While Oasis fans have plenty to celebrate this week, the outlook isn't looking so positive for long-time fans of The Smiths after Johnny Marr dismissed calls for a reunion.
In anticipation of the Oasis reunion, one hopeful fan tweeted: “If Oasis can do it, so can The Smiths (I’m delirious).” Marr responded with a photo of right-wing British MP Nigel Farage, who Morrissey suggested as a good candidate for prime minister a decade ago. Farage is known for his role in bringing about Brexit.
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Following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union, Morrissey described Brexit as “magnificent,” a statement that prompted Marr to to distance oneself even further From his former bandmate. Without a caption, the implication of Marr's post is that Morrissey's political views pose too much conflict to allow for a reunion.
In 1987, The Smiths disbanded following insurmountable tension between Marr and Morrissey, and Morrissey has only escalated his historically incendiary behavior in the decades since. Unable to let bygones be bygones, Morrissey once asked Marr to stop mentioning him in interviews via a 2022 “open letter,” to which the latter replied, “This fake news business… a bit 2021, isn’t it?”
The band's original bassist, Andy Rourke, also passed away in 2023 after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Last year, Morrissey gave a particularly melodramatic and self-pitying interview, later claiming that the media was trying to “erase” his contributions to The Smiths from history. Marr, meanwhile, has been working with longtime friend and Oasis member Noel Gallagher, taking the stage with Dave Grohl and the Pretenders and reimagining Smiths cuts with a 30-piece orchestra.
While there's no immediate hope of seeing members of The Smiths on stage in the near future, Marr will be heading out on tour this fall for a different kind of reunion with fellow Manchester rocker James. Buy your tickets here.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) August 26, 2024
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