Danny
Senior Member
No, the discussion was, why did Johnny leave the Smiths, not what reasons has Johnny given for leaving the Smiths. The two are totally different.
Morrissey ended the Smiths because Marr threatened to sue if they carried on.
Why did Johnny Marr leave the Smiths?
- Thread starter David
- Start date
No, the discussion was, why did Johnny leave the Smiths, not what reasons has Johnny given for leaving the Smiths. The two are totally different.
Morrissey ended the Smiths because Marr threatened to sue if they carried on.
Voodoo Doll
New Member
Because the NME told him he had 
Buzzetta
WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
My take on it... they were all still really kids... There is the thought that the grass is always greener. It is cliche... but still there is merit to that statement. Marr had it pretty good in The Smiths. However I am guessing that like most artists he had many different ideas swimming about in his head and he felt that Morrissey was holding him back from making those thoughts a reality.
Morrissey wrote the words but Marr wrote the music. It has been said that in the later concerts Oscilate Wildly and the Draize Train were moments that were given to Marr to shine. It is likely that Marr wanted to bring more of his musical ideas to fruitation and Morrissey had an opposing direction that he wanted to bring the Smiths.
I do NOT think that there was the infighting and bitterness that has been perceived by some. Perhaps it was simply just a difference of opinons and Marr wanted to try new things after he felt he had done all he could under the same vein.
Just my $.02
Since my computer is always playing music and I am sure 1/2 of the things on it make people shudder. I will list what I am listening to at the moment...
Jack Johnson and Friends - A Brokedown Melody
Buzzetta
WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
This is one of those if memory serves correctly thing... I believe it was later revealed that Marr was able to get Morrissey to relent to allowing some synthesizer work in place of string arrangments on some areas of TQID and SHWC. Morrissey was supposedly impressed with the way it turned out and saw things Marr's way but was still unwilling to go any further than some minor production work.
Comtesse
Starved Of Mirth
It's not just from "Marr's camp" - other Smiths insiders support these views. These seem like valid reasons to me and they all make sense. There is one other reason though, which I think is the most likely of them all:
JOHNNY MARR IS AN IDIOT!!!
Just look at what he's accomplished since the Smiths compared to what Morrissey has accomplished. Session musician, keyboardist for Bernard Sumner, the Healers (ugh), and now Modest Mouse? The man obviously doesn't appreciate his own skills and is satisfied with surrounding himself with mediocre talent. He didn't appreciate the brilliant thing he had... and somehow I believe that he always could have worked it out with Morrissey if it meant saving The Smiths.
Walking away from The Smiths. What a dummy...
Buzzetta
WOOOOOOOO!!!!!
People always wonder what could have been. Sting had a great statement in the recent Rolling Stone. When asked about the longevity of the appeal of The Police, Sting brings up a good point. Basically that because the group ceased to exist at the height of their popularity... that it left the world wanting more. They did not play on diminishing their own product and that they inadvertently left a lasting legacy.
If the Smiths produced a few subpar albums... If the Smiths produced Kill Uncle or Viva Hate... (Remember Bengali in Platforms was supposedly reworked from a work in progress Smiths Song) would that have expanded the legacy of the Smiths or would it have diminished it?
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Comtesse
Starved Of Mirth
That's true. There is something to be said for that - The Smiths can never disappoint us.
left out
New Member
My interpretation on what I've read is that the M/M was a very hardworking and intense relationship. Other factors combined to make the pressure intolerable. If they hadn't have stopped something would have broke.
Maybe JM only wanted a bit of respite at first, but once the immediate pressure was off realised that it wasn't a situation he could happily go back to...
Maybe JM only wanted a bit of respite at first, but once the immediate pressure was off realised that it wasn't a situation he could happily go back to...
celibate
Forever Ill
and we still wonder why Morrissey don't want anything to do with reunion
of the Smiths, tsk
both are on spaeking terms, but IMHO the main key is business [$$$$$$$$]
cause they both have the major part in royalties about the Smiths
[dont go on about Joyce, that UK royalties only, for Christs sake]
it's not that the both spend their vacationdays going on a sailing trip to Jamaica
ThreeStrangeDays14
New Member
Huh?? care to elaborate?
so what. i'd think it'd be more of the other two not wanting to reunite than moz and marr. im not sure what you're saying.
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Well I Wonder
Now, Today, Tomorrow.....
Because Morrissey is was very difficult to work with and kept wanting to fire managers. Marr was sick of trying to run the band i.e. doing the managers job as well as his own. I feel he had enough of Morrisseys behaviour to be honest.
Worm
Taste the diffidence
It's a shame Marr created legal tangles for The Smiths to continue, but in the end Morrissey needed to be on his own so I think it worked out well.
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johnny left the smiths because he was doing everything, managing the band, writing the tunes and eventually it took its toll, plus basically they couldnt get a manager that mozza was satisfied with. marr suggested a break after strangeways so he could get his head together and come in and write nexzt album, but unfortunately while he was away the music press claimed theyd split for good which is simply not true, and this came from someone close, but no one knows who!he decided then that enough was enough and handed in the towel!
real shame really but atleast the smiths split at their peak, which i prefer as aposed to some bands who carry on and on, and ruin what they had!!
real shame really but atleast the smiths split at their peak, which i prefer as aposed to some bands who carry on and on, and ruin what they had!!
Mars_Rover
Junior Member
Morrissey has very much carried on the music and legacy of The Smiths, don't you think? It's the same ethos/sensibility, a very similar sound and emotional content.
Worm
Taste the diffidence
Thanks for all the great tunes you've given us over the years, Johnny!
Seriously, though, the answer you gave is a good synopsis of the standard explanation but it's mostly Johnny's. Over the years I think enough variations have come out to suggest that we'll never really know exactly why The Smiths split. The missing piece of the puzzle is Morrissey's explanation of things, and that's something we don't have and may never see. Morrissey doesn't feel the need to justify his actions-- adding to the mystique of The Smiths, which is maybe the point.
Johnny was certainly right that splitting the group at its peak was a great side result of the group's otherwise sad demise.
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Worm
Taste the diffidence
I disagree, I find them very different. Johnny was half of The Smiths and I hear the difference very clearly when I play those songs. Also, I think over the years Morrissey's writing has become much more autobiographical. Smiths lyrics, while having 100% Morrissey DNA, so to speak, had a more universal outlook.
Mars_Rover
Junior Member
Worm, have you been to any of the Tormentors shows yet?
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