Ever since The Smiths ended their five-year career in 1987, speculation has been rife as to whether the group would ever reunite.

Highly regarded as one of the finest English bands of the ’80s, and one of the most critically-acclaimed indie bands ever, The Smiths’ legacy is as enduring as their career was brief. However, desire for history to repeat has been strong, and in the ensuring decades countless reports of rumored and potential reunions have bubbled to the surface.

Famously, vocalist Morrissey said he would rather break his vow of vegetarianism and “eat [his] own testicles than reform The Smiths”, and the short-lived VH1 show Bands Reunited even tried in vain to reunite the group.

Reports of multi-million dollar offers also emerged, while guitarist Johnny Marr and bassist Andy Rourke would perform together on occasion, effectively giving fans the closest they could ever get to a fabled reunion. However, Rourke’s passing in 2023 seemed to shut the door on any prospect of such reformation ever taking the place.

In August, Morrissey posted a note claiming that AEG Entertainment made a “lucrative offer” to both Morrissey and Marr to reunite for a Smiths world tour in 2025, to which he claimed he said yes while Marr “ignored the offer.” Marr later refuted to Morrissey’s version of events; “I didn’t ignore the offer,” he explained. “I said no.”

Now a rare interview with Morrissey, the singer has addressed the recent happenings within the band, specifically touching on why he had reportedly experienced such a change of heart and expressed a desire to again perform with Marr once more.

“I agreed because it felt like the last time such a thing would be possible. We’ve all begun to grow old,” he explained. I thought the tour that was offered would be a good way of saying thank you for those who have listened for what suddenly feels like a lifetime.

“It wasn’t because I had any emotional attachment to Marr. I have absolutely none.”

The two musicians have famously been at loggerheads for years, and recent months have also seen claims from Morrissey that Marr had not only blocked another greatest-hits album from The Smiths, but that he had also acquired the rights to the band’s name. This last point was of particular note, given that Morrissey claimed Marr could therefore replace the vocalist with another singer should he desire.

“He seems to me to be just as insecure and fearful as he was during the 1980s,” Morrissey said of Marr in his recent interview. “But he gains more press adoration by pretending to be the Smiths gatekeeper and custodian in isolation, and as long as he is sitting in a corner complaining about me he has a pedestal which would disappear in the event of a reunion.

“He claims to find me completely indigestible, but whenever he walks onto a stage he sings my lyrics, my vocal melodies and my song titles,” he added. “Is this hypocrisy or self-deception? He has forced people to choose between Morrissey and Marr, and I’ve had just about enough of his bitchslap comments. I’ve quietly put up with them for over thirty years.”

Elsewhere in his conversation, Morrissey also turned his attention once more to the apparent “war on free speech” that has left him unable to release his Bonfire of Teenagers record. “To be cancelled is the modern version of lynching, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Bonfire of Teenagers is the modern version of [The Smiths’ 1986 album] The Queen is Dead, but the fact that no label will release it is an indication of how childlike and frightened the music industry has become,” he later added.