Johnny Marr's Management response to Morrissey's allegations (September 17, 2024)

A statement from Johnny Marr's management:

Recent statements made by Morrissey on his website regarding the trademark of
The Smiths' name are incorrect.

Here are the facts:

In 2018, following an attempt by a third party to use The Smiths' name - and upon
discovery that the trademark was not owned by the band - Marr reached out to
Morrissey, via his representatives, to work together in protecting The Smiths' name.

A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself.
It was subsequently agreed with Morrissey's lawyers that this trademark was held
for the mutual benefit of Morrissey & Marr.

As a gesture of goodwill, in January 2024, Marr signed an assignment of joint
ownership to Morrissey. Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign.

In the interests of accuracy and clarity regarding the trademark, and to answer
recent reports that Marr ignored a promoter's offer to tour as The Smiths, Marr says:

"To prevent third parties from profiting from the band's name, it was left to me
to protect the legacy. This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former
bandmates."

"As for the offer to tour, I didn't ignore the offer - I said no."

Additionally, speculation about Johnny Marr touring with a different singer as
The Smiths is not true. There are no such plans.

Johnny Marr also confirms that he declined a suggestion for another greatest hits
compilation from Warner Music Group given the number already in existence.

---

Related items:

• Morrissey Central: "THE PLOT THICKENS" - September 15, 2024
• Morrissey Central: "SMITHS NOT OK" - September 11, 2024
• Morrissey Central: "WAR IS OLD, ART IS YOUNG" - August 29, 2024

 

[Leroy]

Another yawn-fest in the World of Morrissey and Marr. Who cares? Do people really think that Morrissey gives a solitary toss about his fans? I can assure you that he doesn't. Grown adults on this website getting all worked up over something so utterly removed from them and so utterly unimportant. Grow up FFS.

 

[Anonymous]

It’s only about money, anyway.

For Morrissey, certainly. Marr turning down the opportunity to make an absolute fortune by agreeing to a reunion tour shows it's not just about the money for him.

 

[eugenius]

I give lil' Johnny stick every now and then, but refusing to reform the Smiths is the third smartest thing he's done in his life. Thank god someone's minding the shop.

 

[eugenius]

At least Moz got what he wanted; Johnny's attention

This is actually what this whole tit-for-tat ordeal is all about, boiled down to one sentence.

El Jefe loves the chase as much as he loves the reward.

 

[Redacted]

Morrissey has once again been hoised with his own petard

 

[eugenius]

Another yawn-fest in the World of Morrissey and Marr. Who cares? Do people really think that Morrissey gives a solitary toss about his fans? I can assure you that he doesn't. Grown adults on this website getting all worked up over something so utterly removed from them and so utterly unimportant. Grow up FFS.

I found Jesse.

 

[RassleCrow]

So...let's see.

Morrissey was correct and honest regarding his claim that Johnny refused a reunion.

Morrissey was correct and honest regarding his claim that Johnny nixed a new official compilation.

Morrissey was, however, a bit misleading (more likely uninformed) regarding the trademark issue, however let's be honest. Marr clearly couldn't give less of a shit about Morrissey or The Smiths. The whole "offer of joint ownership" thing isn't some altruistic olive branch. Big whoop, he conceded that Morrissey was half entitled to the name. Wow, how big of him. In the meantime he knows full well Morrissey can't do anything with it unless he approves...which clearly he isn't going to.

So essentially it comes down to the same thing. Morrissey is spinning his wheels unable to do anything with the name or the legacy while Johnny is a passive aggressive, bitter little bitch obsessed with power.

Very astute post! I would add that Morrissey only has himself to blame for allowing Marr to seize so much control of the IP while he was apparently asleep at the wheel. If Morrissey is truly serious about this and not just creating drama, he needs to get over his long rumored reputation for being "frugal" and commit serious money to obtaining top-tier legal representation. He has a clear advantage in personal net-worth over Marr. There is very little chance that Marr wouldn't suddenly negotiate - or even completely fold - at the prospect of a multi-million dollar legal case.

 

[hand in glove]

For Morrissey, certainly. Marr turning down the opportunity to make an absolute fortune by agreeing to a reunion tour shows it's not just about the money for him.

Sure did let the fans down, though. Well, good for him. I’m glad he’s smart and in control.

 

[athosique]

Morrissey was, however, a bit misleading (more likely uninformed) regarding the trademark issue, however let's be honest. Marr clearly couldn't give less of a shit about Morrissey or The Smiths. The whole "offer of joint ownership" thing isn't some altruistic olive branch. Big whoop, he conceded that Morrissey was half entitled to the name. Wow, how big of him. In the meantime he knows full well Morrissey can't do anything with it unless he approves...which clearly he isn't going to.

isn't this the whole point of "joint ownership"? it's done to prevent Morrissey or Marr from unilaterally deciding what happens with "The Smiths" as a brand. Morrissey's latest fixation on the band comes off as an unhealthy obsession driven by the fact that he's getting more and more irrelevant with each day, and if there weren't any checks in place, we’d probably be bombarded with cringeworthy releases like "SMITHS RULE OK!"—which I think no one needs or wants.

 

[Redacted]

Morrissey agreed, with legal counsel, that the trademark be held by Marr for their mutual benefit. That's really all there is to this
Johnny doesn't owe Morrissey a tour as The Smiths
Johnny doesn't owe Morrissey another compilation
And Johnny certainly doesn't owe Morrissey a third chance to be co-owner of the trademark

This is a good, measured response from Johnny's reps, using neutral language and just setting out facts. Johnny has been more generous and thoughtful than I'd imagined. He is the mature one taking the high road.

 

[Leroy]

Personally I think the only way back for Moz is to grow a bleached mullet and tour with Kajagoogoo.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

It just doesn’t end, does it? The relentless stream of embarrassment, failure, stupidity and incompetence just keeps flowing. If this is the end of Morrissey’s career, then it’s one of the saddest endings of any career in pop history.

 

[BrummieBoy]

...and there we have it...Morrissey is clearly a delusional fantasist lost in 'plots' for which no evidence exists.

You'd think after Der Spiegel he'd restrain his potty mouth but no...

Ask @BrummieBoy

...you have consistently, methodically downvoted my comments without engaging with them and you are part of a ridiculous cabal of zealots on this site whose current plight in the light of Johnny Marr's statement is certainly 'interesting'...

...along with @goinghome @gordyboy9 & @Malarkey ...who appears to have either fled or been banished for brazenly revealing my supposed 'real life legal identity' in a dumbfcuk attempt to intimidate censor & silence me...along with various 'moderators' along the way...but...I'm not interested in your collective nonsense, just showing that I can also game the karma-kudos system but generally have much better things to do...

...I'm now completely vindicated by 'events dear boy!...events!' as the extent of Steven Patrick Morrissey's estrangement from consensus reality is suddenly, objectively and potentially tragically revealed by this statement from Johnny Marr.

However, given that this statement objectively confirms that Morrissey is 'not right in the head', the correct and ethical response is that which Johnny Marr has just provided. It's an actual factual, forensically compassionate response: get help because you're delulu...

Morrissey clearly needs help, a managed intervention but his money and pseudo-celebrity means he can continue to evade such measures...until he can't...

He has cultivated an utterly toxic, mentally disturbed 'fan' base of batshit crazy barmpots who co-create his bizarre paranoid ideation and goad each other on with ridiculous 'community support' measures like The List of 'priority fans' allowed to rampage to front of stage at his cult concert experiences.

Morrissey appears to be just another fcukin chump of an ex-celeb who's addicted to the dopamine rush of live performance and adulation from codependent mentally ill 'fans'.

Thus his desperation to fire up the engines of 'The Smiths'. Mercifully, it appears Johnny Marr is cognisant of all this and has said "nah mt8...you're good but I'm busy...laters!"...which is both incomprehensible and threatening to Morrissey's edifice of paranoid delusions, wherein he is a wronged 'martyr' to 'free speech' even as he threatens other nonentity ex-celebs like that comic clown woman with potential legal action if they don't remove their potty mouth pathetic snipes against his irrevocably damaged Public Image.

What's next, eh? He employs deluded 'super-sleuth' @Malarkey to track down online enemies? Like 'me'? Given my identity has never, ever been hidden that seems a bit silly.

And I do hope that Malarkey realises I could reveal the identity of many current and past users elsewhere..but never will...because...this is an Internet forum, it's not 'real'.

I'm the 'online daemons' Morrissey and Kathy Burke conjured up on Ouija Board, Ouija Board...all that fun online stufff. ...fcuk around and find out...

Unless someone threatens physical violence then they should be free to speak their mind...and accept the consequences of doing so, including Morrissey accepting that his unresolved support for 'For Britain' renders him a pariah in most online parishes.

We desperately need 1st Amendment protections here in the UK even as the 'be nice' thought police in the Democrat Party openly plot to destroy it for American citizens.

Morrissey cannot have his cake and eat it. He cannot complain about being 'cancelled' in the Daily Telegraph whilst acting like a petty little tyrant to suppress stupidity from the gob of a clown comic who is part of the UK Liberal orthodoxy.

The only rational response from Morrissey now is to book himself into a private mental health facility and sort himself out.

I knew he'd crash and burn because I ordained it. But even my vast occult powers have responsibilities and ethical limits. I hoped he'd repent of his sins and seek forgiveness but...that's his call.

Just stop mocking the Catholic church you feckin eejit...or else...face the consequences...eternal damnation...OK?

Fr B10 BrummieBoy
Holy Family Catholic church ️
Small Heath
Birmingham
Mercia
England

11th September 1970 Anno Domini

 

[Was I ever any good]

It just doesn’t end, does it? The relentless stream of embarrassment, failure, stupidity and incompetence just keeps flowing. If this is the end of Morrissey’s career, then it’s one of the saddest endings of any career in pop history.

Marc Bolan ?

 

[BrummieBoy]

Why he’s downvoting members votes with no reason. He just did that to 20 of my posts.

Have a good night, Brummie x

How many times have you downvoted my comments without explanation?

Hypocrisy.

 

[TheSmiths_1985]

Morrissey has once again been hoisted with his own petard

 

[RassleCrow]

isn't this the whole point of "joint ownership"? it's done to prevent Morrissey or Marr from unilaterally deciding what happens with "The Smiths" as a brand. Morrissey's latest fixation on the band comes off as an unhealthy obsession driven by the fact that he's getting more and more irrelevant with each day, and if there weren't any checks in place, we’d probably be bombarded with cringeworthy releases like "SMITHS RULE OK!"—which I think no one needs or wants.

No, that's "joint ownership" as currently defined by Marr. Morrissey and Warner Music could theoretically work together to have an arbitration process put into place. Would make Marr explain himself every time he tries to road block a new project or release. If the arbiter determines Marr is being unreasonable he gets overruled and it moves forward. Once again, Marr is only able to currently define things this way because Morrissey was sleeping and let him do it. It's time for Morrissey to wake up and set aside a generous amount of money to obtain a tough aggressive legal team.

 

[Anonymous]

isn't this the whole point of "joint ownership"? it's done to prevent Morrissey or Marr from unilaterally deciding what happens with "The Smiths" as a brand.

Exactly. Morrissey may be hacked off that he can't just issue something like 'Smiths Rule OK!' without Johnny's approval, but equally Johnny couldn't just decide to do something like release an instrumental Smiths album without Moz OK-ing it.

I'm just hoping when tempers calm down a bit, they can communicate enough to agree on some kind of worthwhile archival release that they'll both benefit from - those soundboard live recording downloads that came with the 'Queen is Dead' anniversary edition showed there is still plenty of decent stuff in the archives - and not start doing a tit for tat automatic blocking of anything either one proposes.

 

[jerrynyc]

Guess I have to cancel my flight from NYC to Houston on October 31. Ha ha ha

 

[blah blah]

Here the truth....Morrissey doesn't need The Smiths name and not sure why he cares. If he wants all he has to do it tour as Morrissey and Cover The Smiths tunes. If he did one concert of ALL Smiths songs (with 5 or so solo songs), lengthened the shows to 1.5 hours and showed up.... the remaining dates would sell out so fast from just word of mouth. Facts are you can replace the guitarist, but you can't replace the lead singer.

However, we all know Morrissey is incapable of doing anything right or pleasing his fans, so instead we get 50 mins of obscure B sides, mixed with same old popular tracks, and 3 smith songs. Formula been the same for 20 years.