Johnny Marr has issued a statement responding to claims made by his former bandmate Morrissey regarding the status of The Smiths.
As previously reported, Morrissey said that he agreed to a “lucrative offer” for a Smiths reunion tour alongside Marr, but the guitarist “ignored” it. Additionally, he claimed Marr had blocked a proposed Smiths greatest hits compilation, as well as other potential reissue projects.
In his latest post, Morrissey wrote that Marr “successfully applied for 100% trademark rights/Intellectual Property ownership of The Smiths name,” thus allowing him to “tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice.”
In a post to Instagram, Marr’s management says he learned The Smiths members did not own the trademark to the band name after an unnamed third party tried to use it in 2018.
“Marr reached out to Morrissey, via his representatives, to work together in protecting The Smiths’ name,” the statement reads. “A failure to respond led Marr to register the trademark himself. It was subsequently agreed with Morrissey’s lawyers that this trademark was held for the mutual benefit of Morrissey & Marr.”
“As a gesture of goodwill, in January 2024, Marr signed an assignment of joint ownership to Morrissey,” the post continues. “Execution of this document still requires Morrissey to sign.”
In his own words, Marr says, “To prevent third parties from profiting from the band’s name, it was left to me to protect the legacy. This I have done on behalf of both myself and my former bandmates.”
He continues, “As for the offer to tour, I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no.”
Marr adds that there are “no such plans” to tour as The Smiths with a different singer, though he does confirm he declined the best-of album, noting “the number already in existence.”
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