Audio
Johnny Marr slams Donald Trump for playing The Smiths at a recent political rally
No, it wasn't 'Bigmouth Strikes Again'.
Danny Jones -
24th January 2024 
Legendary Manc musician Johnny Marr has gone viral on social media after he came out to condemn a recent Donald Trump rally after they chose to play The Smiths.
Nope, not having that — and neither is Johnny.
The Smiths guitarist and rock and roll icon was made aware of Trump’s campaign team using the band’s music after ABC political reporter Soorin Kimshar shared a video of the classic track, ‘Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want’, being played at a rally in Rapid City, South Dakota in September 2023.
Having replied to a post detailing that “the new addition to [Trump’s] pre-rally music is The Smiths” before he took the stage in Laconia, New Hampshire on Tuesday, 23 January, it turns out that Trump and his team have been using their music at political rallies for a while now.
Probably up there with one of the very last places on Earth you want to hear the art of Marr’s guitar lines, Morrissey‘s vocals, Andy Rourke’s bass and Mike Joyce’s drumming, the 60-year-old didn’t waste any time in flagging it.
Starting off by simply writing, “Ahh…right…OK.”, Marr went on to say: “I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this sh*t shut right down right now.
It remains unclear how the Ardwick-born songwriter is going about preventing Trump and co. from using The Smiths’ music in the future, he is by no means the only artist to have found himself in a similar situation, with Adele, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen and even The Beatles doing similarly protesting.
Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones went so far as to issue the former President with cease and desists in an effort to have their music pulled — Marr could do the same — but in the case of Prince, for instance, Trump has reportedly continued to use his tracks on occasion despite the demands of his estate.
Read more:
- Noel Gallagher is recording an acoustic album ‘for the fans’ this year
- 12-year-old busker wins Salford Foundation Trust’s Johnny Marr Award
- The Magic Gang confirm split and final trio of gigs, including one in Manchester
We can always trust social media to come up with witty responses, even if they did take up all The Smiths puns; ‘hang the DJ’ came to mind immediately but sadly I always ‘Want the One I Can’t Have’…
Although Morrisey continues to be a divisive figure, even managing to ruffle feathers when people were paying tribute to the late Sinéad O’Connor, Marr has remained equally outspoken against right-wing politicians, even telling David Cameron he was ‘forbidden’ to like The Smiths.
Safe to say we’re happy to limit playing the The Smiths in headphones, pubs and car radios in future.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Man Alive! (via Flickr)/Michael Candelori (via Flickr)
