Morrissey has claimed that Johnny Marr now owns all of the “trademark rights and Intellectual Property” of The Smiths, and can tour as a band without him.
The band’s former frontman made the claims against his ex-bandmate in a new post shared on his website yesterday (September 15), stating that the action was taken without warning him or giving him a chance to object.
“J Marr has successfully applied for 100 per cent trademark rights / Intellectual Property ownership of The Smiths name,” the post began. “His application has been accepted on whatever oaths or proclamations he has put forward. This action was done without any consultation to Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’.”
It continued: “Amongst many other things, this means that Marr can now tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice, and it also prohibits Morrissey from using the name whilst also denying Morrissey considerable financial livelihood. Morrissey alone created the musical unit name ‘The Smiths’ in May 1982.”
NME has reached out to a spokesperson for Johnny Marr for comment.
The two were bandmates in The Smiths for six years and released four albums together during this time: ‘The Smiths’ (1984), ‘Meat Is Murder’ (1985), ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (1986), and ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ (1987).
However, there has been bad blood between them for a number of years now, particularly over their difference in political views.
Just last week, the band’s former frontman took to his site to claim that a Smiths ‘Greatest Hits’ album had been “blocked” by the guitarist, and shortly before then, he also weighed his thoughts on the Oasis reunion, telling fans that he had received an offer for a Smiths reunion, but the prospect was quashed by Marr.
Now, if Morrissey’s claims about the trademark rights are true, it would mean that the guitarist could enlist a new vocalist and head out on tour under The Smiths’ name, without having to consult his former bandmate.
Before then, Morrissey also used his site to claim that he was being “gagged” over the release of his album ‘Bonfire Of The Teenagers’, which he recorded between 2020 and 2021 and remains unreleased. The album’s title track is a song he says is about “England’s 9/11”, the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017.
Morrissey explained: “The Manchester Arena bombing was our 9/11. But, in this sad country of ours, to understand the full meaning of the attack is to be guilty, and this is why the ‘don’t look back in anger’ command always struck me as derisive and not at all words of social harmony.”
He continued: “Once you edit yourself or self-censor then the idiots have won. There is no arts media anymore in England, therefore there’s no one to whom I can sit and talk about this. The fact is, genuine artists in England are now being held hostage by people who object to any manner of alternative opinion.”
Before then, he said his former band’s popularity had not waned as it was all about “a refusal to surrender to enemy propaganda”, and also told fans that he felt that he had been “deleted” from the “essence” and history of The Smiths.
Back in 2019, Marr spoke to NME about whether or not he was worried about people viewing the music and legacy of The Smiths differently given the controversy surrounding Morrissey’s political beliefs and statements.
“I don’t think you can change history,” he said. “I’ve said that before. 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. It’s always been that way. I understand the issue, but I’m used to stuff coming and going.”
Later, in early 2022, Johnny Marr opened up further about his spat with Morrissey, saying that he felt he had to “defend [himself]”. It came after Morrissey asked Marr to stop mentioning him when giving interviews.
Recently, KISS’ Gene Simmons weighed in on the rift between Marr and Morrissey, describing the latter as “a great artist”, while simultaneously saying that the general public wouldn’t know who Marr is.