Is there a 'real reason' why Morrissey and Johnny Marr never worked together again?

I hope my career 'tanks' in a similar fashion some day - a multi-millionaire 4 years shy of retirement age with a devoted core audience, who still makes news headlines (no such thing as bad publicity). Heck, I reckon I could learn to live with that degree of failure.
I don't know what you'd call it, but I would define going from 2nd place in Britain's Greatest Living Icon poll, to someone now so toxic he can't even get a record deal as 'tanked'. Maybe he still has some hardcore fans in LA, but in the UK he's gone from beloved hero to cancelled villain. I can see how a Smiths reunion (even a brief one for a reunion tour) would help rehabilitate his image, help secure him a solo record deal etc. For Johnny, he'd get a nice paycheck, but his reputation would be shot, and he'd have to spend the rest of his life with people asking him "why did you go back to working with that right wing racist a-hole'? I just don't see it happening.
 
P.S. Whilst I don't doubt the 2008 meeting happened, given that it was in a pub in Manchester it beggars belief that no one recognised them and took sneaky photos. They haven't been pictured together since 1987 and it would have been nice to have seen a photo of them.

I reckon the landlord kept the security cam footage, smuggled a tape recorder under their table, and is going to sell the whole package on eBay at some point.
 
I would define going from 2nd place in Britain's Greatest Living Icon poll, to someone now so toxic he can't even get a record deal as 'tanked'.

Which is why Morrissey's a multi-millionaire and you're having a conversation on a fan forum.
 
I think that has more chance of happening than a Smiths reunion. I also think a lot of people would be happy with that and who knows, they could write one last album together.
And what a f***ing album that would be. JM would bring out the best out of Moz.
 
Ah, the Cribs! That was the name I was looking for. How could I have forgotten them? :rolleyes:

Yes, I agree, I doubt that went down well with Morrissey. It's fascinating that Marr was apparently so sure of the reunion happening that he told the Cribs about it.

Another anecdote that springs to mind from Morrissey's autobiography, in terms of his distrust of Marr, is how in the early days of The Smiths, he reckons Joe Moss was angling to get him (Morrissey) replaced, and that the others nearly went along with it. That would certainly explain Morrissey's antipathy to Moss, and doesn't sound implausible to me. Despite their meteoric success, I reckon Moss was a 'rock traditionalist' who maybe figured that Morrissey's appeal had only very limited potential, and that it would soon wither, whilst on the other hand Marr, Joyce and Rourke were a solid music combo that would run and run. If that really was the climate of the time, with Morrissey feeling that his group might desert him, it would reinforce his subsequent sense of injustice.
The Joe Moss thing sounded strange and paranoid. He paints a lot of people as 'villains' in a similar way when they get too close to Johnny, he did the same thing with John Porter. He also says in Autobio that he rejected Johnny's friends; it comes across to me as insecure and possessive.
 
A lot of interesting points already shared in this thread. Something that came to mind as I read through... I don't recall if the proposed reunion only involved live dates or actually recording new material together. If it did involve creating new music together... I'm assuming it would be superior to anything he did with his band circa 2008. If that were the case, it would seem to drive a big nail in Morrissey's solo career. It would shatter the image that he's better off post-Smiths... doesn't need Johnny... his latest solo work is his best ever, etc.

Obviously a lot of speculation here... but maybe the reasons above had something to do with Morrissey bailing out?

Of course, it's possible that even if they tried to work together some of the old bitterness and unresolved tensions would rear their head and poison the reunion before it got off the ground.
 
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I hope my career 'tanks' in a similar fashion some day - a multi-millionaire 4 years shy of retirement age with a devoted core audience, who still makes news headlines (no such thing as bad publicity). Heck, I reckon I could learn to live with that degree of failure.

:lbf::thumb::thumb::thumb::thumb:
 
I actually think a reunion would be a big disappointment anyway.

As it is, The Smiths are dead, frozen in time, flawless.

"No, they can never touch you now..."

Let's keep it that way.

As much as I love the guy, both M and Marr know that the magic of The Smiths can’t be recreated.

And amongst all the other issues I’m sure they wouldn’t want to deal with that kind of pressure or expectation. Especially if both already have their own thing going on for so long, I can’t imagine what
could possibly bring them to work together again.


Anyway....,

Looking forward to the heart burst
high of BONFIRE rather than no buzz pipe dreams like a reunion.


VIVA MOZ !!!

:cool:
 
2008 Johnny Marr was totally HOT. Moz felt those old feelings stirred up and couldn't deal with it, so he ghosted Johnny. I Want the One I Still Can't Have, etc.
 
The sad thing is that it's so easy to see an alternate world where they both get what they want. Come together every 3 or 4 years for a new Smiths record, maybe a tour- then spend some time apart on their own projects.

Unfortunately Morrissey seems to take Johnny's desire to 'play around' with other artists as some kind of personal betrayal, like a wife cheating on their husband. He's just too clingy and paranoid when it comes to Marr, and Johnny wanting to honour his committment to the Cribbs was too much.

When Morrissey wrote 'I Won't Share Your', he REALLY meant it.
 
We'll never see Moz and Marr perform together again.

I think the best we could hope for, theoretically, is if The Smiths were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that the two of them would show up to accept the award and make a short speech (possibly with Rourke, but not Joyce for obvious reasons).

Even then, there'd be no Smiths performance. It would be like when the Ramones were inducted, Joey was already dead by that point but the surviving members in attendance chose not to perform with a guest vocalist.
 
We'll never see Moz and Marr perform together again.

I think the best we could hope for, theoretically, is if The Smiths were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, that the two of them would show up to accept the award and make a short speech (possibly with Rourke, but not Joyce for obvious reasons).

Even then, there'd be no Smiths performance. It would be like when the Ramones were inducted, Joey was already dead by that point but the surviving members in attendance chose not to perform with a guest vocalist.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an interesting scenario. Does it mean that much in the UK? I think that Rourke and Joyce would show up but not Morrissey or Marr. Or, since Andy lives in NYC, just him.
 
I can't help wondering if just possibly Morrissey (if not Marr) might be slightly more tempted by something like a (Joyce-less) Smiths reunion now than he briefly appeared to be in 2008.

The reason would be getting back at Cancel "culture".

It would be still very difficult, I think, to cancel The Smiths!

But I'm relatively ignorant about all this compared to most here and probably wrong.

Still, I'm curious - does anyone thing Morrissey MIGHT be interested, even slightly, as a means to get back at Cancel "culture" and reclaiming the status arguably being denied him by the media "blackout".

Is there even a slight chance he might be a bit tempted by the opportunities here (even if neither he, nor Marr would follow ever through)?
 
I reckon it was 1991. Oregon Son started getting jealous because since California Son was rescued from Brittin after being kidnapped and being injected with meth and mind control drugs by Steve Street and forced to be in the shitty smiths, California Son had obviously become way more successful than overrated guitarist Oregon Son. Oregon Son started playing basketball and challenged California Son to a game of 1 on 1 to 21 on California Son's home court....the Malibu Rec. Big mistake by Oregon Son. Oregon Son came down to Moz Angeles from Portland wearing all his hemp clothes and got schooled by California Son 21-2. I reckon since then, Oregon Son would never show his face in Moz Angeles again or California take a piss he doesn't live in LA anymore chipper curry tit fark arse inn n nn nn nnn n nnn nn nnn n n n it.

Air Morrissey.jpg
 
The Smiths are one of those bands whose legendary status was never matched by their record sales. The idea that they could do a massive reunion tour is pretty questionable. Something like the Coachella deal they were offered makes sense because it's a certain kind of audience that would like to say they saw The Smiths, and enough diehard fans would pay whatever it cost to make sure they wouldn't miss it. That's only two shows, though.
And it's been a long time now since they broke up. While all ages go to concerts, fans of The Smiths are probably older. Would younger people really care or even know the songs?
Morrissey has done what he can to destroy his own career and taken The Smiths down with him. Imagine the interviews they would have to do to promote a tour and the sorts of questions they'd be asked. I don't think they'd survive it intact. Johnny Marr would have to comment on things Morrissey has said and there is no right answer. He'd either alienate his own audience or he'd alienate Morrissey.
They could probably do a Las Vegas residency but they can't do a U2 style stadium tour. Anyway, there's probably a better chance of seeing Oasis again. Start saving up for those tickets instead.
 
Morrissey has shown himself to be a toxic, narcissistic viper. Johnny would never play with him again in a million years. No one wonders why he left the Smiths any more. Andy hates Moz as well.
 
Why does there have to a reason? They haven’t been “friends” for over 30 years, people grow apart. That’s the reason, if you need one.
 
I can't help wondering if just possibly Morrissey (if not Marr) might be slightly more tempted by something like a (Joyce-less) Smiths reunion now than he briefly appeared to be in 2008.

The reason would be getting back at Cancel "culture".

It would be still very difficult, I think, to cancel The Smiths!

But I'm relatively ignorant about all this compared to most here and probably wrong.

Still, I'm curious - does anyone thing Morrissey MIGHT be interested, even slightly, as a means to get back at Cancel "culture" and reclaiming the status arguably being denied him by the media "blackout".

Is there even a slight chance he might be a bit tempted by the opportunities here (even if neither he, nor Marr would follow ever through)?
It would be a bit self-serving for Moz though, wouldn't it? "Hey Johnny. I have no label, everyone hates me and thinks I'm a right-wing racist, nobody is buying my stuff anymore. Wanna dig out your guitar and do Glasto?".
 
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