Morrissey has responded angrily to claims made by former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce who has reportedly told the BBC he is in severe financial difficulties because of the long running royalties dispute between him and his former bandmates.
Joyce, who fought a legal battle with Morrissey and Johnny Marr in the late nineties after discovering he was only due 10% of the royalties on the Smiths catalogue, told BBC radio station 6Music that ongoing royalty disputes have left him in a difficult financial situation, so much so he might be forced to sell rare Smiths memorabilia and recordings on eBay to make ends meet. The drummer added that he was forced to sell all his old Smiths records in the early 90s for the same reason.
But Morrissey isn't convinced by Joyce's pleas of poverty. In a statement published on fan site http://www.true-to-you.net, Morrissey says: "The point I wish to make is this: Joyce is not poor, unless, living as he does in the Cheshire green-belt, he lives beyond his means. Somehow, he appears to believe that he should have equal financial status to both myself and to Johnny Marr, even though Joyce has done dramatically less than Johnny and I to attain the positions we now have."
He continued: "Joyce is not poor because of one reason - me. His career now is the fictitious position of an unpaid ex-member of The Smiths. He has also pursued all of his claims on Legal Aid. Finally, Joyce does not have the legal right to sell unreleased Smiths material - it belongs to Warner Music. Joyce did not pay for the recording time under which any demo material was recorded. Furthermore, Joyce cannot sell any unreleased work by Johnny Marr or Andy Rourke without, at very least, their permission."
On Joyce's legal win in the late nineties which forced Morrissey and Marr to pay their former bandmate a royalties settlement, Mozza continues: "I have fought the Joyce action as much as I could over the years, but the simple truth is that, under British law, the word of a judge will not be overturned. In the absence of any evidence from the 1980s, the judge in this case relied upon the Partnership Act of 1890 to help Joyce win his claim. Joyce has exploited the judge's final verdict in order to get as much as he can from me, from Johnny Marr, and also from Andy Rourke."
And Morrissey isn't impressed by Joyce's plans to sell Smiths memorabilia on eBay either: "Finally, Joyce does not have the legal right to sell unreleased Smiths material - it belongs to Warner Music. Joyce did not pay for the recording time under which any demo material was recorded. Furthermore, Joyce cannot sell any unreleased work by Johnny Marr or Andy Rourke without, at very least, their permission."