Morrissey has criticized his former The Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr in a message that has since been deleted, after discovering an upcoming BBC radio documentary that excluded his input and appeared to favor Marr’s perspective on the band’s history.
The message first appeared on Morrissey’s website on Monday (June 22). Although it was later removed by the singer, the text was captured and remains accessible through the Morrissey Solo forum.
What Did Morrissey Say About Johnny Marr and the BBC Radio Documentary?
In his nearly 750-word response, Morrissey disclosed that the documentary is scheduled for release on July 13 and cautioned potential listeners that it would be “critical in nature” towards him. He also mentioned that he was not invited to participate in the documentary, expressing that it represents yet another “souring of the Smiths dream” through Johnny Marr’s perspective.
“The outcome is never in doubt — Marr angel; Morrissey executioner,” Morrissey stated. “Forty years on, Marr cannot do anything with his life but look back. The truth is always ignored.”
Referring to Marr and the documentary, he added, “This new BBC program already sounds like it is NOT for anyone who knows or cares about The Smiths. Marr has intentionally divided the Smiths audience into Marr or Morrissey factions; he has legally claimed The Smiths trademark name as his — knowing full well that the name was devised by Morrissey. He has devoted his entire life to undermining Morrissey in any way possible. He embodies precisely what he claims to despise in others. His predatory sport of ‘calling Morrissey names’ is now in full wachine-machine overdrive. Why isn’t he bored of it all yet?”
He further remarked, “The people who continually shout the loudest are those who seek relevance. Marr, I firmly believe, is destroying the legacy of The Smiths. He plants seeds of doubt everywhere. He’s done it so loudly and so often that he has trapped himself.”
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Morrissey also commented, “Marr has turned his back on The Smiths to gain favor from critics. He has never truly felt the lyrics to ‘How Soon is Now’? — which is why he sings them with all of the romantic enchantment of Leslie Crowther. How fantastic life would have been if Marr had chosen four more studio albums with The Smiths instead of joining and then being ousted from The Pretenders.”
He concluded, “Let the pie-fights continue. I shall always be reborn. The only artistic beauty in this world is whatever we bring to it. Conversely, there are those who obliterate for pay. They have absolutely nothing else to offer.”
The full deleted message remains accessible via the Morrissey Solo forum under the title “The Art of Forgery.”
More Morrissey Vs. Marr Drama From 2024
This latest criticism by Morrissey towards Marr regarding the documentary was not an isolated event in their ongoing feud. In late 2024, Morrissey took issue with Marr for essentially leveraging his ownership of the band name to force fans to choose between them.
When asked by Medium about potential reunion discussions, Morrissey stated, “I agreed [to reunite] because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible. We’ve all begun to grow old. I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of expressing gratitude to those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime. It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”
“He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s,” Morrissey continued later. “But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion.”
“He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles. Is this hypocrisy or self-deception? He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr and I’ve had just about enough of his disparaging comments,” concluded Morrissey. “I’ve quietly put up with them for over 30 years.”
This followed additional drama between the two most prominent members of The Smiths earlier in 2024. Morrissey suggested that Marr had blocked a supposed greatest hits album as well as a 40th anniversary box set of the band’s debut album. A few days later, Marr applied for full ownership of The Smiths trademark and intellectual property, claiming that he made this move without consulting Morrissey.
Marr then countered that Morrissey’s statements were incorrect, asserting that in 2018 a third party had attempted to claim ownership of the band’s name and that his representatives had reached out to Morrissey for collaboration in protecting it. When Morrissey failed to respond, he registered for the trademark himself.
Regarding discussions about the reunion offer, Marr stated, “I didn’t ignore the offer — I just said no.” He added that he had no intention of touring with a different singer under The Smiths name either.
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Gallery Credit: Chad Childers, Loudwire
