Morrissey has accused his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr of using his name in interviews for “clickbait” and playing into the British press’s appetite for “cruel and savage” remarks about him.
“If you can, would you please just leave me out of it?” he wrote in an open letter published on Morrissey Central.
“The fact is: you don’t know me,” Morrissey wrote. “You know nothing of my life, my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings. Yet you talk as if you were my personal psychiatrist with consistent and uninterrupted access to my instincts.”
Marr responded to Morrissey’s open letter, writing on Twitter: “An ‘open letter’ hasn’t really been a thing since 1953, It’s all ‘social media’ now. Even Donald J Trump had that one down. Also, this fake news business…a bit 2021 yeah?”
Marr is promoting a new solo album, Fever Dreams Pts 1-4. His offending remarks appear to come from the March 2022 issue of Uncut magazine, in which he mentions Morrissey in a discussion about collaboration.
“It won’t come as any surprise when I say that I’m really close with everyone I’ve worked with – except for the obvious one,” he said. “And that isn’t that much of a surprise because we’re so different, me and Morrissey.”
Marr is a left-wing, teetotal vegan who runs 10 miles a day. Morrissey has descended into infamy for his remarks on race and politics.
After Stormzy headlined Glastonbury in 2019, Morrissey shared a video that accused the British establishment of using the rapper to promote multiculturalism at the expense of British culture, which Morrissey posted under the title: “Nothing but blue skies for Stormzy … the gallows for Morrissey.” He has frequently denied accusations of racism.
He has referred to Hitler as “left wing”, praised Brexit, expressed support for the far-right political party For Britain, criticised sexual assault survivors and said that immigration diminishes British identity. In 2019, Liverpool’s Merseyrail transport network removed posters advertising his album California Son following a complaint from the member of the public regarding his views.
In the open letter, Morrissey accused Marr of hypocrisy. “You found me inspirational enough to make music with me for six years. If I was, as you claim, such an eyesore monster, where exactly did this leave you? Kidnapped? Mute? Chained? Abducted by cross-eyed extraterrestrials? It was YOU who played guitar on Golden Lights – not me.
“Yes, we all know that the British press will print anything you say about me as long as it’s cruel and savage. But you’ve done all that. Move on.”
Morrissey pointed out that the pair haven’t been close for 35 years, “which is many lifetimes ago. When we met you and I were not successful. We both helped each other become whatever it is we are today.
“Can you not just leave it at that? Must you persistently, year after year, decade after decade, blame me for everything … from the 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami to the dribble on your grandma’s chin?”
He told Marr to move on and “take responsibility for your own actions and your own career, with which I wish you good health to enjoy”.
“Just stop using my name as click-bait. I have not ever attacked your solo work or your solo life, and I have openly applauded your genius during the days of Louder Than Bombs and Strangeways, Here We Come, yet you have positioned yourself ever-ready as rent-a-quote whenever the press require an ugly slant on something I half-said during the last glacial period as the Colorado River began to carve out the Grand Canyon.”
Marr is not exactly voluble on the matter of Morrissey, and generally approaches journalists’ and fans’ curiosity about their relationship – and evident differences of politics and personality – with a measure of diplomacy.
In 2019, Marr told NME he wasn’t concerned about Morrissey’s controversial views affecting the legacy of the Smiths.
“I don’t think you can change history … I’m not worried. It’s got nothing to do with my world or my life. The songs are out there for people to judge, relate to and hear. I think that’s all going to be forgotten in a few weeks, as these things inevitably are – for better or worse.”
That same year, he told the Independent that he and Morrissey weren’t still friends and repeated the line – as he often does – about them being “very different … but everyone knows that! Everyone knows everything there is to know.”
Fans have thrilled to any potential sign of a reconciliation between Morrissey and Marr, who met in 2008 to discuss the possibility of reforming – a discussion that Marr said ended abruptly, the topic never raised again.
In 2019, Marr responded to a fan on Twitter who asked whether rumours about a Smiths reunion were true. Marr responded: “Nigel Farage on guitar.”
