Mike Joyce Hasn't Spoken to Morrissey in 33 Years

6 hours ago7 min read2 comments

The silence between Mike Joyce and Morrissey has now stretched to a staggering thirty-three years, a duration that nearly eclipses the entire lifespan of The Smiths themselves, that brilliant, volatile comet that blazed across the 1980s indie scene before its spectacular implosion. For Joyce, the band's steadfast drummer, this isn't a simmering feud played out in the tabloids anymore; it's a long-accepted reality, a quiet understanding that he and the enigmatic frontman were, as he succinctly puts it, 'just very different people.' This simple, almost resigned statement belies a complex history that began not with the band's formation in 1982, but in the bitter court battle that followed their 1987 breakup. Joyce, alongside bassist Andy Rourke, sued Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr for a greater share of the band's profits, arguing that their original 10% agreements were unfair given their equal creative contributions.While they ultimately won, the legal victory came at the ultimate cost: the permanent severing of any personal bridge to Morrissey. To understand this schism is to understand the very essence of The Smiths—a band built on the tension between Morrissey's poetic, introverted melancholy and the rhythm section's grounded, working-class Manchester grit.Joyce, the pragmatic anchor, provided the backbeat for anthems of alienation while Morrissey crafted the lyrics that gave a voice to a generation of outsiders. Their partnership was a perfect, if unlikely, musical alchemy, but offstage, the chemistry was fatally flawed.The court case wasn't merely about money; it was a brutal, public airing of grievances that transformed artistic differences into irreconcilable personal animosity. In the decades since, Morrissey's trajectory has been one of increasing controversy and self-imposed exile, his public persona often overshadowing his musical legacy, while Joyce has remained a figure more closely tied to the band's history, occasionally performing the songs with other projects, a keeper of the flame for a kingdom from which the king has long since abdicated.This enduring silence speaks volumes about the nature of creative partnerships and the scars they can leave. It raises poignant questions about legacy and ownership: who does the music belong to once the makers have parted ways so acrimoniously? Is it possible to separate the art from the artist, or in this case, from the animosity between artists? For fans, The Smiths' catalogue remains a sacred text, but it is now forever framed by this foundational rift, a poignant reminder that the most beautiful harmonies can sometimes be born from the most profound dissonances, and that some breaks, unlike the clean, crisp snap of a drumstick, are simply never mended.

#featured

#The Smiths

#Mike Joyce

#Morrissey

#band breakup

#interview

#music history

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