{"id":536714,"date":"2026-04-17T22:30:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T22:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/536714\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T22:30:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T22:30:13","slug":"five-solo-morrissey-songs-that-could-be-on-smiths-albums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/536714\/","title":{"rendered":"Five solo Morrissey songs that could be on Smiths albums"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Five<\/p>\n

(Credits: Far Out \/ Sire Records \/ Morrissey)<\/p>\n

Fri 17 April 2026 16:30, UK <\/p>\n

Not even the most devout Morrissey<\/a> apologist could argue that their man, misunderstood though he may be, doesn\u2019t perpetually have a shed full of axes to grind. <\/p>\n

Just the past week, the former Smiths frontman has taken to social media twice to yet again rebuke his nemesis, Johnny Marr, the guitarist he last shared a stage with 40 years ago, first claiming that Marr and the editors at The Guardian were trying to retcon him out of the Smiths\u2019 origin story, and then he provided a quick, semi-related anecdote about the beloved Salford Lads Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor those who care about detail, being photographed outside of Salford Lads Club was not a Smiths idea or design, it was solely my idea,\u201d Morrissey wrote, referring to the iconic 1985 photo of the band taken in front of the entrance of the local landmark, adding, \u201c\u2026Now that millions of people come from all over the world to be photographed on that very spot, it is claimed as a Smiths idea. It wasn\u2019t, it isn\u2019t, and it never shall be. If I had suggested a photo outside Kellogg\u2019s [cereal factory], the likelihood is that the other three would have done that instead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Morrissey is nearly 67 years old and has had various health problems in recent years, likely elevating his concerns and preoccupation with his own legacy, which led him to publish a memoir in 2013 that theoretically would have eased some of that stress, allowing him to set the record straight and communicate his version of the events of his career, both with the Smiths and afterwards, but little has changed in the years since. <\/p>\n

More recently, the surprising news that he was still open to a lucrative Smiths reunion tour, and that Marr had axed an invitation to do so in 2025, seems to have kicked off another chapter in this depressing, endless feud, and while the media and the record industry might be the foes that Morrissey still despises the most, but Marr and the Smiths<\/a> tap into a far deeper, more personal vein. <\/p>\n

The music that the band made together during its relatively brief existence is still almost universally hailed as unimpeachably great work that is clever, innovative, influential, and timeless. Morrissey\u2019s solo albums, by contrast, have famously been met with wildly inconsistent responses, as the singer\u2019s battles with the press, especially in the UK, have unquestionably affected the way his music has been assessed and written about.<\/p>\n

For Smiths fans who couldn\u2019t quite square themselves with Morrissey\u2019s evolution into a right-leaning rockabilly gangster in the \u201890s, it became easier to simply sever all ties and pretend that Marr had been the sole source of magic all along. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>(Credits: Far Out \/ Paul Cox \/ Sire Records)<\/p>\n

Fans in North America, however, being less aware of all the tabloid kerfuffle in the UK, often had an easier time appreciating Morrissey\u2019s solo records for what they were: consistently enjoyable indie rock albums with loads of good riffy guitar tunes and a lot of the same dark comedic storytelling and soul-crushing self-analysis that had made The Smiths a life-changing band. <\/p>\n

If we\u2019re going to point out how Moz is always falling out with record labels or feuding with the surviving members of The Smiths, it should at least be noted, in fairness, that his relationship with his primary post-Smiths collaborators, namely guitarists Boz Boorer and Alain Whyte, has carried on for over 30 years with nary a whisper of animosity reported among them. Boorer and Whyte, perhaps by no coincidence, keep remarkably low profiles, and when they do give interviews, their commentary on Morrissey rarely veers beyond simple professional pleasantries. <\/p>\n

Ironically, if Boorer and Whyte had ever had a giant public falling out with Morrissey at some point, the world would probably be a lot more aware of who they are and how big a contribution they\u2019ve made to his solo output from 1992\u2019s Your Arsenal<\/a> onwards, both as musicians and songwriters. Instead, the pair have remained consistently overlooked and underappreciated, usually only mentioned in unfavourable comparisons to Marr. The fact that Morrissey\u2019s \u201890s work had a distinctive sound and attitude, wholly separate from The Smiths but still well suited to his voice, is a major credit to these men.<\/p>\n

Of course, especially in those early solo years, there were the occasional Morrissey tracks that sounded a bit more inspired by the proven formulas of The Smiths days, where, in some cases, the adaptation came off pretty seamlessly, and in others, it was hard not to imagine Marr, Andy Rourke, and Mike Joyce getting their own crack at crafting the song.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a closer look at five Morrissey solo songs that would have sounded right at home on a lost Smiths album, assuming everyone could have co-existed long enough to record it.<\/p>\n

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