Johnny Rogan Dies (February 12, 2021)

image.jpg


Johnny Rogan, leading music biographer, dies, aged 67 - The Irish Times

"London Irish writer was famous for his attention to detail and clash with Morrissey"

Excerpt:

"Johnny Rogan, the London Irish music writer best known for his biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies, has died at his London home. He was 67.

The author of more than 25 books on music, by far his most successful was Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance, a book about the Smiths published in 1992 five years after the band’s break-up which prompted Morrissey to say: “I hope Johnny Rogan ends his days very soon in an M3 pile-up.”"






Regards,
FWD.
 
He was a good writer. I liked the severed alliance but I also enjoyed morrissey the songs as well. Shame as that’s to young
 
I was thinking about re-reading SA just the other day. Haven’t read since being a Morrissey n00b.
How much of it is bullshit and how much is fact? Do we know?
That’s the million dollar question really..
from what I can make out it seems to be well researched,
 
That’s the million dollar question really..
from what I can make out it seems to be well researched,
That’s what I felt when I read it, but Morrissey and Marr were so incredibly against it. Felt almost like I was doing something wrong, haha.
 
Last edited:
That’s what I felt when I read it, but Morrissey and Marr were so happy incredibly against it. Felt almost like I was doing something wrong, haha.
I wouldn’t always believe Morrissey and Marr, they have their legacy to protect.
They must have told some porkies along the way.
 
At the time The Severed Alliance was a ground breaking look into the pre Smiths Moz and revealed a number of skeletons in the closet.
Rogan obviously got hold of diaries from family members.
He also had the phone number for BeechMount and spoke to Morrissey (as much as M said he didn't speak to him).
Think he got too close to the Morrissey family for M's liking.

For all the stick that Moz gave the book , to see him wheel it out at the Court case was ironic to say the least.
M also seemed to get the hump because Rogan found out that he used to like comics?

He used the book in court to show that the other two band members were not important. Hence the name of the book was "Morrissey and Marr". We all use weapons we don't like to win wars! He was not giving it his approval.
 
That's too bad. I just finished watching the CSNY documentary "Fifty By Four" and Rogan's segments were pretty solid. Would have liked to see him in a Smiths/Moz flick of this type.
 
He used the book in court to show that the other two band members were not important. Hence the name of the book was "Morrissey and Marr". We all use weapons we don't like to win wars! He was not giving it his approval.
Never said he gave it his approval.
Let's not forget he said he wished Rogan died in a car crash and then a fire - hperbole I know but this probably gave him even more publicity than otherwise. To then use the book in Court though?

Also , Rogan one of the few at the hearing and won't get to spill the beans on the stuff that was emargoed.
 
That’s what I felt when I read it, but Morrissey and Marr were so incredibly against it. Felt almost like I was doing something wrong, haha.
Morrissey seemed to especially take exception to the sub-title "The Definitive Story Of The Smiths." He said something like if there is ever a definite story of The Smiths it will be told by him.
 
Morrissey seemed to especially take exception to the sub-title "The Definitive Story Of The Smiths." He said something like if there is ever a definite story of The Smiths it will be told by him.
Right, I remember reading that in an interview.
 
Ghosh.
 
Sad. Think what you like, but Rogan knew how to spin a good story—and execute it brilliantly.

The Severed Alliance was the first Moz related book I read. And, Saint Morrissey aside, it’s not been bettered.
 
Sure it’s out there, do you have any links to Johnny’s criticisms of Rogan when SA came out?

I could only find this one from an interview, it seems Marr felt that along with other books on The Smiths that Rogan’s book was also untrue....


Do you find people think they know your story better than you do?

“Yes, I do. It was not a source of consternation, but it’s nice to get the truth out there and set the record straight. Particularly in light of things like Johnny Rogan’s book [The Severed Alliance], which was just a cynical cash-in after the band split. The Smiths have been the subject of at least one book that has been taken as an authority, which has in actual fact been written by someone that seems to really dislike the members of the band. We had to live with that for years.”


A cynical cash in? Mr Marr talking complete rubbish. That book would have taken yrs to research.
 
Until this book arrived, I had assumed that the gruesome twosome of Marr and Morrissey's absurd self-mythologising was informed by a camp-tastic irony. Clearly not given Morrissey's potty mouthed outbursts and similar ill-advised vitriol from Maher which has been helpfully resurfaced in this thread. Once they'd both been exposed as hustling bitches who set out to shaft (variously) their schoolfriends, band members and business associates in that hilarious High Court case of mortifying, destructive DRAMA! : then it was all over bar the descent into reputational oblivion which has now consumed both of them as far as I can see. The only unjust element remaining is that Marr is somehow seen as less implicated than his delusional accomplice in this failed scam, purely because he has some residual sanity and listened to his lawyers when they advised the game was up, to settle and move on whilst The Diva had years more of hugely amusing hissy fits, going to the House Of Lord Fraud Whores to beseech them to help him hold on to his £$, not his friends. How ironic that the 'rebel' who claimed to be against wealth and privilege, famously ineptly dissing the Queen Of England, ended up on his knees before a brace of bishops, peers and ancestors of William The Conqueror offering up the last shreds of his credibility in hopes they would side with his silly attempts to rewrite contractual obligations and history. The only sadness, for me, was that Morrissey didn't take this all the way to the EU 'Court Of Human Rights' in Strasbourg for a final cataclysmic dénouement. When the arts collective commonly known as 'The Smiths' appeared prior to the Interwebz it was still possible to 'do a Bowie' and pull off fairly impressive feats of reinventions. Loads of acts/artists did it, Madonna taking it to the gaudy max, of course. Morrissey's juvenilia genius move was to focus and locate that reinvention via Art in his locality and its history, in a way that blindsided the culture and was ridiculously impressive for a while. Alongside the musical historian Marr's co-opting of famous guitarist sonic landscapes like Rory Gallagher and the rest, it was all to make a wonderful palette, an Altar Of Influence that stands the test of the passage of time even as Morrissey is in endless karaoke mode and Marr isn't that fussed, TBH, as far as I can see. There's more to life than being more and more rich and famous: unless, of course, you're trapped in an existential cul-de-sac like the prat Steven. I read Rogan's book as a Loki prankster provocation and the reaction was baffling as by as the archival power of the Interwebz was debunking and deconstructing the auto-hagiographies of every 'star', including Bowie. But David read the runes and gave up all that stuff whilst Morrissey did his Carry On PR with an endless whining war with co-dependent click-bait press until the readership either got bored or threw up in disgust at Morrissey's 'Der Spiegel' downfall. Rest in peace, Mr Rogan, you did us all a favour, and it was funny as fcUK to watch the reaction as you savaged the neurotically curated fake Hall Of Mirrors that both Marr and Morrissey co-created. #TGIF. Sun is shining, I have some spare time, so I can have some fun on here annoying clowns in Croatia and Carlisle. It's A Wonderful Life when you're not lost in space and time seeking money, power and fame....best wishes...BB

PS:

Marr-Morrissey?
(why does the lyricist get precedence over the musicologist, by the way?)

Paragraphs. Use them. It helps.
 
Until this book arrived, I had assumed that the gruesome twosome of Marr and Morrissey's absurd self-mythologising was informed by a camp-tastic irony. Clearly not given Morrissey's potty mouthed outbursts and similar ill-advised vitriol from Maher which has been helpfully resurfaced in this thread. Once they'd both been exposed as hustling bitches who set out to shaft (variously) their schoolfriends, band members and business associates in that hilarious High Court case of mortifying, destructive DRAMA! : then it was all over bar the descent into reputational oblivion which has now consumed both of them as far as I can see. The only unjust element remaining is that Marr is somehow seen as less implicated than his delusional accomplice in this failed scam, purely because he has some residual sanity and listened to his lawyers when they advised the game was up, to settle and move on whilst The Diva had years more of hugely amusing hissy fits, going to the House Of Lord Fraud Whores to beseech them to help him hold on to his £$, not his friends. How ironic that the 'rebel' who claimed to be against wealth and privilege, famously ineptly dissing the Queen Of England, ended up on his knees before a brace of bishops, peers and ancestors of William The Conqueror offering up the last shreds of his credibility in hopes they would side with his silly attempts to rewrite contractual obligations and history. The only sadness, for me, was that Morrissey didn't take this all the way to the EU 'Court Of Human Rights' in Strasbourg for a final cataclysmic dénouement. When the arts collective commonly known as 'The Smiths' appeared prior to the Interwebz it was still possible to 'do a Bowie' and pull off fairly impressive feats of reinventions. Loads of acts/artists did it, Madonna taking it to the gaudy max, of course. Morrissey's juvenilia genius move was to focus and locate that reinvention via Art in his locality and its history, in a way that blindsided the culture and was ridiculously impressive for a while. Alongside the musical historian Marr's co-opting of famous guitarist sonic landscapes like Rory Gallagher and the rest, it was all to make a wonderful palette, an Altar Of Influence that stands the test of the passage of time even as Morrissey is in endless karaoke mode and Marr isn't that fussed, TBH, as far as I can see. There's more to life than being more and more rich and famous: unless, of course, you're trapped in an existential cul-de-sac like the prat Steven. I read Rogan's book as a Loki prankster provocation and the reaction was baffling as by as the archival power of the Interwebz was debunking and deconstructing the auto-hagiographies of every 'star', including Bowie. But David read the runes and gave up all that stuff whilst Morrissey did his Carry On PR with an endless whining war with co-dependent click-bait press until the readership either got bored or threw up in disgust at Morrissey's 'Der Spiegel' downfall. Rest in peace, Mr Rogan, you did us all a favour, and it was funny as fcUK to watch the reaction as you savaged the neurotically curated fake Hall Of Mirrors that both Marr and Morrissey co-created. #TGIF. Sun is shining, I have some spare time, so I can have some fun on here annoying clowns in Croatia and Carlisle. It's A Wonderful Life when you're not lost in space and time seeking money, power and fame....best wishes...BB

PS:

Marr-Morrissey?
(why does the lyricist get precedence over the musicologist, by the way?)
“Morrissey's juvenilia genius move was to focus and locate that reinvention via Art in his locality and its history, in a way that blindsided the culture and was ridiculously impressive for a while.”

Yes, when the dust settles, this is indeed what Morrissey will be remembered for.

His aesthetic eye is what made him a cut above those other great artists who emerged in the 80s (eg FYC, The Stone Roses, Galaxie 500, The JMC and The Pet Shop Boys); who were, otherwise, a match for The Smiths.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
RIP
 
 
Morrissey seemed to especially take exception to the sub-title "The Definitive Story Of The Smiths." He said something like if there is ever a definite story of The Smiths it will be told by him.

Then it remains to be told. He failed miserably at it in Autobiography.
 
Marr didn't even like his Kinks book.

View attachment 68639
Morrissey and Johnny Marr probably have good reason to dislike Johnny Rogan's books we don't know the full story.

Andy Rourke loves Johnny Rogan and was probably a personal friend of his. He must be upset about his passing. Andy Rourke has been very supportive of authors of books written about The Smiths and Morrissey.

Probably Mike Joyce is upset about the death of Johnny Rogan. I'm not sure what his views on him are though.
 

Trending Threads

Back
Top Bottom