Although Johnny Marr referenced Nigel Farage, I think the real deal-breaker for him is Morrissey's endorsement of the explicitly anti-Muslim group 'For Britain', an endorsement that Morrissey has never apologised for or recanted of.
If Johnny Marr were to share a stage with someone who remains unapologetic about endorsing a specifically racist and bigoted ideological group then his reputation would be similarly destroyed.
Morrissey is, once again, completely delusional in believing that he was ever more than 25% of The Smiths.
He is musically autistic, lost in a self-referential fantasy that posits The Singer as paramount and privileged above The Guitarist , The Bass Player and The Drummer.
In his bizarre worldview The Smiths existed as a vehicle for his self-aggrandising wittering and he allowed his legal representative to dismiss 50% of The Smiths as replaceable lawnmower parts.
He's now a truly desperate and pathetic spectacle. Having spent nearly four decades as a karaoke
tribute act impersonating the singer in The Smiths, this troubled soul now imagines he can foist his tribute act nonsense onto the gullible 'clueless consumers' under the brand name of The Smiths. Ridiculous twit so he is.
The Smiths can never reform because one quarter of that radical art collective, Andy Rourke, has died.
Even if Andy Rourke were still alive, there's also the vexed issue of The Drummer..
Led Zeppelin without John Bonham isn't Led Zeppelin.
Black Sabbath without Bill Ward isn't Black Sabbath.
The Smiths without Mike Joyce isn't The Smiths.
Because Morrissey is musically illiterate he simply cannot grasp that his fantasy that he is more important than the other members of The Smiths is nonsensical.
He appears to be lost in all manner of absurd notions which privilege the vocal melody and lyrics above the rhythm section. Only a musically ignorant moron would ever spout such drivel.
If a project called 'Morrissey and Marr interpret The Smiths' were to be billed as such, that would be fine. Probably an anodyne rehash of the past but harmless enough.
However, having been publically exposed as having financially disadvantaged both The Drummer and The Bass Player, it would be outrageous to now try to profit further from exploiting the contributions of Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce using hired session musicians to impersonate their musical genius.
I'm pretty sure Johnny Marr is cognisant of the likely consequences of publicly associating with Morrissey without his former band mate issuing a public apology for endorsing For Britain.
Using the image of Nigel Farage is, in fact, a diplomatic gesture as it avoids reigniting the unresolved issue of Morrissey's disgraceful endorsement of For Britain.
I've no idea if Johnny Marr also feels it would be tasteless to replace Andy Rourke with a session musician but I m certain it would be a grotesque facsimile of The Smiths.
R.I.P Andy Rourke
Best wishes
BrummieBoy
'In April 2018, the singer-songwriter Morrissey declared his support for For Britain.
The party fielded 15 candidates in the 2018 local elections, none being elected. The party came last in almost all the seats it contested.'
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_Britain_Movement#:~:text=In April 2018, the singer,all the seats it contested.
www.morrisseycentral.com
