In a new interview with Forbes, Gene Simmons asked Morrissey to reunite The Smiths without Johnny Marr.
“Get rid of the guitar player and get somebody else. Nobody cares. They just want to hear the songs. I keep saying this over and over again,” the bassist shared his thoughts on a possible Smiths reunion.
He added, “If you go down the street, and with all due respect to Johnny Marr, you go down the street and ask the general person, ‘Who’s Johnny Marr?’ they won’t know who you’re talking about.[Hypothetically], saying no to $100 million dollars would be lunacy.”
Last month, Morrissey said he agreed to a big-money offer for a Smiths reunion tour next year, but Marr ignored it. “In June 2024 AEG Entertainment Group made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as ‘The Smiths’ throughout 2025,” the singer said in a statement on his website.
The vocalist continued, “Morrissey said yes to the offer; Marr ignored the offer. Morrissey undertakes a largely sold out tour of the USA in November. Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order.”
Before this statement, Morrissey shared a post on Instagram and wrote, “I am well aware of The Smiths’ rise in recent years, and their affirmed position in our cultural heritage. It proves how taking risks can work beautifully … and if you don’t take risks when you make music then what the hell are you doing making music?”
“I am incredibly grateful to anyone who walked out to buy, or who stayed in to download, Smiths’ music. The musicians are considered to be those who make the change, but the consumer plays an equal part by having faith,” he further shared.
Morrissey lastly added, “We’re all in this together. It was always about a refusal to surrender to enemy propaganda – something I still face today just as much as I faced it in 1983, 84, 85, 86, and 87. The Smiths do not end.”
After Morrissey’s post, Marr responded to fans asking for a Smiths reunion by posting a photo of Nigel Farage holding a drink. This came after Oasis announced their reunion tour.
