Johnny Marr uses Nigel Farage image to dismiss reunion talk (August 27, 2024)

I’m not the only delusional and Johnny is listening

Now picked up by the BBC:
Johnny Marr uses Nigel Farage image to dismiss reunion talk

Johnny Marr uses Nigel Farage image to dismiss The Smiths reunion

The guitarist kills talk of reuniting with Morrissey by sharing a picture of the Clacton MP on X.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Related items:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "Johnny Marr on Morrissey's politics - interview in Sky News" - November 1, 2016
• Morrissey-solo.com: "Johnny Marr tweets response to Smiths reunion rumours" - Nov 7, 2019
• NME: "Johnny Marr responds to fan call for The Smiths reunion in light of Oasis rumours" - August 27, 2024

 

[Anonymous]

They didn't just "talk" about replacing Andy during his heroin days, Morrissey fired him by leaving a note on his windshield saying "Andy, you have left The Smiths" or something to that effect.

Morrissey has always maintained that if a note was left, it wasn't written by him.

 

[Luxo]

thats not their legacy thats their popularity,your legacy is your output and influence from when you start out.

Yes, and their output is extremely popular and has been extremely influential on many people. Again, I'm not an Oasis fan, but their legacy, like it or loathe it, is undeniable.

 

[gordyboy9]

Yes, and their output is extremely popular and has been extremely influential on many people. Again, I'm not an Oasis fan, but their legacy, like it or loathe it, is undeniable.

true but their seems to be a tackiness to why they are getting back together,we know noel is doing it for the money because of his divorce,think liam just likes the spotlight.

 

[Liam's lazy eye]

Why is it thick and classless to post a picture that conveys a thousand words about the differences between him and Morrissey? I think it's genius, Johnny can't be quoted, yet he makes an unequivocal statement.

I thought it was a funny picture. Moz calls people all sorts of daft names, "Bryan Ferret " or whatever. It's hardly Wilde-like wit is it? Also Moz has said he thinks Nigel is an important political figure.
I feel sorry as hell for Johnny in as much as he wanted to get back with Moz. Johnny would have set things up, it could have been great for fans and both of them but Moz didn't want it. Now the time has passed. the 80s revival has come and gone.

 

[Liam's lazy eye]

What Johnny isn't clever enough to work out is that Morrissey's political views over the years have been largely based around working class beliefs, not the stereotypical left vs right. On likely just this one particular point, Farage appeals to Morrissey and a swath of working class people due to him opposing mass immigration. That's really it and Johnny is smuggly playing this pseudo "Morrissey is a racist" card for all it's worth.

Johnny has an unpleasent side to him that's revealed itself from time to time over the years and his obnoxious son, see mentions of his bad behaviour from a Newcastle based recording studio, belies this fact to an extent. Not settling with Joe Moss for the cost of a PA until the Smiths had ended, giving Andy a solitary afternoon in his studio after settling his royalties claim, resulting in Andy saying at the time that Morrissey had done more for him. Most of all for me, it's the snideness over the years towards Morrissey who has stayed relatively silent aside from the open letter.

That is pure BS, Johnny is as working class as Moz Trouble is too many people are watching YouTube crap and being taken in by Israel shills like Douglas Murray and small little Tommy Robinson
There is more to the British working class than "reform" BS
Most of the UK working class don't give a crap about Tommy and Nigel and all the Reform stuff.
If M speaks for so many of the British working class, how come hardly any of them go to his gigs.
Compare that to Liam G? Liam and Noel and Paul Weller speak to the working class way more than Moz
I agree the working class are being treated like shit and labour are not a working class party anymore. but most want f*** all to do with Moz

 

[Luxo]

true but their seems to be a tackiness to why they are getting back together,we know noel is doing it for the money because of his divorce,think liam just likes the spotlight.

So? Imagine you (yes you, Gordy) was a former member of one of the biggest British groups there's ever been and you get offered millions of pounds to play to thousands of adoring fans. Would you really turn that down? I don't think I would. Easy money for men of their experience.

 

[Phranc & Open]

Did the reunion talks between Marr and Morrissey really took place in 2008, not 2009?

 

[Anonymous]

Not sure why people are so put out by a photo of Farage, when Morrissey has allied himself with this person in previous interviews. Were these posters similarly outraged when Moz said he would make a good Prime Minister, and were you posting on this site condemning Morrissey's words? Thought not - so why does the association bother you now?

As it stands, I'm not sure it's much more than a slightly tongue-in-cheek reminder of how far apart Morrissey and Marr have drifted, and how far off the table a reunion is. Sure, Johnny could have been more polite, but the guy must have been asked about a Smiths reunion at least five times a day for the past 35 years, plus Morrissey has publicly 'banned' him from mentioning his name anyway - I can forgive Johnny for occasionally pushing back at how ridiculous the notion of a reunion is.

Personally, my feelings are that even if Moz, Marr and Joyce were all besties and decided to get back together, I'm not sure how it could ever be The Smiths again without Andy. There is no going back to the old house. It's been condemned, knocked down, and a block of flats has been put up in it's place. Let it be.

 

[SLS]

Not sure why people are so put out by a photo of Farage, when Morrissey has allied himself with this person in previous interviews. Were these posters similarly outraged when Moz said he would make a good Prime Minister, and were you posting on this site condemning Morrissey's words? Thought not - so why does the association bother you now?

As it stands, I'm not sure it's much more than a slightly tongue-in-cheek reminder of how far apart Morrissey and Marr have drifted, and how far off the table a reunion is. Sure, Johnny could have been more polite, but the guy must have been asked about a Smiths reunion at least five times a day for the past 35 years, plus Morrissey has publicly 'banned' him from mentioning his name anyway - I can forgive Johnny for occasionally pushing back at how ridiculous the notion of a reunion is.

Personally, my feelings are that even if Moz, Marr and Joyce were all besties and decided to get back together, I'm not sure how it could ever be The Smiths again without Andy. There is no going back to the old house. It's been condemned, knocked down, and a block of flats has been put up in it's place. Let it be.

It’s not that people are annoyed about the person he used (Morrissey did mention him, after-all), it’s the childish bullying and low-blows from Marr. It was completely unnecessary and a desperate attempt to get headlines.

Maybe Morrissey doesn’t want to reunite with him? Marr is not a nice or good person and his son is a reflection of that - also a bully.

If Marr is so disgusted by Morrissey then maybe he should stop singing his lyrics.

Johnny: make a stand and go on stage at the pub to play the Smiths guitar riffs you wrote, but make it instrumental. Or try to write new lyrics…..

Oh wait, he requires those lyrics because Morrissey is a more important part of The Smiths than he likes to give credit for.

It’s so hypocritical.

He’s all talk and no action.

 

[hand in glove]

Did the reunion talks between Marr and Morrissey really took place in 2008, not 2009?

I don’t recall any talk of a reunion between the two of them. I believe they either met up or bumped in to each other at a pub and they spent a few hours talking but not about a reunion. Both have been quite firm that the smiths will never get back together - ever.

Or is there something I’m missing?

 

[Sara Shima]

If Johnny hates Morrissey so much then he should take action and stop being a hypocrite.

Get on stage and play your Smiths songs as instrumental. Don’t sing the lyrics or use the melodies that Morrissey created. Maybe get your son to write new lyrics.

See how well that goes for you, you immature, attention seeking twat.

 

[Amy]

I don’t recall any talk of a reunion between the two of them. I believe they either met up or bumped in to each other at a pub and they spent a few hours talking but not about a reunion. Both have been quite firm that the smiths will never get back together - ever.

Or is there something I’m missing?

They talked about the reunion at the pub.

 

[ACTON]

The whole thing is kind of pathetic. They're like an estranged couple. Surely both are too busy to give a toss about each other personally. It's like having a friend you once had things in common with but now don't. Just avoid each other and don't rise to the bait of keyboard bashers who can't pass past the past. [time travelling tongue twister there].

Anyways I can never fully trust anyone who is superhealthy and runs. Except for Brett Anderson - he's OK by me regardless of being super fit and in possession of a Dorian Gray portrait in his attic.

 

[Anonymous]

They talked about the reunion at the pub.

hand in glove must have gone to the toilet.

 

[Anonymous]

I don’t recall any talk of a reunion between the two of them. I believe they either met up or bumped in to each other at a pub and they spent a few hours talking but not about a reunion. Both have been quite firm that the smiths will never get back together - ever.

Or is there something I’m missing?

Yep:
https://www.nme.com/news/the-smiths-reunion-morrissey-marr-meeting-1801927

 

[Amy]

The whole thing is kind of pathetic. They're like an estranged couple. Surely both are too busy to give a toss about each other personally. It's like having a friend you once had things in common with but now don't. Just avoid each other and don't rise to the bait of keyboard bashers who can't get past the past.

But they can't overlook the past either, clearly, and that's why they're behaving like a divorced couple. It's ridiculous. Johnny spends too much time online and gets wound up by idiots, responding to things he shouldn't even acknowledge. He was never this much of a twonk before he went 'solo', the praise has gone to his head.

 

[Mayfly]

I wonder why Johnny feels the urge to react to wishful thinking of this sort « If Oasis can reunite, then why not The Smiths « ? To me, it feels unnecessary.

Let Oasis have their party (and all the money that comes with it) and let the Smiths be that single one great band which never reunited.

 

[marred]

What exactly is your issue with Farage?

 

[Anonymous]

He was never this much of a twonk before he went 'solo', the praise has gone to his head.

Have to disagree. Marr always had an ego. Watch the footage on youtube of the later Smiths gigs - Marr's onstage antics are embarrassing even then. He'd taken to wearing Eric Clapton-style baggy designer suits and sun-glasses, and is constantly trying to draw attention his way, when the audience evidently has its focus on Morrissey. He really, really wanted to be the kind of guitar hero/rock star he denigrated at the time. And he thinks he has finally achieved that, in a classic latter-day Emperor's new clothes scenario, because none of the sycophants who surround him are prepared to tell him his songs are crap and he's a crap singer, and no-one in the music media is going to tell him as long as he generates the relatively tiny (in proportion to, for example, the UK population) number of clicks/viewings/readers that they require.

 

[ThomasFrederick]

Reading all of these comments forces me to make make two observations. Firstly, it is distressing to find that so many "fans" of the Smiths are consumed with vitriol, whether it be towards M or Marr. Folks, I thought that it was all about the music, not the political beliefs (real or perceived) of a member of a band that dissolved going on 40 years ago.
Secondly, since the tenor of most of these comments are off the rails, I'll try to interject some reason and logic. It is telling that Marr would post a photo of a politician in response to someone who expressed a desire to see the Smiths reunite. It indicates fear. While I do not know Marr from a hole in the wall personally, it would seem rather incredible that the political beliefs of his erstwhile friend and colleague are so critical to him, of such vital importance, that it rules out any potential reunion. Frankly, and in all honesty, I did not realize that Marr was such a zealous political activist that who he shares the stage or recording studio with was subject to some manner of alignment with whatever his political views are. It seems a desperate fig leaf to hide what is really going on in his head.
A Smiths reunion, even if it were only M and Marr, would not only be culturally and most especially musically monumental, it would lay bare the mediocrity of Marr's musical output since the spring of 1987. This is not a dig at Marr as a guitarist (he is without peers in this regard), nor a matter of squaring off on M's side (M has his own foibles, but then we all do).
No, I smell fear on Marr's part. Morrissey can fill decent sized venues on his own. Morrissey's output beginning with Viva Hate speaks for itself in terms of his chops as a masterful lyricist and vocalist. Morrissey's career has eclipsed that of Marr, for better or for worse. This does not make Morrissey a better human being than Marr, nor does it bestow some manner of superiority on his part over Marr. But within the context of this back and forth "Morrissey bad" and "Marr bad" song and dance, it means something.
Marr has had a chip on his shoulder for some time now, and as he ages it seems to be more and more showing. He may be a brilliant, impossibly gifted guitarist, but he cannot fill Morrissey's shoes.
The guitarist from Manchester do protest too much, methinks.