Stop me if you know you've heard this one before. Despite the recent fallout between long-fighting Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, which recently led to the announcement of a UK tour in 2025, some things in the world of musical feuding never change.
Case in point: the Smiths. The legendary UK purveyors of sorrowful rock split acrimoniously in 1987 and based on their latest alleged feud it seems certain they will never get back together. Not even to re-release their old music, according to chief mourner Morrissey.
In one post on his official blog On Wednesday (September 11) titled 'Smiths Not OK', the 65-year-old singer claimed that his former partner and arch nemesis, ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr, was 'blocking' the release of a planned greatest hits collection. “The Smiths' recommended greatest hits album titled The Smiths Rule OK! has been blocked by J Marr,' he wrote, in a post that featured a classic photo of the Manchester four-piece and what he said was a new cover art for their 1983 debut single 'Hand in Glove'.
Morrissey said the single and hits were scheduled to be released worldwide this year by Warner Records alongside a deluxe box set of his self-titled 1984 debut album, which featured such beloved tales of woe as “Reel Around the Fountain “. “Poor lie”, “Still sick” and “What difference does it make?” The singer said the 40th anniversary edition of the album was to be packaged with a new 7-inch of the single 'This Charming Man' as well.
“Warner approached Morrissey and [graphic designer] Darren Evans to put together artwork for all four releases, which were rejected and stopped unchecked by J Marr,” Morrissey wrote. At the time of publication, it did not appear that the band's composer Marr – whose iconic guitar sound was as crucial to the band's sound as Morrissey's laconic, plaintive vocals and lyrics – had responded to the singer's claims, and a representative of Marr had no return Bulletin boardhis request for comment.
During their short but highly influential tenure, The Smiths released just four full-length studio albums, which featured songs that have become alt rock landmarks such as “That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore,” “Meat Is Murder “, ” Bigmouth Strikes Again”, “The Boy With the Thorn In His Side”, “There is a Light That Never Goes”, “Girlfriend in a Coma”, “Last Night I Dreamed That Somebody Loved It” and, of course, “Stop me if you think you've heard this before.”
Morrissey paid a loving tribute to late bassist Andy Rourke – with whom he and Marr had also fallen out over band rights – in May 2023 following Rourke's death aged 59 from pancreatic cancer. “Sometimes one of the most radical things you can do is speak up. When someone dies, the usual gloom comes out… as if their death is there to be used. I'm not willing to do this with Andy,” the singer wrote at the time.
Last month, Morrissey posted a note claiming that in June this year AEG Entertainment made a “lucrative offer” to both Morrissey and Marr to reunite for Smith's 2025 world tour, to which he claimed he said yes while Marr “ignored the offer”. In light of the intense resentment among the former bandmates, the misanthrope singer added that while he “undertakes a massive sold out US tour in November, Marr continues to tour as a special guest with New Order”.
For the record, Marr is being programmed kick off a headlining North American tour with James on September 17th at the Paramount Theater in Denver to take place on October 18th at the Palace Theater in St. Paul, MN.
While the Gallaghers miraculously managed to put their sibling rivalry aside for a string of shows most fans never thought would happen, the alleged greatest hits suggest the animosity between Marr and Morrissey will continue apace after from nearly 40 years of public outcry and insults. a long-awaited return from one of the most influential and beloved British indie rock bands of all time.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/morrissey-smiths-greatest-hits-album-blocked-johnny-marr-1235773809/
