Morrissey on why he wanted The Smiths reunion tour: “It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Johnny Marr. I have absolutely none”

nme.com:

Morrissey has explained why he wanted The Smiths to reunite for a live tour, claiming that it wasn’t to do with “any emotional attachment” he has to his former bandmate Johnny Marr.Over the summer, the former frontman of the iconic Manchester group said he had agreed to a “lucrative” 2025 Smiths tour – but alleged that Marr “ignored” the offer.Later, a representative from the guitarist’s management team called Morrissey’s comment “incorrect” in a statement on X/Twitter. “I didn’t ignore the offer – I said no,” Marr wrote in his own message.During a new rare interview with Medium, Morrissey was asked if he was “really keen on sharing a stage” with Marr again, given the pair’s ongoing feud.“I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible,” he told the online outlet.“We’ve all begun to grow old.

I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime.

It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”When asked how he viewed Marr today, Morrissey replied: “He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s.pic.twitter.com/78kD509vqZ— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) September 17, 2024“But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion.”Morrissey continued: “He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles.