Morrissey and Johnny Marr haven’t seen eye to eye on a whole range of issues – from politics to the management of The Smiths’ legacy – these past few years. But now the erstwhile creative partners have worked together on a new archive release.
It’s a box set of their old label’s singles entitled Rough Trade 45s: Volume 2 and as well as tracks from The Fall, Aztec Camera, Scritti Politti, The Sundays and Robert Wyatt, it has a contribution from The Smiths.
And it’s one for completists. The Headmaster Ritual was never released as a single in the UK, though it did come out in the Netherlands. On the B-side is another track from the band’s 1985 album Meat Is Murder: I Want The One I Can’t Have.
Both lead Smiths agreed upon the track, and Morrissey has overseen the single’s artwork, which continues the group’s tradition of featuring iconic individuals from the 1950s and 60s. In this case, the cover star is the American actor Billy Halop.
In addition to this, Morrissey and Marr have both contributed sleeve notes to the boxset, along with the likes of Green Gartside, Stewart Lee, Elvis Costello and Jonathan Richman.
Rough Trade released all of The Smiths' records during their five-year lifetime. The organisation celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, and last month was the subject of a weekend of events at London’s South Bank Centre that featured Pulp, Scritti Politti and one of the label’s newer signings, Caroline.
The fact that Morrissey and Marr have contributed to the new box set is remarkable, not least given the hostility that seems to have existed between the two men these past few years, especially from Morrissey's side. Back in June, the singer posted on his Morrissey Central website that Marr had “intentionally divided the Smiths audience into Marr or Morrissey factions... He has devoted his entire life to killing Morrissey in whatever way available.”
As yet, Johnny Marr has made no public statement about those comments. The guitarist has a new solo album, entitled The Age Of Everything, coming out in October.
