Morrissey recently revealed that Johnny Marr had ignored a major offer from AEG Entertainment Group to reunite The Smiths for a tour in 2025. Morrissey claimed he was on board with the offer, but Marr declined, leading to frustration among fans hoping for the reunion, especially following news of Oasis reuniting. Morrissey also mentioned that Marr blocked a “Greatest Hits” album and a reissue of their debut single “Hand In Glove.”
Gene Simmons shared his thoughts on the situation in an interview with Forbes. He suggested that Morrissey should just replace Johnny Marr, arguing that most fans only care about hearing The Smiths’ songs, not necessarily who plays the guitar. Simmons emphasized that turning down such a large sum of money—hypothetically around $100 million—was unwise unless someone had another way of earning that kind of money.
“Get rid of the guitar player and get somebody else. Nobody cares. They just want to hear the songs. I keep saying this over and over again. If you go down the street, and with all due respect to Johnny Marr, you go down the street and ask the general person, “Who’s Johnny Marr?” they won’t know who you’re talking about.
“[Hypothetically], saying no to $100 million dollars would be lunacy. What other job would pay you that!? Unless you’re willing to break your back and play football or something…”
When asked about Morrissey’s ongoing struggles with his record label, Simmons showed sympathy, noting that every artist has the right to express their views. He agreed with Morrissey’s stance against “wokeism,” criticizing how it sometimes forces others to conform to particular beliefs.
However, Simmons also pointed out that record companies are businesses and that artists need to navigate the industry’s complexities. He concluded by saying that Morrissey would be fine despite his challenges, given his success and ability to provide for himself.
“Morrissey and I have exchanged pleasantries. He’s a great artist, terrific. It’s funny to look at a gift horse in the mouth. We’re all alive, and every artist and every human being has a right to express their opinion. ‘Here’s my opinion on that. I think you should be angry’—or not. And that’s his opinion.
“I happen to agree with it. By the way. ‘Wokeism’ intentionally means well, but there’s a lot of garbage and bullshit involved with it and basically browbeating anybody who doesn’t agree with you, you know, like a baker who doesn’t want to make a cake because religiously he doesn’t agree with your lifestyle. At what point do your individual rights stop and you have to bow down to somebody else’s thing? Democracy is a messy thing.
“I say more power to [Morrissey] for speaking up. And by the way, if you want to take advantage of capitalism, which is to have a record company give you money, you can’t blame him.
“Record companies are a business. They’re not here for a social tool. And when you go through a jungle, you’ve got to figure out where you want to go. Life isn’t easy and then you die. That’s all.
“He’ll be OK,” he added. “His rent is covered and he’s got food in his belly. He’ll figure it out.”
