Morrissey claims Johnny Marr now owns all The Smiths trademarks
According to a post on Morrissey’s website, The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has successfully applied for the trademark and intellectual property rights to the band.
For optimistic fans of Manchester-based rock bands, news that Marr now owns all the trademarks associated with the iconic 80s band could spell out the possibility of their return to the stage.
After all, if the Gallagher brothers can bridge their differences to make millions on an Oasis reunion, why shouldn’t The Smiths do similarly?
Unfortunately for fans of the band, it’s more likely to be a moment where the differences between lead singer Morrisey and his ex-bandmates is entrenched further.
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Morrissey continues in his post that Marr’s actions were “done without any consultation to Morrissey” and didn’t allow the singer to raise any objection. Morrissey claims that “this means that Marr can now tour as The Smiths using the vocalist of his choice, and it also prohibits Morrissey from using the name whilst also denying Morrissey considerable financial livelihood.”
Finally, the post says that “Morrissey alone created the musical unit name '’The Smiths’ in May 1982.
It’s unclear whether this post was written on behalf of Morrissey or if Morrissey writes about himself in the third person. As the man who insisted his autobiography was published by the ‘Classics’ division at Penguin, it’s easy to believe the latter.
A quick search of the UK Intellectual Property Office’s registry does show that a “The Smiths” trademark is owned by the company NV Official for which Marr and his wife Angie are the sole directors.
Last week, Morrissey claimed that Marr blocked him from releasing ‘Smiths Rule OK!’, a greatest hits album, planned for release on the 40th anniversary of their first album this year.
Discussing the Oasis reunion, Morrissey also has said that in June, AEG Entertainment Group “made a lucrative offer” to both him and Marr to tour worldwide as The Smiths in 2025. Marr apparently ignored the offer.
Between 1982 and 1987, The Smiths established themselves as one of the defining alternative rock bands of the era through four albums and singles such as ‘This Charming Man’, ‘How Soon is Now’ and ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’.
After the band broke up in 1987, both Morrissey and Marr worked on solo projects. Morrissey has released 13 studio albums since 1988, while Marr has written four solo albums, as well as multiple albums with bands including The The, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs.
While The Smiths were a largely left-leaning political band during their heyday, Morrissey has divided fans in the years since the band broke up with comments praising Nigel Farage, the Reform MP who is largely credited with stoking the anti-immigrant sentiment that contributed to the Brexit vote.
Morrissey has also spoken up for far-right anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson, stating concerns over “free speech”, and has defended Harvey Weinstein over the numerous allegations of sexual assault.
On free speech, the 65-year-old singer recently claimed his 14th album was “gagged” by Capitol records for its title track ‘Bonfire of Teenagers’. The song is about the 2017 terrorist attack on an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, including 10 people under 20 years old.
Morrissey has performed the song since 2022 and has claimed he’s bought the album back off of Capitol and that “every major label in London has refused” to release it. This comes after he was dropped by his previous label BMG in 2020 after releasing ‘I Am Not a Dog on a Chain’.
