The Smiths Reunion “Impossible” Says Mike Joyce
Mike Joyce has spoken to NME about the crowdfunder to create a permanent mural to his former Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke, the chances of a Smiths reunion and his early memories of the band.
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Anybody who donates £10 or more to the crowdfunder, which will also benefit the Pancreatic Cancer Charity, will be entered into a prize draw to win one of four Smiths albums signed by Joyce – either The Smiths, Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead or Strangeways Here We Come.
Talking about the mural, Joyce told NME, “When Andy passed, it was a very private affair. Me and my wife, Tina, thought it’d be a great idea to honour Andy publicly. A gig felt too transient: everyone would say how much they loved Andy, get drunk and that’d be it.
“A mural is obviously more longstanding. There are some great ones in Manchester, of Ian Curtis, Pete Shelley, David Bowie. People can pay their respects and look at some fantastic art.”
Joyce went on to discuss persistent rumours of a Smiths reunion and the recent controversy between Morrissey and Johnny Marr. “Other people will have other ideas but, as far as I’m concerned, with Andy not being here, it’s impossible to have a reunion of The Smiths,” he said. “But Morrissey and Marr together? Obviously I read those back-and-forth statements and I’m surprised they didn’t get that together earlier – that they’d have done something 10 or 15 years ago, whenever. The ownership of The Smiths’ name, going out as The Smiths with a different rhythm section? So be it.”
The drummer also spoke about the early days of the band and realising how special they were, “I’d been in a few bands before, and this was unreal. When I’d go to Johnny’s house, he’d play me a new riff he’d just written and it’d sound like two or three guitarists at once. The rhythm he was playing with his right hand would sound great, then the picking part with his left hand would be the main motif, like a call-and-response. I’d think: ‘What are you doing? That’s witchcraft!’
“Every time, it’d sound like nothing I’d ever heard before. It was hard to put into words how moved and how astounded I was to watch Johnny doing these things, because it just became the norm. When it becomes the norm, you can’t say: ‘That’s the most incredible thing you’ve ever written’, because half-an-hour later he’d have written something else just as good or even better. Let’s just say, ‘This boy is good’.”