Morrissey Central "WAR IS OLD, ART IS YOUNG" (August 29, 2024)

August 29, 2024

In June 2024 AEG Entertainment Group made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as 'The Smiths' throughout 2025.
Morrissey said Yes to the offer; Marr ignored the offer.

Morrissey undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November.
Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order.

WAR IS OLD, ART IS YOUNG - MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY - MORRISSEY CENTRAL - WAR IS OLD, ART IS YOUNG

MESSAGES FROM MORRISSEY on MORRISSEY CENTRAL

www.morrisseycentral.com

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Related item:

• Morrissey-solo.com: "Johnny Marr uses Nigel Farage image to dismiss reunion talk" - August 27, 2024

 

[kissmyshadestoo]

out of curiousity.....what size are the venues Morrissey is selling out on this tour? 20,000 seat arenas or smaller?

 

[farcM]

Oh, and the pair could even duet on the songs or split the verses from time to time - or one word each in turn ? How wonderful it would be ! Hmm... Oh, well...

 

[SteveWS]

Oh, and the pair could even duet on the songs or split the verses from time to time ? How wonderful it would be ! Hmm... Oh, well...

♪And then I go and spoil it all
By saying something stupid
Like, "I love you"♪

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

I'm sure 99% of the paying public wouldn't care, and it might still be a great thing, but I'm just not sure I could see Morrissey & Marr plus a couple of random session musicians as 'The Smiths'. It would be the same thing if Paul McCartney and Ringo decided to get a couple of session musicians and go on tour as 'The Beatles'. Might be nice, but it's not quite the same thing.

But I guess any promotors shelling out big bucks would want the Smiths brand name, regardless of who was actually on stage.

But it’s not 1986. And so 2025 Smiths would never be 1986 Smiths, and they wouldn’t be trying to be. If such a thing ever happened then there are A LOT of things that would be better than 1986, and some that would just be different - whether by circumstance, or by intent, or by design.

And while I agree with the fact that The Smiths happened at the moment they did, with the output they had, in the exact way that it all unfolded specifically because of the precise combination and dynamic of all the people that came together and who were involved at that moment in time, and those 4/5 people, yes, would have presumably had a different kind of dynamic together compared to a different combination of people - but ultimately, as much as Andy and Mike were and are appreciated by fans for the standard of their work and for their respective contributions to the group, to the music, and to the shows… it’s 2024 and anything that happens now or in future is still The Smiths, if Morrissey and Johnny were to be on a stage together, singing and playing those songs together, that they wrote together.

To say Mike Joyce would bring some semblance of legitimacy to calling the group The Smiths in 2025 I am going to assume just comes from you having a purist’s heart, but it’s not a true statement at all.

Nothing will ever be the same as in 1986 again and Morrissey and Johnny have lived another two lifetimes on stages performing since then.

For all the magic and beauty that they created together, they certainly deserve to be able to decide that they do want be performing those songs on stage together again, and if they ever did, and if you went, you can be 1,000% sure that you would be watching and seeing and hearing The Smiths

 

[Les Tameside]

Morrissey tried the whole Carry On The Smiths nonsense when Marr had the sense to walk...it took a veiled legal threat to get Morrissey to cease and desist from any fantasy that he could take The Smiths brand name for himself...hence his silly self-karaoke career as a tribute artist to his younger self. Total knobhead who happens to sing well, writes excellent vocal melodies over other people's instrumentals and writes lyrics that, in recent decades, have become self-satire. He's just a fcukin circus clown prancing around his stage-grave...

“happens to sing well, writes excellent vocal melodies over other people's instrumentals and writes lyrics”.

That’ll do for me

 

[SteveWS]

Along with the enmity between Morrissey amd Mike Joyce, there may be other obstacles. For instance these couple of things I've read in biographies:

1. From the very beginning, and even when contracts had to be signed, Morrissey and Johnny considered only themselves to be The Smiths. Every other musician in their band was merely incidental to their plans and that - for all their (possible) lip-service about the band being a gang - didn't change, despite appearances.

2. And also near the end: Mike & Andy were apparently aghast when told that M & J wanted the band to take 'entirely new musical directions' (possibly Mortissey's attempt to make/keep Johnny happy); at least one of the other two assumed that this meant that Morrissey and Johnny wanted them out.

 

[Amy]

I wonder if Johnny's reluctance to discuss reunion is connected to Moz bailing last time they talked about it. Maybe he's thinking "You weren't serious last time, maybe you're just calling my bluff?".

There must be so much we don't know, communication or disagreements between them, because the nuggets that filter into the public eye just don't make sense. The pub meet was 2008. They were still fairly cosy in 2010 when Moz agreed with Johnny about David Cameron..."Forgive Someone" implies an argument / stand-off in 2013. On/off/on/off/on and then... what since then? Politics? Not enough.

 

[Amy]

♪And then I go and spoil it all
By saying something stupid
Like, "I love you"♪

There were times when I could have
MURDERED yoooouuuuuuuu
Oh, but I would hate anything to
happen to you
Please just stop using Twitter
Do you really think, we'll pull through?

 

[SteveWS]

 

[BrummieBoy]

“happens to sing well, writes excellent vocal melodies over other people's instrumentals and writes lyrics”.

That’ll do for me

...yeah, right...you should form a band, mt8...call it Lowest Common Denominator...clownery...

'Music By And For Mediocrities'- -the new album by 70s wannabe disco Diva- 80s New Romantic has been Morrissey...actually, that passport photo makes him look like he's on the cover of Prince's eponymous album...he should be OUT and PROUD about his 'hidden history' as a disco dolly dancer...

BrummieBoy
-backstage with Sean
Dexys
Moseley Folk Festival
Bankrupt Birmingham

 

[Phranc & Open]

There were times when I could have
MURDERED yoooouuuuuuuu
Oh, but I would hate anything to
happen to you
Please just stop using Twitter
Do you really think, we'll pull through?

Just don't call it Twitter.
XGreetings Elon

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

To whoever it concerns, know that brummieboy is sending me verbally-abusive direct messages, if nothing else corroborating suspicions about the kind of person he is.

To whomever it concerns, WHO IS THAT in your signature gif??!??!!! Ooh la la!! I am feeling very concerned now

 

[goinghome]

To whomever it concerns, WHO IS THAT in your signature gif??!??!!! Ooh la la!! I am feeling very concerned now

Your cutie doing back-stage warm-up exercises

 

[DaveJCarr]

Life is about new experiences, and growth, and about people becoming better, and better, and better, and more complex, and more interesting, and with even more to offer as the years pass

I agree with this, which is also why I'd prefer a reunion of Morrissey and Marr (if it were to happen) to be predicated on new music and collaborations, instead of reinterpretations of Smiths songs, however interesting those might be. Obviously, they've both done plenty of reinterpreting of those songs, in their own non-Smiths careers anyway.

But it’s not 1986. And so 2025 Smiths would never be 1986 Smiths, and they wouldn’t be trying to be. If such a thing ever happened then there are A LOT of things that would be better than 1986, and some that would just be different - whether by circumstance, or by intent, or by design.

And while I agree with the fact that The Smiths happened at the moment they did, with the output they had, in the exact way that it all unfolded specifically because of the precise combination and dynamic of all the people that came together and who were involved at that moment in time, and those 4/5 people, yes, would have presumably had a different kind of dynamic together compared to a different combination of people - but ultimately, as much as Andy and Mike were and are appreciated by fans for the standard of their work and for their respective contributions to the group, to the music, and to the shows… it’s 2024 and anything that happens now or in future is still The Smiths, if Morrissey and Johnny were to be on a stage together, singing and playing those songs together, that they wrote together.

To say Mike Joyce would bring some semblance of legitimacy to calling the group The Smiths in 2025 I am going to assume just comes from you having a purist’s heart, but it’s not a true statement at all.

Nothing will ever be the same as in 1986 again and Morrissey and Johnny have lived another two lifetimes on stages performing since then.

For all the magic and beauty that they created together, they certainly deserve to be able to decide that they do want be performing those songs on stage together again, and if they ever did, and if you went, you can be 1,000% sure that you would be watching and seeing and hearing The Smiths

I don't quite know if I think the two of then performing live would constitute the entity of the Smiths, Rourke contributed so much to those recordings, and the live stuff we do have, but I heartily agree with the rest of what you wrote here.

I also think either of them have certainly earned the right to decide they do not want to be together on stage again, preforming those songs or for any reason. Those reasons might not be things I would consider sufficient, but I'm not them, and their lives and performance decisions are their own.

For as much as we think we "know" and much as we might desire a reunification, The Smiths were their lived experience not ours., and they both continue to deal with each other/management in the ongoing business of The Smiths. I am happiest knowing they both have current projects about which they are excited, and that they both seem to be rejuvenated by live performance.

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

Your cutie doing back-stage warm-up exercises

Well would you look at that. That’s RIGHT! That most definitely, 100%, categorically IS my cutie!!!

The only problem is that he’s striking me as hypothetically, potentially, a rather hard man to pin down

I will say though, that the backstage warm-up exercises look like they could potentially be … quite motivating

 

[Vesper Nocturne]

I agree with this, which is also why I'd prefer a reunion of Morrissey and Marr (if it were to happen) to be predicated on new music and collaborations, instead of reinterpretations of Smiths songs, however interesting those might be. Obviously, they've both done plenty of reinterpreting of those songs, in their own non-Smiths careers anyway.

I don't quite know if I think the two of then performing live would constitute the entity of the Smiths, Rourke contributed so much to those recordings, and the live stuff we do have, but I heartily agree with the rest of what you wrote here.

I also think either of them have certainly earned the right to decide they do not want to be together on stage again, preforming those songs or for any reason. Those reasons might not be things I would consider sufficient, but I'm not them, and their lives and performance decisions are their own.

For as much as we think we "know" and much as we might desire a reunification, The Smiths were their lived experience not ours., and they both continue to deal with each other/management in the ongoing business of The Smiths. I am happiest knowing they both have current projects about which they are excited, and that they both seem to be rejuvenated by live performance.

The Smiths would be The Smiths to me, whereas Morrissey & Marr sounds to me like it would be all 100% new material.

Anyway they’ve had the last 40 years to be excited about their own separate projects.

If they ended up deciding to get excited again together, it would be incredibly special for everyone, but I would be most happy of all for the two of them. Not just for their friendship - but for the two of them to also to get to experience it all together again. And to experience everyone there for them together again. That would for sure make my heart swell to the point of no return

In the meantime …. All I Need Is Morrissey

 

[Amy]

The Smiths would be The Smiths to me, whereas Morrissey & Marr sounds to me like it would be all 100% new material.

Anyway they’ve had the last 40 years to be excited about their own separate projects.

If they ended up deciding to get excited again together, it would be incredibly special for everyone, but I would be most happy of all for the two of them. Not just for their friendship - but for the two of them to also to get to experience it all together again. And to experience everyone there for them together again. That would for sure make my heart swell to the point of no return

In the meantime …. All I Need Is Morrissey

Absolutely! Most importantly I think, it would be a chance to make good that 'bad ending'. The thrill and the excitement would be something they could remember and conjure up in their minds instead of the tensions of the Strangeways sessions or whatever. I do think it would be an incredible balm to soothe old wounds and I'd really hope that afterwards, this atmosphere of unease and estrangement would be gone for good.

 

[Leroy]

The Smiths would be The Smiths to me, whereas Morrissey & Marr sounds to me like it would be all 100% new material.

Anyway they’ve had the last 40 years to be excited about their own separate projects.

If they ended up deciding to get excited again together, it would be incredibly special for everyone, but I would be most happy of all for the two of them. Not just for their friendship - but for the two of them to also to get to experience it all together again. And to experience everyone there for them together again. That would for sure make my heart swell to the point of no return

In the meantime …. All I Need Is Morrissey

Could you be any more toe-curlingly sycophantic?

 

[JerryCan]

I will say though, that the backstage warm-up exercises look like they could potentially be … quite motivating

Deffo...

 

[Ashley_TakeABow]

To whomever it concerns, WHO IS THAT in your signature gif??!??!!! Ooh la la!! I am feeling very concerned now

Your cutie doing back-stage warm-up exercises

?!?!