1987 08 01 Smiths Split NME

SMITHS TO SPLIT

THE SMITHS look likely to call it a day after the release of their next album in September, and insiders are blaming a personality clash between Morrissey and Johnny Marr - the group’s nucleus and songwriting partnership - for the split.

There’s no official word from Rough Trade, apart from a rather flippant dismissal from Mozzer, but
NME understands that relations between the two main men are so bad that they won’t even enter the same studio together.

And promoters have been instructed not to arrange any live shows, either in Europe or America, to promote the new material, it is believed.

Morrissey, when approached through his press office for a comment, said: “Whoever says The
Smiths have split shall be severely spanked by me with a wet plimsoll”.

While NME newshounds await the arrival of young Steven armed with soggy footwear, sources in both London and Manchester continue to feed us with snippets which point towards the decline of the nation’s top indie band:

• Marr has reportedly told friends in Manchester than he and Morrissey are no longer pals, and he is sick of the singer acting the self-centred star. He says the working relationship has also suffered considerably.

• Morrissey is not pleased with the company Marr is keeping, acting the guitar hero and playing on albums by Keith Richard, Bobby Womack and Bryan Ferry.

• The final straw was allegedly Marr interrupting Smiths recording sessions to fly to the States to record with Talking Heads, and using Rough Trade money to pay for the trip. Insiders say Morrissey
blew his top and declared it was the end of The Smiths, and he never wanted to work with Marr again.

In Manchester last weekend, a friend of Johnny Marr’s told an NME mole:

“I’m surprised that the press hadn't got hold of this earlier. It’s been brewing for months, Marr and Morrissey haven’t spoken to each other for three and a half months. There’s a situation where they
now see it as backing down to do so.”

As mentioned earlier, Rough Trade have said next to nothing, and EMI - who are due to release Smiths material in 1988 - are none the wiser. But what about the secondary characters in the band? In/out bass player Andy Rourke could not be contacted, but a series of calls to drummer Mike Joyce hinted that all was not well.

The phone was answered by a young woman who, discovering it was the NME on the line, said Joyce wasn’t in and wouldn’t be back for a few days.

When told we wanted to ask Joyce about the break-up of the band, she said, “He doesn’t want to comment on that. He has nothing to say”. No surprised reaction, no flat denial.

Meanwhile, The Smiths’ next single, ‘Girlfriend In A Coma’, will be released by Rough Trade on August 10. The album, ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’, follows on September 28.

The single is backed with ‘Work Is A Four Letter Word’, a cover of a Cilia Black song from the 1968 movie of the same name. The 12-inch features an extra Morrissey/Marr track, ‘I Keep Mine Hidden’. Shelagh Delaney is the sleeve cover star.

Strangeways, Here We Come’ is The Smiths’ last studio album for Rough Trade - and their last ever? - before the planned move to EMI. It was recorded in Bath, produced by Morrissey, Marr and Stephen
Street, though not necessarily all at the same time.

The full track listing reads ‘A Rush And A Push And The Land Is Ours’, ‘I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish’, ‘Death Of A Disco Dancer’, ‘Girlfriend In A Coma’, ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’, ‘Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me’, 'Unhappy Birthday’, ‘Paint A Vulgar Picture’, ‘Death At One’s Elbow’ and ‘I Won’t Share You’.

A South Bank Show on The Smiths, which could turn out to be their swansong, will be screened in the autumn.