Morrissey announced in a blog post on his website titled “A Soul for Sale” that he was seeking bids for his interest in The Smiths. He said he had “no choice but to offer for sale all of his business interests in “The Smiths”.
The Smiths Interests for Sale Include Morrissey’s Stake in the Name, Recordings and Merchandising
The post continued by saying that he was offering for sale his “full and exclusive rights” to the following:
1. The name ‘The Smiths’, as created by Morrissey.
2. All Smiths artwork, as created by Morrissey.
3. All Smiths merchandising rights.
4. All Smiths songs lyrically / musically.
5. All synchronisation rights.
6. All Smiths recordings.
7. All contractual rights for Smiths publishing.
Johnny Marr Turned Down a Potential The Smiths Reunion Tour Last and Heaven Knows Morrissey is Miserable Now
Morrissey: “I am burnt out by any and all connections to Marr, Rourke, Joyce. I have had enough of malicious associations. With my entire life I have paid my rightful dues to these songs and these images. I would now like to live disassociated from those who wish me nothing but ill-will and destruction, and this is the only resolution. The songs are me – they are no one else – but they bring with them business communications that go to excessive lengths to create as much dread and spite year after year. I must now protect myself, especially my health.”
It was recently reported that guitarist and founding member of The Smiths, Johnny Marr, turned down an “eye watering” amount of money for reunion tour by The Smiths which frustrated Morrissey who had agreed to the tour.
“How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel” – Morrissey Has Been Battling Record Companies the Past Several Years
Morrissey recently cancelled shows in Scandanavia citing “a lack of support from the music industry.” Morrissey’s album, Bonfire of Teenagers was supposed to be released in 2023 by Capitol Records until Morrissey came out and said that he had “voluntarily withdrawn from any association with Capitol Records” and blamed them for not sabotaging the album. Morrissey has played several of the tracks from the album during his 2024 and 2025 tours including “I am Veronica”, “Rebels Without Applause”, and “I Ex-Love You” among others. I saw Morrissey perform several of these songs on his tour stop in Dallas and they were some of his best songs in recent memory.
Prior to his brief association with Capitol Records, Morrissey was dropped by BMG in 2020 after his album I am Not a Dog on a Chain. It has been reported that Morrissey has recorded another album in 2023 that he appealed to record companies or investors to release titled Without Music The World Dies.
I Ex-Love You – I Have a Bit of a Love and Hate Relationship With Morrissey
The Smiths are one of my favorite bands of all time and I also enjoy a lot of Morrissey’s solo work especially on his earlier albums (but also really enjoyed the songs from his unreleased Bonfire of Teenagers).
But frankly, I have had some experiences trying to see him in concert that have frustrated me over the years. I first saw Morrissey as a student at UCLA in 1991 (November 2, 1991), days before my 21st birthday. It was the first concert at Pauley Pavillion in a decade. After several songs, Morrissey invited the crowd to “get up out of your seats” and “come down here” which caused a surge of people rushing towards the stage and onto the stage causing the remainder of the concert to be cancelled which then resulted in a mini-riot with merchandise booths being ransacked.
I bought tickets twice more for Morrissey shows that were subsequently cancelled. Finally, almost 33 years to the day, I finally saw a full Morrissey concert (except for stage invaders that cut the encore short) in Dallas last year.
Check Out My Morrissey Playlist
The playlist includes my favorite Morrissey songs and includes some live videos of songs from his unreleased album Bonfire of Teenagers. I have named my playlist “2 Shows + 2 Cancellations = 1 Full Morrissey Show“. There is also a Spotify playlist version below without the new songs which are from concert videos.
So, I guess if anybody wants to pool some money to buy Morrissey’s interest in The Smiths and give him the money needed to release his albums, I’m in for a few bucks!
