For decades now, Morrissey and Johnny Marr haven't been able to get along long enough to make Smiths fans happy. Each has focused on their own work, and the band that stopped making records in the 1980s appeared never to make another song again.
Sadly, so far, that has remained the case. But any good news is welcome by a fanbase that would still love to see Marr and Morrissey find a way through their personal battles with one another. The small bit of good news in this case is that Marr and Morrissey have agreed on two songs for an upcoming Rough Trade release.
To be clear, these songs aren't new. Morrissey and Marr didn't end up in a recording studio together and jam. That is almost certainly never going to occur again.
The Smiths' Morrissey and Johnny Marr at least agree to help Rough Trade
Instead, for a boxset called Volume 2 that will be released via the label on October 30, 2026, the two Smiths members agreed to let "The Headmaster Ritual" be included, while also requesting that "I Want the One I Can't Have" be the B-side, according to a press release by Rough Trade.
Plus, the single packaging will include artwork overseen by Morrissey, which is a found photograph of actor Billy Halop from 1939. That the singer is so involved, with the understanding that the guitarist will participate in the creation of the boxset (and vice versa), at least means both are capable of working together without actually working together.
Each will also contribute to the liner notes, though one can safely assume with separately written words. Morrissey and Marr are not likely to collaborate on their words together and have only one united note.
Other artists who will have songs on Volume 2 include Mazzy Star, the Sundays, Jonathan Richman, the Go-Betweens, Aztec Camera, the Fall, Scritti Politti, and Robert Wyatt. Elvis Costello will contribute to the liner notes.
Rough Trade was an indie music label founded by Geoff Travis in London in 1976. In the late 1980s, the label began having money problems and, in essence, ceased to exist. Travis re-started the label in the late 1990s, however.
The Smiths released all four of their studio albums through Rough Trade in the UK, while the American distribution was handled by Sire Records. Warner Music Group later bought the band's catalog.
As for Morrissey and Johnny Marr, their list of grievances with one another is extremely lengthy. Even a potential tour this decade was agreed to by Morrissey but declined by Marr. Each does do Smiths songs in concert, and they share the ownership of the songs, but the shame is they can't set their issue aside to create more music magic.
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