08/24/2007
Morrissey Turns Down $75 Million Offer to Reunite The Smiths
Morrissey has no interest in returning to the days of yore with guitarist Johnny Marr and his ex-bandmates in The Smiths, not even for a deal that would line his pockets with cash.
"Morrissey's publicist has confirmed the artist refused a $75 million offer to tour under the Smiths name in 2008 and/or 2009, with the only mandate being that Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr would be part of the band. The Smiths also declined a multi-million dollar offer to perform in recent years at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif."
The singer will start a U.S. tour on September 21 in Las Vegas.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 10:30 AM EST by Andy in Morrissey, Music, News | Permalink
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Whatta prick.
Posted by: scottevill | Aug 24, 2007 11:12:02 AM
How dare he not be bought! Whatta prick, indeed!!
Posted by: jno | Aug 24, 2007 11:19:07 AM
I saw the Smiths a few times when I was kid along with my best friend - I was secretly in love with him and I am fairly certain he was in love with me but neither of us were brave enough to do anything about it. During the You are the Quarry tour a few years ago I thought I saw a boy who looked like my friend and my heart skipped a beat -alas it wasn't him but there still is a light and it never goes out...
Posted by: Giovanni | Aug 24, 2007 11:19:29 AM
Totally a prick, but why does he HAVE to reunite? The Smiths were a fantastic band and perhaps reuniting would tarnish the image. Exactly what happened to bands like The Pixies. Just because the offer was there does not mean he needs to accept or even consider it. I have respect for the fact that he sticks to his guns and maintains the integrity and brilliance of the band as it was then. The Smiths couldnt exist in todays music world. It was perfect post the punk days and well settled into Thatcher era Britain. The melancholy charm would only seem cliche today, not carefree and soul searching. Though, it is more likely his reaction is due to a childish hatred of Johnny Marr. Id kill for an Associates reunion. Though no Billy Mack = no gig.
Posted by: Joe | Aug 24, 2007 11:21:39 AM
Damn - I wish I could turn down $75-mil!
Posted by: Gregg | Aug 24, 2007 11:21:54 AM
I so loved The Smiths.
Posted by: Blair | Aug 24, 2007 11:31:44 AM
"I love that windswept mystical air/It means: I'd like to see your underwear..."
He was a god send to gay boys growing up in the 80's in Ireland and Britain. The songs were so good they armed you against all the haters.
Posted by: FASTLAD | Aug 24, 2007 11:40:31 AM
Some girls are bigger than others...
Posted by: Derek | Aug 24, 2007 11:41:28 AM
Hell, I'll do it for $12.
Posted by: Chux | Aug 24, 2007 11:59:03 AM
Who the Hell are the Smiths? What kind of moron turns down $75 mil to reform a band no one outside of their fans has ever heard of?
Sometimes integrity crosses the line into mental illness.
Posted by: Pastafarian | Aug 24, 2007 12:07:14 PM
pastafarian, you're an idiot. when were you born? after 1984? continue txting and go away. are you gay? please give your card back.
Posted by: joe | Aug 24, 2007 12:11:27 PM
Yes, mental illness indeed, Pastafarian! Why, I'd certainly smoke the devil's johnson for a measly $75 million. I mean, after all, who needs integrity? We're already licking the ass of the billionaire media moguls that have run the minds of the masses into homogenized stupidity. Yes, just spread your legs and quit that ridiculous crying, Morrissey.
Posted by: FizziekruntNT | Aug 24, 2007 12:15:01 PM
Morressey is the worst singer in the world and The Smith's couldn't write a melody if there lives depended on it,so who cares?
Posted by: who cares | Aug 24, 2007 12:17:52 PM
Pardon me. That should've read, "...the collective ass..."
Let me get that right before NIC comes a calling...
Posted by: FizziekruntNT | Aug 24, 2007 12:18:22 PM
yes, pastafarian, go back to watching re-runs of Charmed. Oh wait - that's The Smiths playing the opening song!
Posted by: Gregg | Aug 24, 2007 12:18:49 PM
What's the background on this? Is there animosity among the members or does Morrissey just think it may spoil the memory of what was before?
Posted by: phil heffley | Aug 24, 2007 12:22:44 PM
Pastafarian, to call you out on your lunacy would be silly. Your post made you look like enough of an idiot. But still, it made me say "WOW". You think you've heard stupid shit and then someone like you shows up and POW! More stupidity. How it flourishes. "Oh mother I can feel the soil falling over my head..."
Posted by: JR | Aug 24, 2007 12:29:37 PM
that sounds about right. I remember a while back when this guy died and his last wish was to have the Smiths perform at the cemetary where he was being buried. Morrissey is awesome and at least he hasn't douched out on us like Johnny Marr did when he joined Modest Mouse(of course to go on and make terrible music that only frat boys listen to now.) i mean, would you want to be associated with that? I know I wouldn't.
Posted by: sara | Aug 24, 2007 12:30:40 PM
Whether or not he is or is not the worst singer or songwriter is entirely a matter of opinion, but please spell his name right. It is Morrissey, not Morressey.
And if they did get back together it would kinda ruin it, since you can never truly go back. They were indeed perfect for their time, but that time has passed. To try to go back and re-create the magic would destroy the memory.
I can't believe someone actually hasn't heard of them (especially if they're really gay...isn't that a requirement on the application?). I'm with you Joe, TURN IN YOUR CARD!
Posted by: Jordan | Aug 24, 2007 12:34:30 PM
Phil, Wiki the Smiths (and remember it's wiki so ...) and that should fill you in on the Morrisey/Marr saga.
Posted by: Giovanni | Aug 24, 2007 12:34:56 PM
morrissey knows not to kick a dead horse.
Posted by: A.J | Aug 24, 2007 12:46:59 PM
well we all knew he was going to say no. morrissey doesn't want to having anything to do with "the smiths" anymore, particularly following the lawsuit with joyce. still, very sad. what i wouldn't give to hear "that joke isn't funny anymore" live.
anyway, moz is coming back in the fall. seeing i was born the year their first album came out, i'm psyched to hear the few smiths songs he plays live.
Posted by: nate | Aug 24, 2007 12:49:32 PM
Good for Mozzer. The Smiths were the band of the 80's for me --U2 who?-- and I saw them 4 times, each time was magical. For a gay boy in the 80's, they were like....like...the best fucking thing EVER. I love the humor in the lyrics, the music is wonderful, the whole image is perfect, there's no way they could come back without spoiling it.
Plus, Morrissey can't stand Mike Joyce, and it would be pathetic if they reformed with a different drummer/bass player.
The Clash was talking about reforming and while it's really sad Joe Strummer died so relatively young, at least *they* never had a chance to taint their legacy.
Posted by: Henry Holland | Aug 24, 2007 12:50:35 PM
yes, pastafarian, go back to watching re-runs of Charmed. Oh wait - that's The Smiths playing the opening song!
Actually, Gregg, that's Love Spit Love's cover version. Sung by Richard Butler of Psychedellic Furs fame.
Posted by: Panic | Aug 24, 2007 12:52:27 PM
$75 million? Big deal. It wasn't too long ago that the two guys in ABBA refused - get this - ONE BILLION DOLLARS - guaranteed - for a 100 city tour for a reunited ABBA.
But seriously, how about giving Morrisey some credit? If he took the money, the same people calling him stupid for not taking it, would be saying, "he's a sellout sure he'll do anything for 75 million." Like the guys in ABBA, maybe Morissey siply doesn't need the money and won't do something he doens't wanna do, for any price. Props to him.
Posted by: sup | Aug 24, 2007 1:38:05 PM
From Wikipedia: To this day Morrissey refuses to reunite his old band, going as far as to say that he would “rather eat [his] own testicles than re-form The Smiths, and that’s saying something for a vegetarian.” In March 2006 Morrissey revealed that the Smiths were offered five million dollars to reunite for a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, which he turned down, saying, "No, because money doesn't come into it." He further explained, "It was a fantastic journey. And then it ended. I didn't feel we should have ended. I wanted to continue. [Marr] wanted to end it. And that was that." When asked why he would not reform with The Smiths, Morrissey responded “I feel as if I’ve worked very hard since the demise of the Smiths and the others haven’t, so why hand them attention that they haven’t earned? We are not friends, we don’t see each other. Why on earth would we be on a stage together?”
Posted by: DrSmileX | Aug 24, 2007 2:03:52 PM
I can't stand Morrisey, and could care less about a Smiths reunion. The guy is a totsl fucking tool, and his voice is like fingernails on a blackboard. He also needs to get a new look. A greying pompadour on 50+ year old man is not cute.
Posted by: michael | Aug 24, 2007 2:24:59 PM
Really why should he do a reunion? Turning down reunion offers is done by only the true artistic giants remember Tina Louise? Mo has just as much talent as Tina, just ask the screaming homos that pay to see is lazy singing technique year after year. Mo also wants you all to know he’s not gay.
Posted by: ggreen | Aug 24, 2007 2:45:22 PM
The queen is dead, boys.
Posted by: J'ason D'luv | Aug 24, 2007 3:24:54 PM
The quotation from Morrissey will leave the others in the band singing: "We hate it when our friends become successful"
I am not gay, but adored the Smiths (orientation NOT a prerequisite to appreciating their music and place in rock history), which was totally driven by Morrissey for me (as borne out by his subsequent successful projects). Many of my friends and I were strangely energized by the connection to the melancholic but slightly droll lyrics - it was a relief to have someone telling universal truths from a perspective of common neurosis rather than empty bragging in metal band format. And on the change of look: HEY, MOST OF US ARE GREYING...WHAT ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO? GIVE UP ANY PERSONAL SENSE OF STYLE? Shave our heads? Curl up and dye...shoe polish coif? Time waits for no man...we'll be waiting for you in the wrinkle room Michael.
Posted by: greymase | Aug 24, 2007 3:40:33 PM
re: Michael. dear, "cute" is not the highest compliment for those of us post-40. in fact, it's usually a compliment applied to young girls, prepubescent boys, and kittens. if that was meant to sting, try harder once you've got some balls.
the Smiths were a group that was particularly skilled at coding sexual/social difference. the rabid fan base it developed was rewarded in interpreting this difference and informing how life could be lived. like Neil Tennant & the Pet Shop Boys, or Michael Stipe & r.e.m., these groups informed one version of what gay life could be for a generation of men living through overt prejudice and the very real fear of death (through AIDS panic).
looking around now, I'm really hard pressed to think of anyone who's got this sensibility and platform. Patrick Wolf? Bloc Party? the Killers? Tiga? (those are all honest suggestions...) but tragedy of today's gays is the silly, flip cynicism that dismisses credible aspects of gay history in such a stupidly assertive manner. so - who is it? who really has some artistic integrity as either a gay or LGBT-affiliated recording artist these days? perhaps Rufus Wainwright -- but I'd really like to hear who others think has the chops these days.
Posted by: resurrect | Aug 24, 2007 4:23:29 PM
argueing over has been bands and singers who haven't been relevant for 15 years is like argueing over politics and religion....no one wins, since we all have our own sense of what's good and whats not.
Posted by: Joshua | Aug 24, 2007 5:43:35 PM
Curse Michael. I can't think of another pop singer with better style than Morrissey. And he's only 48, actually. Not 50+. Oh and the pompadour was cropped from his head over 12 years ago. It's now a very short, receding hair-line type of cut with a little length in the front. I'm still not getting how any gay dude could miss all of this.
Posted by: alexi | Aug 24, 2007 6:09:58 PM
Sorry,just don't get the Morrisey/Smiths thing at all.Sure the music was part of the 80's culture but i really thought it stayed there.There are far worthier musicians/bands that deserve that kind of nest egg dangled before them.
Abba.Of course the comparison would be there,but Bjorn & Benny are smart,have you seen the box office receipts for Mamma Mia.Oh and there's that little movie being made as we speak.
Posted by: john | Aug 24, 2007 6:16:37 PM
Ressurect: Good question. Rufus is making great contributions to pop music but not to pop culture as an icon or influential persona. He has a baroque sensiblility, musically, which could be argued to be a gay sensibility. But everything else about him is neuter. His lyrics are genderless but in a benign way. I think the age of Morrisseys and Oscar Wildes and Gore Vidals and Truman Capotes is over for now. It's a gay baby's world and there isn't a platform available for this kind of person right now.
Posted by: alexi | Aug 24, 2007 6:28:18 PM
....Pastafarian do yourself a favor and purchace The Smiths release "The Queen is Dead". Acually, you should buy everything they every did.
Posted by: ARTFAG! | Aug 24, 2007 7:35:27 PM
I don't see how the Pixies reunion "tarnished their image". I mean honestly if you feel seeing a reunion tour will tarnish your "image" of a band then don't go...there are plenty of other fans who don't dwell upon superficial idiocy.
Posted by: liam | Aug 25, 2007 4:55:11 AM
johnny himself told me that morrisey repeatedly propositioned him till in the end he propositioned johnny and his wife. so he got tired of it and quit. but they are 40+ now so $75m would let bygones be bygones, i'm just saying like if no one grew up yet after almost 20 years...just take the money and chill. morrisey could have any straight/gay boy he wanted. he's an icon. i'm sure they've all emotionally moved on!
Posted by: i heard | Aug 25, 2007 12:40:40 PM
Saw them in 1985 here in NYC and they rocked. Hard. I guess he doesn't need the money.
And Joe is right, their act might seem cliche these days. They are still my favorite band.
I'm sure he doesn't need the money enough to want to do something he doesn't want to do.
Posted by: Katie | Aug 25, 2007 8:05:45 PM
that is it integrity the only other time i remeber witnessing it was my snotty lil sis asking to borrow my stuff i said would you let me use any of your things even know straight aways she said no
we need more people like that not refusing money integrity i prob wont join them but ill root for them
Posted by: sasha | Aug 26, 2007 3:42:26 AM
Ah, don't you just love how people will argue to their deaths about how "this band or that singer" was brilliant and every gay person must know who they are....I'm sure it's been said about Liz, Judy, Ethel, The Smiths, Elton John blah blah....I for one love that young gays aren't getting "stuck" in the musical past of older gays but forging their own path with gay rappers, rockers, electroclash, whatever....yeah, the Smiths were good, but in the big picture, lots of bands come and go and some make a mark on a particular generation...and everybody swears nobody of "today" can measure up...
the reality is these groups just represent your youth, when you were carefree or whatever, and the gays of today should have their own, whether it's Mika or Rufus or whoever to identify their particular generation...
sometimes you just aren't able to relate...and that's okay...rock on gay babies...rock on
Posted by: Oh Well | Aug 26, 2007 6:22:06 PM
CHUX...."who are the smiths anyway?" shit, man...important band. Not just to their fans. they were huge and influenced so many bands. if Moz turned down that huge sum of $ it's for a reason that none of us can understand. respect that.
Posted by: roman | Aug 28, 2007 6:38:37 AM