Morrissey has shared a lengthy attack on Johnny Marr over an upcoming BBC documentary about The Smiths.
- READ MORE: Mike Joyce on ending his feud with Johnny Marr, The Smiths’ reunion row and a mural for Andy Rourke
In a since-deleted post on his website, Morrissey Central, the former frontman took issue with the documentary, which was warned to be “critical in nature towards Morrissey”.
He slammed the feature as a “timeworn story”, “wherein Marr grabs center stage as the unchanging face of discord … and Bigmarr Strikes Again”.
“This new BBC program already sounds like it is NOT for anyone who knows or cares about the Smiths,” he wrote, going on to claim that “Marr has intentionally divided the Smiths audience into Marr or Morrissey factions; he has legally claimed the Smiths trade mark name as his – knowing full well that the name was devised by Morrissey. He has devoted his entire life to killing Morrissey in whatever way available.”
He also took aim at producer Grant Showbiz, whose dialogue in the documentary he branded “slanderous”.
Morrissey went on to suggest that opponents like Marr or The Guardian might be “half in love” with him. “Those who vomit out the same corrupt hatred decade after decade are half in love with their targets, hence their romantic possession,” he wrote. “Otherwise, they’d move on – disinclined to devote their adult lives to someone whom they claim is tat.”
You can read the text archived in full here. The BBC documentary will supposedly air on July 13, according to Morrissey.
The pair have sustained a longstanding feud since Marr’s depature from The Smiths in 1987. When NME spoke to Marr in 2019, we asked about the impact of Morrissey’s support for far-right party For Brain on The Smiths’ music, which resulted in their albums briefly being banned from record stores.
“I don’t think you can change history,” Marr told us. |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.”
More recently in August 2024, Morrissey hit out at Marr for turning down a “lucrative” Smiths reunion tour, alleging that the guitarist “ignored” the offer.
Morrissey would later add that he was keen to embark on a reunion tour as a “thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime”. He denied that he wanted to tour because of any “amotional attachment” to Marr.
Marr, meanwhile, hit back at Morrissey’s claims on his personal Twitter, simply writing: “I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no”. In an interview a year later, he added: “I’m not an idiot, the vibe’s not right”.
Around this time, Morrissey also alleged that a Smiths ‘Greatest Hits’ album had been “blocked” by the guitarist, and claimed Marr now owns all of the “trademark rights and Intellectual Property” of The Smiths, and can tour as a band without him: “This action was done without any consultation to Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’.”
Later, a representative from the guitarist’s management team called Morrissey’s comments on various topics “incorrect” in a statement on X/Twitter. As for the reunion offer, Marr responded: “I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no.” Shortly after Marr’s refutal, Morrissey issued a statement on his website that he had “severed all connections” with his management team, though he did not provide any further details.
He went on to later add that he was “burnt out by any and all connections to Marr, [Andy] Rourke, [Mike] Joyce”, and expressed his desire to sell all his business interests in The Smiths.
In other news, Morrissey has claimed responsibility for the iconic Salford Lads Club Smiths photo, while correcting Johnny Marr on the band’s history signing with Rough Trade.