Johnny Marr has spoken out after former bandmate Morrissey penned an open letter urging the guitarist to “stop mentioning my name in your interviews”.
The two musicians were previously both members of indie group The Smiths, but have not seen eye to eye since the band went their separate ways in the late 1980s.
Earlier this month, Johnny spoke about his various bandmates from years gone by, claiming he’s “close with everyone I’ve worked with – except for the obvious one”.
“And that isn’t that much of a surprise because we’re so different, me and Morrissey,” he told Uncut magazine.
He added: “Everyone I’ve worked with has been great. The only thing that turned to shit was The Smiths. Which is a shame, but shit happens.
“I hate talking about the group I formed in those terms, the group I loved. But, you know, let’s get some perspective.”
On Tuesday, Morrissey penned a lengthy message on the fansite Morrissey Central, titled “Open Letter To Johnny Marr”.
“This is not a rant or an hysterical bombast,” he wrote. “It is a polite and calmly measured request: Would you please stop mentioning my name in your interviews?
“Would you please, instead, discuss your own career, your own unstoppable solo achievements and your own music? If you can, would you please just leave me out of it?”
Morrissey continued: “The fact is: you don’t know me. You know nothing of my life, my intentions, my thoughts, my feelings. Yet you talk as if you were my personal psychiatrist with consistent and uninterrupted access to my instincts.
“We haven’t known each other for 35 years – which is many lifetimes ago. When we met you and I were not successful. We both helped each other become whatever it is we are today.
“Can you not just leave it at that? Must you persistently, year after year, decade after decade, blame me for everything… from the 2007 Solomon Islands tsunami to the dribble on your grandma’s chin?”
The following morning, Johnny addressed Morrissey in a tweet poking fun at the long message.
“An ‘open letter’ hasn’t really been a thing since 1953, It’s all ‘social media’ now. Even Donald J Trump had that one down,” he joked. “Also, this fake news business…a bit 2021 yeah?”
Elsewhere in his open letter, Morrissey claimed: “We all know that the British press will print anything you say about me as long as it’s cruel and savage. But you’ve done all that. Move on.
“It’s as if you can’t uncross your own legs without mentioning me. Our period together was many lifetimes ago, and a lot of blood has streamed under the bridge since then. There comes a time when you must take responsibility for your own actions and your own career, with which I wish you good health to enjoy. Just stop using my name as click-bait.”
Since The Smiths went their separate ways, Johnny Marr has been a member of The Pretenders, The The and the supergroup Electronic with Bernard Sumner of New Order and Neil Tennant of The pet Shop Boys.
More recently, he played guitar on Billie Eilish’s Bond theme No Time To Die, which won a Grammy in 2021.