After an X user shared a video showing The Smiths’ ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ at a Donald Trump rally in South Dakota in 2023, Johnny Marr mentioned his plans to prevent his presidential campaign from using the band’s music at these events.
As the user reported recently hearing The Smiths songs at a few Trump rallies, he wrote:
“Ahh… right… OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this s**t shut right down right now.”
The Smiths Guitarist Is Against Right-Wing Politics
Marr co-wrote ‘Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want’ with Morrissey in 1984. While Morrissey had openly supported the far-right political party For Britain and Brexit before, his bandmate disagreed with allowing right-wing politicians to publicly use the band’s songs in the past.
When UK Prime Minister David Cameron mentioned liking The Smiths’ ‘This Charming Man’ on BBC’s Desert Island Discs, the guitarist tweeted:
“Stop saying that you like The Smiths; no, you don’t. I forbid you to like it.”
He later explained in his memoir:
“Anyone who was a fan would know we were against everything he and the Conservative party stood for.”
Other Artists Also Tried Stopping Trump
Stopping Trump from using The Smiths’ songs might not be easy, though, as novelist John Niven pointed out that other artists have faced challenges in similar situations under Marr’s post:
“Good luck. The [Rolling] Stones, Neil Young, Tom Petty have all been trying to get Trump to stop using their music for years.”
Neil Young himself once admitted to lacking the legal standing to stop the former president from using ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’ and wrote an open letter to him instead, criticizing his policies.
Meanwhile, in 2020, Phil Collins sent a cease-and-desist order after his song ‘Feel It In The Air Tonight’ was played at a Trump rally in Iowa. That same year, Tom Petty’s estate also objected to the presidential candidate’s use of ‘I Won’t Back Down’ in his campaign.
Adele, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen, Elton John, Queen, Pharrell Williams, and the estates of Prince and David Bowie are among the other names sharing disapproval of Donald Trump’s use of their music at public events.
Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now. https://t.co/M6eYROedOy
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) January 23, 2024
https://twitter.com/estellecostanza/status/1749891963891937289
