Johnny Marr released his new album Call The Comet last month and has been doing press in support of the record. During a recent interview with Mojo magazine, Marr was asked to comment on the Classically Smiths concerts that were originally being staged by former members of The Smiths. Marr pulled no punches -- he called out Mike Joyce, Andy Rourke, and Craig Gannon, and slammed the production as a money grab:
“What a farce. That was so obviously about money. The legacy was being plundered. I wasn’t consulted and that tells you all you need to know.”
“It felt like being burgled by someone you used to know. It’s a good job those guys weren’t running the band when we were actually together, else we would never have been able to get one concert together.”
The Classically Smiths production was going to feature Joyce, Rourke, and Gannon playing iconic Smiths classics, backed by the Manchester Camerata Orchestra this summer in the U.K., however the production imploded only days after its announcement in January. They began teasing the event on January 19th, officially announced the Classically Smiths gigs January 22nd, and called it all off January 23rd.
Published July 9th, 2018