Johnny Marr has explained why he snubbed a massive offer to reunite The Smiths – insisting he said no not just on principle, but because “the vibe’s not right.”
Appearing on the Stick to Football podcast with Gary Neville and co, the legendary guitarist opened up about the emotional – but carefully considered – decision to walk away from the iconic band in his early 20s, and why he’s at peace with keeping it that way.
“We got made an offer recently, but I said no,” he said. “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… I still want to write the best song I’ve ever written.”
In conversation with Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Roy Keane, Jill Scott and Ian Wright, Marr reflected on the pressures of forming and leading The Smiths as a teenager, saying he was thrust into heavy responsibilities while barely out of school.
“We were all dead young,” he said. “We weren’t a bunch of mates from school… I wanted to put a band together, so I went and found the members… 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.”
Ultimately, he said, “I was having a great time until I wasn’t. I got miserable.” But looking back, Marr feels his decision to quit at 24 was the right one – and a “ballsy” move that gave him a second act with bands like The Pretenders, The Cribs and The The.
Marr’s comments come after previous claims from Morrissey that a lucrative world tour offer fell through because “Marr ignored the offer.” But the guitarist has now clarified that he didn’t ignore it at all…he just “said no.”
Drummer Mike Joyce has also stated that a Smiths reunion is “impossible” without the late Andy Rourke, while Morrissey himself seemed up for it. In a rare interview, when asked by Medium if he was really “really keen on sharing a stage with the guitarist”, he replied: “I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible”.
Morrissey enjoyed his biggest ever homecoming show in Manchester with a triumphant sold out show at Co-Op live earlier this month.
