Johnny Marr is now the holder of the rights to the name of The Smiths and, according to what is pointed out Morrisseykeeps him out of the loop. In fact, Morrissey claims that they have not reached an agreement on this. Marr land has just answered.
There has been much talk about the long-awaited return of The Smiths in the wake of Oasis’ recent reunion, but while Marr has criticised Morrissey’s political stances on social media without saying so clearly, Morrissey has continued to blame the guitarist for refusing to return and, now and once again, for keeping the rights to the group’s name and intellectual property of the material without informing him.
Marr and Morrissey are a truly incredible duo musically speaking, but everything seems to indicate that personal issues between them will not be easily resolved. Especially when there are royalties and a lot of money involved. Morrissey has stated on social media – with the loudspeaker that the British media represent – that Marr took action regarding “The Smiths brand” without prior consultation. Currently, Marr Morrissey owns the rights to the trademark, which would allow him to tour using that name or advertise it without the singer. Apart from other issues, Morrissey claims that he cannot use the name that, in his words, “I created myself.”
A week ago, Morrissey announced that Marr had “blocked” a possible new album by “Greatest Hits” and shortly before he mentioned that a proposal had arrived to reunite the group (although we remember that the bassist, Andy Rourkewho died last year from cancer), but this was rejected by the guitarist himself. Now, Johnny Marr has just responded to Morrissey saying that he did not ignore the reunion proposal, but that “I simply said no.”
As for the rights, Marr’s representatives point out on social media that the information given by Morrissey is “Incorrect.” According to them, “In 2018, due to attempts by a third party to use the name ‘The Smiths’, and discovering that the rights to the trademark were not owned by the band, an attempt was made to negotiate with Morrissey to, through his representative, work together to protect the name of the group. After receiving no response, Marr opted to register the name himself, but there was a subsequent agreement with Morrissey’s lawyers for the trademark to be maintained for the mutual benefit of both parties.”
Morrisey and Marr They were great companions for six years and released four albums during this time: “The Smiths” (84), “Meat Is Murder” (85), “The Queen Is Dead” (16) and “Strangeways, Here We Come” (87).
