Johnny Marr Turned It Down, Morrissey Claims

After Oasis announced their reunion earlier this week, a fan asked Johnny Marr if it might compel him to take similar action with The Smiths. Marr was quick to dismiss the idea.

As it turns out — at least if you believe Marr’s estranged Smiths bandmate, Morrissey — there was an offer on the table to reunite The Smiths in 2025, which Morrissey accepted. However, according to Morrissey, Marr “ignored the offer.”

In a brief statement posted to his website, Morrissey claimed that AEG Entertainment Group (the behemoth music promoter behind Coachella) “made a lucrative offer to both Morrissey and Marr to tour worldwide as ‘The Smiths’ throughout 2025.”

With Marr having declined the opportunity, Morrissey says he’ll instead be undertaking “a largely sold out tour of the USA in November.” Taking a pot shot at his former band, Morrisssey added that “Marr continues to tour as a special guest to New Order.”

Marr previously said that his differences with Morrissey — especially over their politics — have made the possibility of a Smiths reunion unlikely. “Morrissey’s recent [far-right] political views have cast a shadow over the Smiths for me – reaching back into the past and tainting something that was very important to me,” Marr said in a 2022 interview. “I’m so disappointed in him. Has it impacted how you feel about The Smiths or are you able to separate the past from the present, the band from the man? I find it very difficult to do so.”

Further to that point, when dismissing a Smiths reunion earlier this week, Marr responded to a fan with a photo of right-wing UK Parliament member Nigel Farage, who Morrissey previously suggested would be a good candidate for Prime Minister.

Additionally, The Smith’s original bassist, Andy Rourke, passed away in 2023 following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Even if Marr could get past Morrissey’s politics, it’s hard to envision him wanting to tour as The Smiths sans Rourke.