Morrissey has issued an angry statement as tensions rise with his former The Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr.
The This Charming Man hitmakers have endured a timeline of beef since their 1987 split just five years into their career together, in which they cemented themselves as one of the most legendary indie rock bands of all time.
After feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher managed to bury the hatchet on their 15-year verbal scrap and announced the Oasis reunion, many hoped The Smiths’ most iconic members Morrissey, 65, and Marr, 60, might be able to do the same.
But just as soon as it was suggested, Marr shot it down as he replied on X to a fan suggesting a possible Smiths reunion with a picture of Nigel Farage holding up a pint – a reference to Morrissey’s controversial political beliefs, which has increased tension between the pair in recent years.
Now, Morrissey has posted a message in the Messages from Morrissey section of his website Morrissey Central, claiming Marr has successfully applied for trademark of The Smiths name, meaning he can tour under the band’s name without the lead singer.
‘J Marr has successfully applied for 100% trademark rights / Intellectual Property ownership of The Smiths name,’ Morrissey claims on his site.
‘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”.
‘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 named The Smiths in May 1982.’
However, on the government’s website of registered trademarks, Marr appears to have owned The Smith’s name since 2018.
On 31 May 2018 Marr’s company – NV Official TM Limited – submitted the request, and The Smiths name appeared on the website in September that year as being owned by him.
In a 1984 interview, it is widely reported that Morrissey said he did in fact think up the name The Smiths because it was ‘ordinary’, and that it was time that ordinary folk showed their faces.
Made up of lead singer Morrissey, guitarist Marr, bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, The Smiths rocketed to stratospheric fame over just four albums, as their 1984 self-titled debut record reached number two in the UK album chart.
However, their success came to an abrupt end before their fourth and final studio album – Strangeways, Here We Come – was released.
The reasons for the break up have been disputed over the years. But some suggested it was due to Marr leaving the group in 1987 after saying he was taking a break due to being exhausted from the band’s schedule. Easterhouse guitarist Ivor Perry briefly replaced him but The Smiths split up weeks later.
Marr rejected NME’s claim that The Smiths broke up because Morrissey was frustrated at him wanting to work with other artists, as he told the publication in a 1978 interview: ‘The major reason for me going was simply that there are things I want to do, musically, that there is just not scope for in The Smiths.’
Conversations about ownership of the name The Smiths was even brought up by the NME journalist speaking to Marr almost 40 years ago.
‘Marr was genuinely surprised when informed that Morrissey intended to continue using it,’ the publication wrote in Marr Speaks on August 8.
Marr responded in the interview: ‘I think that’s probably tied up in a whole load of legal things.’
On the split, Marr added in 2018: ‘The differences in personalities are what often make for interesting chemistry, and inevitably the differences in personality comes a point when those things are gonna stop forward motion, I guess.
‘I suppose as well, me and Morrissey just saw our futures differently.’
Meanwhile, Morrissey blamed their lack of manager and business problems for the split.
The pair further grew apart in recent years, as Morrissey’s political beliefs appeared to create a further wedge between them.
In 2016 Morrissey announced his support for Brexit and three years prior said he liked Farage ‘a great deal’ – leading Marr to reflect that they ‘never fell out over politics’ but they ‘probably would now’ in 2022.
Just last month after the Oasis hype, in a statement on the Morrissey Central website, Morrissey claimed Marr turned down a ‘lucrative offer’ for a Smiths reunion.
He said: ‘In June 2024 AEG Entertainment Group made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as The Smiths throughout 2025.
‘Morrissey said Yes to the offer; Marr ignored the offer.’
Continuing in his third person style he added: ‘Morrissey undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November. Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order.’
Johnny has previously suggested that Morrissey’s beliefs are just one of the many reasons the This Charming Man performers won’t be getting back together.
Speaking to Sky News in 2016, Johnny said: ‘If that is the case that he’s pro-Farage, there would be a slight drawback in that, as anyone would imagine.’
He also added that he didn’t feel the need to reunite with the other members: ‘The question of The Smiths reformation, I understand why people ask me.
‘Doing what I’m doing now, it doesn’t feel necessary at all – I really like moving forward.’
As per The Guardian, Morrissey once said: ‘I would rather eat my own testicles than reform the Smiths, and that’s saying something for a vegetarian.’