THE Smiths recently turned down $5 million (€4.2 million) to play just one show at a music festival in California. The reason is all to do with the curious case of the band's back catalogue. If you purchase a copy of Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead or any other Smiths album, the royalty payments would go to one and only one person. Not Morrissey. Not Marr. They all go to drummer Mike Joyce, writes Brian Boyd
The story behind this bizarre set-up explains why The Smiths will not be playing together this year. Or any other year.
When The Smiths signed to Rough Trade in the early 1980s, legally they were only Morrissey/Marr. Only Morrissey and Marr received songwriting royalties. The recording and performance royalties were split 40 per cent Morrissey, 40 per cent Marr and 10 per cent each for Joyce and bass player Andy Rourke.
A few years after the band's split in 1987, and cognisant of how well the albums were still selling in the 1990s, Joyce and Rourke took Morrissey and Marr to court, arguing that they were entitled to 25 per cent each of recording and performance royalties. To cut a long story short, Rourke settled out of court for a lump sum and is still on 10 per cent of royalties.
At the end of the infamous court case, during which the judge described Morrissey as "devious, truculent and unreliable", Mozzer and Marr were ordered to pay Joyce more than £1 million in back royalties and to put him on 25 per cent of royalties for all future payments. Morrissey (but not Marr) unsuccessfully appealed the decision. It remains a very, very generous settlement for a drummer who didn't contribute to any of the songwriting.
At the same time as the court case, Morrissey was recording his Maladjusted album, which has a song called Sorrow Will Come in the End: The song was, and remains, deleted from all UK and Irish pressings of the album, for obvious reasons once you hear the lyrics: "You pleaded and squealed/And you think you've won/But sorrow will come to you in the end. Don't close your eyes/A man who slits throats has time on his hands/And I'm going to get you".
While Marr paid up, Morrissey went off to live in Los Angeles. As a result of his absence from the jurisdiction, Joyce secured a default judgment on the payment.
One has to be careful here, but Morrissey has gone on the record alleging that Joyce took out third party orders against Morrissey's personal bank account in the UK. Morrissey also alleges that, as a result of the default judgment, Andy Rourke has been deprived of his 10 per cent Smiths royalties. This is why Joyce receives all the recording royalties off Smiths albums and will do so until the amount, plus interest, he is owed is paid off.
Remembering that Rourke once also sued Morrissey/Marr, the state of play of interpersonal relations within the band is as follows: Rourke is allegedly furious at Joyce's actions. Rourke appeared on stage with Johnny Marr in Manchester two months ago to run through How Soon Is Now at a charity gig. Morrissey and Marr are in touch and everything seems amicable.
Morrissey's stated position is that because of Joyce's actions, there will never be a Smiths reunion. Not ever. Commenting on the recent offer, he said: "The Smiths were a beautiful thing but Mike has destroyed it". The Smiths are dead.
bboyd@irish-times.ie
