The Smiths feud continues between Morrissey and Marr

Will the Morrissey-Marr feud ever come to an amicable conclusion?

Talks of a reunion surfaced in early 2024 when Morrissey opened up the invitation. Morrissey quickly explained that his invitation was not motivated by sentimental feelings towards Marr.

The Smiths © Pete Cronin / Redferns

At that time, Morrissey stated that Marr had ignored his offer to reform. However, Marr’s management later disputed this, and Marr responded,

“I didn’t ignore the offer — I said no.”

Against this backdrop, Morrissey gave an interview with Medium in which he was asked about his ambitions to share a stage with Marr again.

“I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible,” he told the online outlet.

“We’ve all begun to grow old. I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you to those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime. It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”

When asked how he viewed Marr today, Morrissey replied:

“He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s.”

“But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths' gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me, he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion.”

Morrissey continued:

“He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles. Is this hypocrisy or self-deception?”

“He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr, and I’ve had just about enough of his bitchslap comments. I’ve quietly put up with them for over 30 years.”

Potential collaboration between Morrissey and Marr appears unlikely, based on the public statements made by both parties. The loss of The Smiths bassist, Andy Rourke, may also affect any future prospects.

Who Owns the smiths ?

The back-and-forth has persisted. After Rourke’s passing, Morrissey wanted to push through a Smiths Greatest Hits album but said that Marr "blocked" the idea. Morrissey also claims that Johnny Marr owns the rights to The Smiths' intellectual property.

“J Marr has successfully applied for 100 percent 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 with Morrissey, and without allowing Morrissey the standard opportunity of ‘objection’.”

“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.”

In response to Morrissey’s statements about intellectual property, Marr and his team clarified the current state of The Smiths' trademark. They claimed Marr registered the trademark after reaching out to Morrissey to protect the Smiths' name while a third party was trying to acquire it, but, after not receiving a response, proceeded with the registration himself.

“To prevent third parties from profiting from the band’s name, it was left to me to protect the legacy.”

Marr said.

“This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former bandmates.

He also confirmed that he had declined a suggestion for a greatest hits compilation from Warner Music Group,

“given the number already in existence”.

In an appearance on Sky Sports' The Overlap in 2025, Johnny Marr discussed the prospect of a reunion with host Gary Neville. Marr said:

"We got made an offer really recently, in fact, but yeah, I said no."

Then added,

“I’m not an idiot, the vibe’s not right. Bad vibe.”

More recently, the pair could not agree on an album cover for their debut album reissue, a source at Rough Trade has admitted.

It is unlikely that The Smiths will perform again, especially given the absence of Andy Rourke. The ongoing disagreement between Morrissey and Marr extends beyond musical collaboration and has involved discussions on various topics, including politics. Examples from other bands (0asis) show that reconciliation sometimes occurs, but there is no evidence of a similar outcome here.

Meanwhile, both artists' solo careers are looking healthy. Morrissey has recently brought out his album Make Up Is a Lie, and Marr will be playing a massive homecoming show at Castlefield Bowl on July 9.

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Ellis Douglas
Editor, BritRock Heaven