, especially Brits/Irish fans loathe American Morrissey fans
"what's that about" , how cliched and outdated, what a dumb dumb

You know the only reason these people do these posts is for attention, they aim to play to a crowd to get friends
" I know i will befriend Morrissey fans and say nice things about M, to get likes" , the same mentality as SJW's who mock Trump for easy likes . Rather than Virtue signalling, its Morrissey signalling.

Yanks do this.alot, it seems. Lots of em do not connect at all, with the human element. Its about social image to them
People in other countries do this, just not to the same degree. Im not anti-American by the way, I have been married twice to Americans. The USA is a great great country as well.

What she called "tacky " was Johnny making a joke again an American not getting British humour.

I am amazed how can ANY Morrissey fan can call anyone else a narcissist? Morrissey is the shining example, of one bettered only by Trump
She is correct what she says makes a narcissist, insecurity etc etc but that's M, not Johnny
Again, I am camp M, not camp Johnny. but I do not make crap up and I see him for who he is and still like him, I do not need to pretend a singer is a god

Also narcissists tend to be aggressive, like M not passive-aggressive like Marr.
with all the trouble that's going on around the world, and this daft baggy faced dumb dumb , takes to social media to share.
M is too nice s guy to speak ill in public of his fans, and they are his fans so he tries tobe loyal.
Behind closed doors from what I have heard, he laughs his head off at mad karens like this bint

Did you really just claim that Alain and Boz are not great songwriters?? Trying to minimise Johnny Marr's talent is stupid, you're right, as is trying to diminish Morrissey's other collaborators' talents and contributions. And of course Johnny Marr is a known figure, he was in The f***ing Smiths!

I think Jesse has done 6 good songs and two great songs but he has been with M for nearly 15 years. That is a crap record
I do not think Boz or Alain are anywhere near as good as Johnny, In fact lots of Alain's are just Johnny Marr knock off (Vauxhall sounded great, as the band seemed to think.. " OK , lets do something Smithsy, shiiiiiiiit some people even thought Johnny was on the lp)
No, I do not think Boz or Alain are "great". I think they made ok songs that were made brilliant by M.
If not for M, most wouldn't get anywhere
Compare Boz, Alain or Jesse to real talents like Johnny, N Young, Paul Weller, Bernard Butler, Mick Ronson, , Richard Hawley,Nick Macabe, Johnny Greenwood, Black Francies, Warren Ellis, John Squire (when he could be bothered), Richard Oaks, Orville Peck, a load of The Fall writers that Mark E went through and so on and so on
I understand why M , gets people he likes and sticks with them, i would prob do the same. The great crime of his career though, was he settled for a jobing band when if he would have only got someone great, it would have made him even better, it would have made him fly.

The moment I started to truly dislike Marr, was the moment I found out he put Bernard Butler off joining M's band. If he would have joined the bandit could have been fantastic As far as I can tell Johnny deprived M fans of some truly great moments.

Also, I like Boz and Alain , jesse not that keen on but I do not hate them . I am not trying to rubbish them , like people are to Johnny.

 

[Deleted member 30524]

She is the exact reason the Worlds Morrissey fans, especially Brits/Irish fans loathe American Morrissey fans
"what's that about" , how cliched and outdated, what a dumb dumb

You know the only reason these people do these posts is for attention, they aim to play to a crowd to get friends
" I know i will befriend Morrissey fans and say nice things about M, to get likes" , the same mentality as SJW's who mock Trump for easy likes . Rather than Virtue signalling, its Morrissey signalling.

Yanks do this.alot, it seems. Lots of em do not connect at all, with the human element. Its about social image to them
People in other countries do this, just not to the same degree. Im not anti-American by the way, I have been married twice to Americans. The USA is a great great country as well.

What she called "tacky " was Johnny making a joke again an American not getting British humour.

I am amazed how can ANY Morrissey fan can call anyone else a narcissist? Morrissey is the shining example, of one bettered only by Trump
She is correct what she says makes a narcissist, insecurity etc etc but that's M, not Johnny
Again, I am camp M, not camp Johnny. but I do not make crap up and I see him for who he is and still like him, I do not need to pretend a singer is a god

Also narcissists tend to be aggressive, like M not passive-aggressive like Marr.
with all the trouble that's going on around the world, and this daft baggy faced dumb dumb , takes to social media to share.
M is too nice s guy to speak ill in public of his fans, and they are his fans so he tries tobe loyal.
Behind closed doors from what I have heard, he laughs his head off at mad karens like this bint

I think Jesse has done 6 good songs and two great songs but he has been with M for nearly 15 years. That is a crap record
I do not think Boz or Alain are anywhere near as good as Johnny, In fact lots of Alain's are just Johnny Marr knock off (Vauxhall sounded great, as the band seemed to think.. " OK , lets do something Smithsy, shiiiiiiiit some people even thought Johnny was on the lp)
No, I do not think Boz or Alain are "great". I think they made ok songs that were made brilliant by M.
If not for M, most wouldn't get anywhere
Compare Boz, Alain or Jesse to real talents like Johnny, N Young, Paul Weller, Bernard Butler, Mick Ronson, , Richard Hawley,Nick Macabe, Johnny Greenwood, Black Francies, Warren Ellis, John Squire (when he could be bothered), Richard Oaks, Orville Peck, a load of The Fall writers that Mark E went through and so on and so on
I understand why M , gets people he likes and sticks with them, i would prob do the same. The great crime of his career though, was he settled for a jobing band when if he would have only got someone great, it would have made him even better, it would have made him fly.

The moment I started to truly dislike Marr, was the moment I found out he put Bernard Butler off joining M's band. If he would have joined the bandit could have been fantastic As far as I can tell Johnny deprived M fans of some truly great moments.

Also, I like Boz and Alain , jesse not that keen on but I do not hate them . I am not trying to rubbish them , like people are to Johnny.

What a wonderful post, really enjoyed reading it

But that poor woman ,
She’s only been on solo 5 minutes
And she been 4king slaughtered
I just hope she hasn’t drove her
car off a cliff top

 

[Js138]

The longer this goes on, the more it seems Marr truly just resents Moz for being the face of The Smiths. He plays it coy like all he wanted to do was just play guitar in the back and maybe he did at one point, but ultimately once compositions of his and M’s started to get labeled “brilliant” he clearly didn’t like his position as the #2 in the band. I’ve always maintained Marr is the one who’s ego got too big. And while I agree to Marr’s credit that Work is a four letter word was unnecessary and bland, it wasn’t enough to disband one of the greatest groups of all time. With the work of Moz, Andy and Mike helping Johnny “arrive” he clearly thought bigger and better things were awaiting him and he turned his back on them first chance he got.

IMO the “Morrissey and I weren’t friends” claim is so full of shit, it’s the most telling insight to the petty flawed person Marr really is. Who remembers Johnny’s video interview weeks before Strangeways was released where he went on about Morrissey’s brilliance and how much he missed and *literally* loved him? So either Johnny’s full of shit now, or he wants full of shit in that interview. Either way, if johnny’s and angie’s bedroom walls could talk, I’m sure there’s many drunken admissions and regrets from Johnny in regards to The Smiths and Morrissey he’ll pretend he never said.

 

[Amy]

Amy, I hope I do not begin to sound oleaginous . . .

But I continue to feel strangely, deeply moved by your empathy for Morrissey here and by your careful reading of this tragedy.

Now, I don't know these things like you know them. But I wonder . . . maybe Marr doesn't know "exactly what would be beneath it" ?

Maybe he's not like you . . . maybe he's not got the same empathetic cognition, as you? Many men don't. Maybe Marr's more dense, rather than being that cruel . . . ?

Please forgive me for repeating: your caring love of Moz, despite disillusionment, is really moving.

I've been reading your comments in connection with pg 266 of the Autobiography and I wonder if you've sussed things that haven't even crossed Marr's mind?

The way I see it is - if fans can sense Morrissey's grievance from the outside (through reading his interviews, Autobio, etc) - how could it be possible that someone who was inseparable from Morrissey for years, doesn't realise it too?

Look at Johnny's letter that Moz reproduces in Autobio, word for word, decades after it was sent. There was a time when JM would realise Moz was struggling and he'd go to the house to sort it out, not sit laughing at it online. He's even said they were "as close as you can possibly be without being lovers."

How did we get from that - to today? Where he's happy, it seems, for the world to think that he formed the Smiths with a guy he hated from Day 1 and was glad to escape.

If that's not the real picture, then Johnny had a chance to say so in his response to the open letter. Instead, he doubled down, came out with rubbish about 1953 and Donald Trump. He is doing more damage to The Smiths legacy with these 'digs' than M could ever do, because he's selling the idea that it was all about business and money and nothing else. Truly sad.

 

[Vegan Cro Spirit .777]

She is the exact reason the Worlds Morrissey fans, especially Brits/Irish fans loathe American Morrissey fans
"what's that about" , how cliched and outdated, what a dumb dumb

You know the only reason these people do these posts is for attention, they aim to play to a crowd to get friends
" I know i will befriend Morrissey fans and say nice things about M, to get likes" , the same mentality as SJW's who mock Trump for easy likes . Rather than Virtue signalling, its Morrissey signalling.

Yanks do this.alot, it seems. Lots of em do not connect at all, with the human element. Its about social image to them
People in other countries do this, just not to the same degree. Im not anti-American by the way, I have been married twice to Americans. The USA is a great great country as well.

What she called "tacky " was Johnny making a joke again an American not getting British humour.

I am amazed how can ANY Morrissey fan can call anyone else a narcissist? Morrissey is the shining example, of one bettered only by Trump
She is correct what she says makes a narcissist, insecurity etc etc but that's M, not Johnny
Again, I am camp M, not camp Johnny. but I do not make crap up and I see him for who he is and still like him, I do not need to pretend a singer is a god

Also narcissists tend to be aggressive, like M not passive-aggressive like Marr.
with all the trouble that's going on around the world, and this daft baggy faced dumb dumb , takes to social media to share.
M is too nice s guy to speak ill in public of his fans, and they are his fans so he tries tobe loyal.
Behind closed doors from what I have heard, he laughs his head off at mad karens like this bint

after all the psycho babbling , "bint"???? classic passive aggressive narcissism.

I think Jesse has done 6 good songs and two great songs but he has been with M for nearly 15 years. That is a crap record

LePepe cant make a guitar solo for more than 4 seconds.
Jesse knows more than one making him a eric clapton compared to LePepetwat

I do not think Boz or Alain are anywhere near as good as Johnny, In fact lots of Alain's are just Johnny Marr knock off (Vauxhall sounded great, as the band seemed to think.. " OK , lets do something Smithsy, shiiiiiiiit some people even thought Johnny was on the lp)

alain and jesse can play chords that Pepe doesnt even know exist plus they play in tune.
did you watch the video of Pep playing the 12 string? he almost crumbled the wall around him by playing the out of tune chords sounded like someone pounding on a tin roof
embarrasing that he is 60 yr old and hasnt learned a guitar solo
they laugh at the tats and the botoxed wig. how he wont dare
touch his 'hair'.

No, I do not think Boz or Alain are "great". I think they made ok songs that were made brilliant by M.
If not for M, most wouldn't get anywhere
Compare Boz, Alain or Jesse to real talents like Johnny, N Young, Paul Weller, Bernard Butler, Mick Ronson, , Richard Hawley,Nick Macabe, Johnny Greenwood, Black Francies, Warren Ellis, John Squire (when he could be bothered), Richard Oaks, Orville Peck, a load of The Fall writers that Mark E went through and so on and so on

"real talents' dont get fired continuously for 'lack of talent'. you cant be talented when you have none FFS

I understand why M , gets people he likes and sticks with them, i would prob do the same. The great crime of his career though, was he settled for a jobing band when if he would have only got someone great, it would have made him even better, it would have made him fly.

Fly? the lawnmowers? FLY????? they cant get employed

The moment I started to truly dislike Marr, was the moment I found out he put Bernard Butler off joining M's band. If he would have joined the bandit could have been fantastic As far as I can tell Johnny deprived M fans of some truly great moments.

Also, I like Boz and Alain , jesse not that keen on but I do not hate them . I am not trying to rubbish them , like people are to Johnny.

if you are going to drink beer, count to 100000 before posting

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

She is the exact reason the Worlds Morrissey fans, especially Brits/Irish fans loathe American Morrissey fans
"what's that about" , how cliched and outdated, what a dumb dumb

‘the exact reason’ lol! Did you take a poll or something? Sad.

and the phrase she used triggered you to make the above comment

You know the only reason these people do these posts is for attention, they aim to play to a crowd to get friends
" I know i will befriend Morrissey fans and say nice things about M, to get likes" , the same mentality as SJW's who mock Trump for easy likes . Rather than Virtue signalling, its Morrissey signalling.

Oh yeah, that’s the ‘reason’
thank you, doctor.

Yanks do this.alot, it seems. Lots of em do not connect at all, with the human element.

HILARIOUS! Your above comment has to be the most asinine to have ever graced this site.

You sir, are a total DIPSHIT.

Its about social image to them
People in other countries do this, just not to the same degree. Im not anti-American by the way, I have been married twice to Americans. The USA is a great great country as well.

You might as well say ... ‘some of my best friends are American’.


btw, it’s no surprise that a woman hater would say that your post was ‘wonderful’.

 

[Dean B]

I'm always slightly amused by the sheer vitriol of the people here who put in the boot on Johnny, as if he personally slighted them or left their band - and I don't just mean the very obvious trolls. In reality, most would be clambering over each other to throw their monies at any new collaboration/concerts he'd ever potentially do with Morrissey.

Really? Johnny may be low IQ but that's no excuse for playing along with the "Morrissey is disseminating hate" lie. Morrissey understands the liberal globalist NPC corpo-fascist Establishment is killing us. Most dullards are told to hate anyone who challenges it and they do. Censorship, smears, lies, intimidation of others not to work with the blacklisted wrongthinker. Johnny probably called up Billie Joe Armstrong to scold him...along with the sewer media types..for doing a song with M.
Too bad Johnny will do or say anything for 1 paragraph of good press per year.

 

[Human]

Really? Johnny may be low IQ but that's no excuse for playing along with the "Morrissey is disseminating hate" lie. Morrissey understands the liberal globalist NPC corpo-fascist Establishment is killing us. Most dullards are told to hate anyone who challenges it and they do. Censorship, smears, lies, intimidation of others not to work with the blacklisted wrongthinker. Johnny probably called up Billie Joe Armstrong to scold him...along with the sewer media types..for doing a song with M.
Too bad Johnny will do or say anything for 1 paragraph of good press per year.

Stop being so woke man! Let Moz and Marr be!!