S Poddar
Johnny Marr has denied claims by his former colleague and The Smiths’ lead singer, Morrissey, that he bought his former band’s trademark without him. The latest public squabble between two legendary artists comes in the wake of Morrissey recently accusing Marr of being behind the blocking of a greatest hits album release. Morrissey had also hinted that Marr now owned the copyright, which might possibly pave the way for a tour of the band with a different lead vocalist.
Morrissey’s allegations filled the airwaves on Monday, and the lawsuit had focus on him. Morrissey says Marr had taken unilaterally possession of the trademark from Smiths. Johnny Marr quickly responded, saying the statement didn’t even come close to being true.
A Marr spokesman said on Tuesday: “In 2018, when Johnny Marr learned that someone was trying to hijack the name of The Smiths, and discovered that the trademark wasn’t owned by the band, he contacted Morrissey through his lawyers. The purpose was to collaborate in defending the heritage of The Smiths.”
The statement continued: “In this respect, Morrissey failed to respond to these efforts that left Marr at a place where he would have to act unilaterally to ensure the registration of the trademark so that this name was not exploited.” “A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself,” said the spokesperson. However, Marr explained that this was done in good faith and to the mutual advantage of himself and Morrissey. “Subsequently, agreement was reached with Morrissey’s lawyers that this trademark was registered for the mutual benefit of Morrissey and Marr. As an act of goodwill, Marr signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey in January 2024. Execution of this document is still required of Morrissey.”
This is not the first public open argument between the two ex-members of the band. Those well familiar with the topic are aware of the fact that both musicians have been involved in several disputes during their years since the breakup from The Smiths back in 1987. Actually, their long-lasting relationship, once iconic, has been stormy during the past decades, with both legal wrangling and verbal exchanges in the mass media over different times.
Marr also forthrightly denied Morrissey’s claims that he had already rejected a highly lucrative offer from AEG Entertainment to reunite the band for a world tour. Morrissey had hinted that another reason Marr was refusing to accept the offer was the guitarist was once again interfering. Marr was more than happy to set the record straight: “To protect third parties from making a profit 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. And as for the offer to tour, I didn’t ignore an offer; I declined.”
Marr has also dismissed claims that he would date another singer under The Smiths’ banner. He said that such plans do not exist, and “there are no such plans.” Marr has always stated that reunion of The Smiths with him and Morrissey together was not in sight, and he is dead against another person replacing Morrissey.
In addition to the trademark battle, the two have also been at odds over new material output. Morrissey had recently stated that a greatest hits album called *Smiths Rule OK! * was planned and that Warner Music had indeed approached him and sleeve designer Darren Evans to come up with artwork for the album but Morrissey’s heard that Marr had nixed the project outright.
“Warner approached Morrissey and Darren Evans to assemble artwork for all four releases, all of which were rejected and halted out of hand by J Marr,” Morrissey wrote in a statement.
Marr rejected this account however, citing the fact that too many Greatest Hits compilations of Smith’s work were already available. “I turned down the idea of a greatest hits compilation from Warner Music Group, for there were already too many,” he confirmed. This ongoing legal and personal feud with Johnny Marr and Morrissey captivates this author’s interest regarding The Smiths, still a leading alternative rock band within the history of the genre. Despite periodic mentions from the two musicians about collaborating again, public dissension indicates any future collaboration is still far off. At this point everything is going to depend on whether Morrissey has agreed to sign the appropriate documents that would place The Smiths in joint ownership of their trademark, a development which could be one positive step towards healing, albeit only in this complex and contentious world of their partnership.
