Getting back together......

[Lost]

...it's a very, very, old chestnut i know, but, my take on it is that i feel one day Morrissey WILL collaborate once again with Johnny Marr either in the studio or 'live' or both. But he will NEVER work again with any of the other 'Smiths'.

Your thoughts?

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

Well... we just went all over this, but...

he just released a statement last week containing this statement:

Finally, in an effort to stop the speculation and kill off the rumor mongers who seem to use these things to take advantage of committed fans, we can tell you that one thing the future will not bring is a Smiths reunion tour. Per recent reports, Morrissey was approached during the course of the summer by a consortium of promoters, in the wake of the success of the Police, U2 and Rolling Stones tours, with a $75,000,000 offer to tour in 2008 and/or 2009. The offer called for Morrissey to do a minimum of 50 shows all over the world under the Smiths' name, with the only proviso being that Johnny Marr was also in the band. The offer has been refused.

So, no. He's not gonna do it. At least not as the Smiths.

 

[Quite Shy]

I'd say opinion is divided here. If they did reunite, is there any guarantee that Johnny could once again provide the untouchable standard of tunes we all know and love? Will the old problems get in the way? And could they really pick up the thread 20 years on? I have my doubts and live in constant fear of the glorious legacy being tainted by a sub-standard reunion. There really is no need.

 

[PregnantForTheLastTime]

I'd say opinion is divided here. If they did reunite, is there any guarantee that Johnny could once again provide the untouchable standard of tunes we all know and love? Will the old problems get in the way? And could they really pick up the thread 20 years on? I have my doubts and live in constant fear of the glorious legacy being tainted by a sub-standard reunion. There really is no need.

And that's probably why they will never actually do it. They've each said, more or less, that they did all they could together, said all they needed to say, and didn't really want to sully it by revisiting it. It's over.

 

[Worm]

Have patience. New albums or a world tour are out of the question, but a one-off gig may not be. Don't underestimate the pride they have in The Smiths' legacy. A time may come when they deem it necessary to remind people of what they did in those magical few years. Won't happen for a long time, though-- not until people start forgetting.

 

[Hellie]

I pray they never get back together.The past is done and everything has its time and place. That is what makes it special.

 

[Skinner]

Have patience. New albums or a world tour are out of the question, but a one-off gig may not be. Don't underestimate the pride they have in The Smiths' legacy. A time may come when they deem it necessary to remind people of what they did in those magical few years. Won't happen for a long time, though-- not until people start forgetting.

I disagree here because they already had a one-off offer for cochella ($40 million right?), and turned that down. I seem to think if they just wanted a one time gig, they had a perfect chance and didnt say yes. So if an oppertunity like that were to come up in the future, I highly doubt their answer would change.

 

[Worm]

I disagree here because they already had a one-off offer for cochella ($40 million right?), and turned that down. I seem to think if they just wanted a one time gig, they had a perfect chance and didnt say yes. So if an oppertunity like that were to come up in the future, I highly doubt their answer would change.

I know, but the climate wasn't right for the gig. Also, they say it's not about money and I believe them-- it will be about their legacy. Reading Johnny's comments on how poorly The Smiths' back catalogue is being treated by Warners leads me to think that the "neglect" will reach a crisis point in several years and Johnny and Morrissey will unite-- even if only behind the scenes-- to rectify that. Such a "reunion" of sorts is a certainty. And when they do get together, I'm guessing that their collaboration, however brief or businesslike it may be in the beginning, will spur them to mark the occasion with something special.

Box set, remastered albums, press campaign-- and a one-off gig in Manchester.

Then they'll resume their chilly standoff.

I envision a David Lee Roth/Van Halen scenario, not The Police. Only with better clothes.

 

[Skinner]

I know, but the climate wasn't right for the gig. Also, they say it's not about money and I believe them-- it will be about their legacy. Reading Johnny's comments on how poorly The Smiths' back catalogue is being treated by Warners leads me to think that the "neglect" will reach a crisis point in several years and Johnny and Morrissey will unite-- even if only behind the scenes-- to rectify that. Such a "reunion" of sorts is a certainty. And when they do get together, I'm guessing that their collaboration, however brief or businesslike it may be in the beginning, will spur them to mark the occasion with something special.

Box set, remastered albums, press campaign-- and a one-off gig in Manchester.

Then they'll resume their chilly standoff.

I envision a David Lee Roth/Van Halen scenario, not The Police. Only with better clothes.

Ok I guess that makes sense. And there is no way money is a factor in this. If they were after money they would be on tour right now, collecting the $75 million.
But I guess with the talk of a box set etc coming out in the next year or so, they would almost have to meet even if it is just business.

Imagine if they did decide to play a one-off show in Manchester...how expensive would the tickets be and what would people do to get them? Chaos would ensue!

 

[Worm]

Ok I guess that makes sense. And there is no way money is a factor in this. If they were after money they would be on tour right now, collecting the $75 million.
But I guess with the talk of a box set etc coming out in the next year or so, they would almost have to meet even if it is just business.

Imagine if they did decide to play a one-off show in Manchester...how expensive would the tickets be and what would people do to get them? Chaos would ensue!

Yeah, fans would sell their first-borns to attend that gig (and let's face it, by then most fans will have a kid or two to sell).

In any case, regarding The Smiths reunion and the latest anxiety over Morrissey's possible retirement, I think all of us underestimate just how long rock and roll artists are going to spin out their careers. It's not like we have four or five hundred years of music careers to look at, as with painters or something. Right now we're seeing people like Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones trudging onward into their twilight years, ever alert to finding new ways to cash in on their past. Time will tell if Morrissey and Marr are out on the rock circuit as spry oldsters, hawking their wares amidst the kids, but the way things look they might well be. The last chapter is a long way off...

 

[dothewatusi]

...it's a very, very, old chestnut i know, but, my take on it is that i feel one day Morrissey WILL collaborate once again with Johnny Marr either in the studio or 'live' or both...
Your thoughts?

I am with you on your feelings that Morrissey and Johnny will work together again some day. The sadness in knowing that their collaboration ended prematurely, makes me desire to hear them together again. Ideally, I want to see them in the studio, because together they are genius. They can prove themselves otherwise. Alas, years of hard feelings have kept them apart. How could something so good end up so bad? I say reconcile...life is too short.

 

[oscillate wildly]

When I was first hearing The Smiths a few years ago, I was so excited to hear all of their songs and then just as it kept getting better, it stopped so abruptly! Strangeways, Here We Come still makes me feel disappointed, haha. Not beacuse of the material but the fact that it was the last of them together. I would understand if Johhny and Morrissey never did reunite again, since the way they left was at perfect yet really bad timing and all.

But if they did get back together, I would looove to see how both of their geniuses matured over the years. And as a lot of you said, I think they will in some form.

 

[Bluebirds]

Word on the street is Morrissey and Marr are going to reform. They are thinking of treading the boards in a musical version of Waiting for Godot.........