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Morrissey claims Johnny Marr blocked new Smiths greatest hits album


Former Smiths frontman claims Warner Music proposed reissue programme including best-of called Smiths Rule OK!, but Marr rejected proposed artwork

It’s the latest claim from Morrissey regarding divisions between him and Marr, who formed the Smiths in 1982 with bass player Andy Rourke ( who died in 2023) and drummer Mike Joyce. They became the defining British indie band of the decade, with Marr’s distinctively jangling guitar, Morrissey’s variously waspish and romantic lyrics, and Rourke and Joyce’s dynamic rhythm section ensuring their catalogue remains hugely popular today – the band have 17 million monthly listeners on Spotify. He voluntarily left the label before the release, saying on his website that while he didn’t initially think Capitol signed him “in order to sabotage [Bonfire of Teenagers], he is quickly coming around to that belief”.

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