The Guardian: Johnny Marr - "You ask the questions" (February 6, 2022)

J'en ai marre?

Johnny Marr: ‘When I play Smiths songs I experience this huge wave of elation’

Johnny Marr: ‘When I play Smiths songs I experience this huge wave of elation’

On the eve of his new double album, the acclaimed songwriter takes questions from musicians, politicians and readers

www.theguardian.com

Particularly liked Bernard Butler's question...

---

Excerpt:
Did the Smiths ever fall out over football or politics?
Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester

We never discussed football so that’s that. And we never fell out over politics, but we probably would now.

Morrissey’s recent political views have cast a shadow over the Smiths for me – reaching back into the past and tainting something that was very important to me. I’m so disappointed in him. Has it impacted how you feel about the Smiths or are you able to separate the past from the present, the band from the man? I find it very difficult to do so.
Johnny Spence, Northern Ireland

It hasn’t impacted how I feel about the Smiths. That’s all I can say about that. I’m certainly able to separate the past from the present. I don’t know whether you can separate the band from the man, but I can separate myself from the man and what I did, so when I do see how disappointed people are, it really does make me sad. But it’s completely out of my control. And I can only really do what is in my control. So I play Smiths songs for reasons that I think are real. And over the years I’ve tried to take care of the catalogue and the releases as much as I was able to. As I would have done anyway. So, you know, I see it the way everybody else sees it. I don’t have any answers. And I don’t want to have any answers.

...

We have both had many casual musical flings but one very strong personal bond in our lives. How has your relationship with the wonderful Angie influenced your creativity, and does she have a favourite guitar?
Bernard Butler, musician

I’ll answer the easy bit first: Angie’s always loved Les Pauls. That’s to do with when we first met – she was 14 and I was 15. We were into Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, so she became bit of a Gibson fan. I’ve had a Gold Top guitar for 20-odd years and I think if I’ve ever got rid of that one, she’d leave me. The important thing I can say about my relationship with Angie is that she made me brave at 15, 16. Not only did Angie know me before everybody else knew me, but she knew me before I knew myself. She was there before the Smiths started: it was me and Angie. And then when that whole thing got together, it was me and Angie and Joe Moss [the late manager of the Smiths]. Not only was I with my soulmate, but I was with somebody who was very smart and very talented.
...

Johnny, out of 10 what would you give me for my turn as Mozzer on Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes? [Hill sang This Charming Man.] PS: if you and the fellas ever decide to regroup and his nibs won’t play ball, I still have the wig – and more importantly, the hearing aid.
Harry Hill, comedian

I sort of remember that. I’m going to have to give Harry a solid two out of 10 for that, and he can make of that what he will. As for the offer, I don’t even know what to make of that…!

 

[Redacted]

can you imagine LePep and Pep Jr having a Vegas residency. there wouldnt be enough blogs and podcasts to give unsolicited interviews to

Riiiingggg

Yes? Hale Daily News can I assist you?

We did it we DID IT WE GOT A VEGAS RESIDENCY!!! FINALLY WE DO SOMETHING!!!

excuse me? who is this?

Johnny Marr management from the CrazyFace toona saloona studio.
put the information in the newspaper at once

o no not you again.

listen here you Fing twat....

CLONK (call over)

excellent emoji use too

 

[Amy]

They made this question by a fan the headline and implied Johnny had said it. It's been removed now as the responses to the tweet were brutal.

Morrissey’s recent political views have cast a shadow over the Smiths for me – reaching back into the past and tainting something that was very important to me. I’m so disappointed in him

Oh, wow. They're really trying to salt the wound between Moz and Johnny, aren't they?

Hopefully it will backfire - if M sees this, he might realise how easily the media trap Johnny with these types of questions. JM wasted no time calling it out, either.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

..

I think it's a generational thing, my 20 and 18 year old are aware of The Smiths/Morrissey but not Tom Jones/Cliff Richard, they are aware of The Beatles though. It will be the same for their kids (if they have any) I should think, they may have be aware of (for example) Courteeners but may be not The Smiths/Morrissey.

I would also think the genre of music will play into it.

Though if some kid in the far far future still enjoy ‘alternative indie pop/rock’ ( or whatever it’s called ) then I would think they may come across
some of the bands or artists that
left a larger impression on music culture in general first, before coming across those, that (yes famous for a long moment), but we’re not a moving force in shaping bands/music that came latter.


Basically they may come across Smiths, Joy Division, the Cure, Stone Roses, Nirvana, Pixies, first before coming to lesser(though not all of them less important) bands.


Then again, maybe they won’t be listening to music at all in the future, or at least, not something we would call or recognize as music.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

Oh, wow. They're really trying to salt the wound between Moz and Johnny, aren't they?

Hopefully it will backfire - if M sees this, he might realise how easily the media trap Johnny with these types of questions.

JM wasted no time calling it out, either.

Maybe he would have, but I wonder
if Marr would have made them change it pre-open letter? Though I guess the angry tweets (from his own fans?) moved him to have NME remove it.

 

[Redacted]

It's strange people think Morrissey should behave in some sort of 'politically correct' way in order to have a career. He has opinions - he is not a woman beater, a child molester, he was not caught with child porn, he is not a drug addict- all those things are acceptable to the left - opposing opinions are not.
Sad commentary on society.

 

[Redacted]

So, Marr, who was mocking fake news was the subject of fake news?

 

[Surface]

Maybe he would have, but I wonder
if Marr would have made them change it pre-open letter? Though I guess the angry tweets (from his own fans?) moved him to have NME remove it.

I think he would haver called it out pre open letter, it was plain deceitful what they implied and the comments (from fans who like both Morrissey & Marr) told them so in very blunt terms.

 

[gordyboy9]

The comments are all favorable or they get deleted. Try slagging him off on one of his official vids

dont talk mince,you do realise your name on here morrisseys left nut suggests to me that you are an inch away from morrisseys big swinging dick,is there something you would like to share with the rest of the group,get it off your hairy chest and if your female then get it off your even hairier chest,just sayin.

 

[Anonymous]

So, Marr, who was mocking fake news was the subject of fake news?

He wasn't mocking fake news, he said Moz' open letter was fake news as well as the clickbait Moz was reacting to.

 

[MoneyChangesEverything]

He could have started the day after he left The Smiths, and it wouldn't have made any difference. He obviously just doesn't have it in him to be a great singer or lyricist, and as for comparing with Morrissey, who has always been out there in a league of his own as a lyricist, vocalist and performer.... well, absolutely no chance.

In a different world, Marr would have teamed up with Matt Johnson in The The, and would have soared as part of the Johnson/Marr writing duo. Johnson asked him to join not long after Marr met Moz, and he stuck with Moz. Moz needed a great musician and instrumentalist to give muscle to his skills. Still does, to this day.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

I think he would haver called it out pre open letter, it was plain deceitful what they implied and the comments (from fans who like both Morrissey & Marr) told them so in very blunt terms.

maybe. Guess we’ll never know.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

In a different world, Marr would have teamed up with Matt Johnson in The The, and would have soared as part of the Johnson/Marr writing duo. Johnson asked him to join not long after Marr met Moz, and he stuck with Moz. Moz needed a great musician and instrumentalist to give muscle to his skills. Still does, to this day.

Can’t remember what Marr’s reason was for not taking up Johnson’s offer.

But I would assume Johnny wanted to write songs(the music) and it seems Matt already had that covered.

 

[gordyboy9]

In a different world, Marr would have teamed up with Matt Johnson in The The, and would have soared as part of the Johnson/Marr writing duo. Johnson asked him to join not long after Marr met Moz, and he stuck with Moz. Moz needed a great musician and instrumentalist to give muscle to his skills. Still does, to this day.

and in return marr got one of the best lyricists that britain has ever produced,even stevens.

 

[MoneyChangesEverything]

Can’t remember what Marr’s reason was for not taking up Johnson’s offer.

But I would assume Johnny wanted to write songs(the music) and it seems Matt already had that covered.

Money and moving from Manchester to London was a big part of it.

 

[Ooh Matron!]

It's strange people think Morrissey should behave in some sort of 'politically correct' way in order to have a career. He has opinions - he is not a woman beater, a child molester, he was not caught with child porn, he is not a drug addict- all those things are acceptable to the left - opposing opinions are not.
Sad commentary on society.

What a strange little broken human you are to think of such terrible things in terms of right and left.
Is your own self worth and identity so fused with Morrissey's world view that to cope you need to talk in such twisted absolutes.

 

[CrazyFaceGenes]

Money and moving from Manchester to London was a big part of it.

Joe Moss was the man pushing Marr to go visit Morrissey, i wouldn't be surprised if he was behind it, he was his mentor at that stage.

 

[Rangelj]

Again, it doesn’t show my personal preference obviously, objectively I think, in 100 years’ time of someone will take the Herculean task to write the history of 20th century pop music, borh Richards and Jones will be more prominent figures than Morrissey.

Hmmm... No.

 

[Anonymous]

It's strange people think Morrissey should behave in some sort of 'politically correct' way in order to have a career. He has opinions - he is not a woman beater, a child molester, he was not caught with child porn, he is not a drug addict- all those things are acceptable to the left - opposing opinions are not.
Sad commentary on society.

I think asking people to vote for a political party who supports holocaust denial views is certainly not being politically correct. And he has the right to say what he wants but people also have the right to walk away from him because of what he says. That is there choice.

This also isn't just a left/right thing as you would like to class it. I know many people who walked from him, people on the left and people on the right and many smack bang in the centre.

You like to put everything into boxes of political left or right but this has nothing to do with that and things just dont slot into boxes that easily. But you keep blaming a political side of the spectrum if it gives you a kick. It does make you look rather silly though.

 

[Redacted]

I think asking people to vote for a political party who supports holocaust denial views is certainly not being politically correct. And he has the right to say what he wants but people also have the right to walk away from him because of what he says. That is there choice.

This also isn't just a left/right thing as you would like to class it. I know many people who walked from him, people on the left and people on the right and many smack bang in the centre.

You like to put everything into boxes of political left or right but this has nothing to do with that and things just dont slot into boxes that easily. But you keep blaming a political side of the spectrum if it gives you a kick. It does make you look rather silly though.

Typical lefty, can't disagree without lobbing an insult, you've all become rather boring, or maybe you just always were.

 

[Dirk Blaggard]

Up there with the best Smiths songs?? Marr can only dream of writing a song that's up there with worst Smiths sings - or, for that matter, the worst Morrissey songs; in fact he'd be lucky to come up with anything worthy of an Inspiral Carpets B-side, judging by his output to date.

Yes and no
Depends on how you look at it.
If you mean as a whole.? Yes, I agree.
it's only the voice and words that are better in a Morrissey song, usually, and the voice is the thing we all cling to really, so it papers over the cracks The voice is the element we fall in love with.

Musically, in terms of none voice, loads of Johnny songs are better than Morrissey band 3 minute wonders.
If you take Morrissey out of it and compare the two, Johnny Songs and Morrissey band songs, then Johnnys are usually better, more imaginative, Jesus even Niles are better than some of M's band
Add to that, Marr does a better job with words and voice, which are not his main tools, than Morrissey would with Guitar etc
I mean, really, look how much Marr has done, with Smiths, other bands and on soundtracks - his work on the Nolan film was immense. Marr, if you like him or not, is a class act (as is Morrissey)

It's also unfair to say ""Hi Hello" is virtually a re-write of There Is A Light " (although true), when you could say that about at least 3 songs on every solo Morrissey lp .
Theme wise Morrissey has been going over the same kind of topics none stop, He's kind of a Woody Allen. in that sense.