Johnny Marr has revealed the reasons behind him turning down an “eye-watering” offer for a Smiths reunion tour last year – as well as opening up about why he originally left the band in 1987.
The songwriter and guitarist appeared on Gary Neville’s Stick to Football podcast where he talked about his love for Manchester City FC and all things music.
News broke last year – following the news of the Oasis reunion tour – that Marr and Morrissey had been offered millions of pounds to get the band back together for the first time since the late 1980s.
Morrissey all but confirmed the opportunity to reunite last year. He released a statement claiming that he was extremely interested in taking the offer, but that it fell through after “Marr ignored the offer”. The ‘Suedehead’ singer also claimed that Marr had blocked the release of a greatest hits album and acquired the trademark rights to The Smiths without informing him.
Marr, however, was quick to respond when he said he didn’t “ignore” the offer, instead he outright “said no”.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) September 17, 2024
Speaking on Stick to Football Marr revealed his reasons behind turning it down, saying: “We got made an offer recently, but I said no. It was a little bit about principles, but I’m not an idiot, I just think the vibe’s not right.
“It was an eye-watering amount of money, but also, I really like what I’m doing now which makes it a lot easier. I like where I’m at. I still want to write the best song I’ve ever written. I want to be a better performer.”
Marr left the band back in 1987 aged just 24. He has since made a career for himself through solo work as well as working with bands such as The Pretenders, The Cribs and The The.
Speaking on Neville’s podcast, he opened up about how he was “exhausted” and “miserable” after the bands quick rise, which led to his decision to quit: “We were all dead young, we weren’t a bunch of mates from school… I wanted to put a band together, so I went and found the member. We learned to love each other very quickly and we became really tight, but we didn’t really know each other.
“Five years later, when we’re playing to 10,000 people I was 23! I’m sitting in a meeting with accountants being told tax laws that I didn’t understand, I was having a great time until I wasn’t. I got miserable. I thought The Smiths were the best band in the world at the time. I was so proud of us and I loved the music we were making. I love the guys, but relationships break down and that’s life.”
For those of you holding out for a reunion, don’t get too excited. The unfortunate death of bassist Andy Rourke in 2023 has made the idea “impossible” for drummer Mike Joyce.
He told NME after the bassist’s death: “Other people will have other ideas but, as far as I’m concerned, with Andy not being here, it’s impossible to have a reunion of The Smiths.”
Check out Johnny Marr’s full interview on Stick to Football above.
