Johnny Marr has issued a statement responding to various recent comments made by Morrissey on his Morrissey Central website, which is possibly as close as we’re going to get to a reunion of The Smiths.
Marr was prompted to respond after a series of allegations on Morrissey Central over the past few weeks. Most recently, Morrissey was letting off steam about ownership of The Smiths trademark, saying in a post on the site on Tuesday that, “J Marr has successfully applied for 100% trademark rights / intellectual property ownership of The Smiths name”.
“His application has been accepted on whatever oaths or proclamations he has put forward”, the statement continued. “This action was done without any consultation to Morrissey and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’”.
A cursory check of the UK trademark registry shows that a company owned by Marr and his wife Angie registered The Smiths as a trademark back in 2018, so it’s not entirely clear why this has become a bone of contention with Morrissey right now. Though a possible clue comes from another recent post on the Morrissey website bemoaning that The Smiths can’t follow Oasis in staging a mega-bucks reunion tour because Marr won’t participate.
This week’s Morrissey Central post continued by stating that, because Marr owns the trademark in his former band’s name, he can “tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice”. Meanwhile Morrissey is prohibited from using the name denying him “considerable financial livelihood”, even though “Morrissey alone created the musical unit name ‘The Smiths’ in May 1982”.
At least two thirds of this statement was bullshit, to use the legal term. Or at least so says Marr. Yes, his company did register the trademark. But he did not do so without consulting Morrissey and he won’t be using his ownership of the name to stage a Smiths tour with another vocalist.
Indeed, he has put in place a legal process to ensure he couldn’t do that without Morrissey’s consent, a restriction that will go into effect if Morrissey adds his signature to a document.
A spokesperson for Marr clarified the circumstances, saying, “In 2018, following an attempt by a third party to use The Smiths’ name - and upon discovery that the trademark was not owned by the band - Marr reached out to Morrissey, via his representatives, to work together in protecting The Smiths’ name. A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself”.
“It was subsequently agreed with Morrissey’s lawyers that this trademark was held for the mutual benefit of Morrissey and Marr”, the statement added. And, “as a gesture of goodwill, in January 2024, Marr signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey. Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign”.
Marr himself said of his decision to trademark The Smiths name six years ago, “To prevent third parties from profiting from the band's name, it was left to me to protect the legacy. This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former bandmates”.
The statement on Morrissey Central about a failed attempt to get a Smiths reunion off the ground came two days after the Oasis shows were announced in August.
It revealed that, back in June, live giant AEG “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”. The update concluded with a jibe. “Morrissey undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November. Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order”.
In yesterday’s statement, Marr was keen to stress that he didn’t ignore AEG’s offer, he actively knocked it back. “As for the offer to tour, I didn't ignore the offer - I said no”, he declared.
It’s not just reuniting with his former band on stage that Marr has been knocking back of late. Another statement earlier this month on Morrissey Moan Central revealed that Warner Music recently proposed a greatest hits album and deluxe box set reissue of the band’s first album, with Morrissey set to collaborate on the releases and accompanying artwork. There would also be some new single releases. But all of those “were rejected and halted out of hand by J Marr”.
On that, yesterday’s statement said that Marr “declined a suggestion for another greatest hits compilation from Warner Music Group given the number already in existence”.
If this back and forth between Morrissey and Marr is the closest we’re going to get to a Smiths reunion, someone should probably use AI to turn these statements into a new song. Actually, I had a go at that, but someone with less respect for the band’s copyright and personality rights probably needs to complete the task for it to actually sound like a Smiths track.