More about: Morrissey

Morrissey has hit back at former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce who claims in he is in severe finiancial difficulty due the on going royalties feud.

Joyce said in a BBC 6 radio interview that he would have to sell most of his rare Smiths memorabilia on Ebay because he needs the money and added that he was forced to sell all of his old Smiths records in the early 90’s for the same reason.

Morrissey has now released a statement through fan site true-to-you.net attempting to clarify the situation on how much royalties Joyce was actually paid.

After detailing the royalty payments Morrissey says: “The point I wish to make is this: Joyce is not poor, unless, living as he does in the Cheshire green-belt, he lives beyond his means. Somehow, he appears to believe that he should have equal financial status to both myself and to Johnny Marr, even though Joyce has done dramatically less than Johnny and I to attain the positions we now have.”

He added: “Joyce is not poor because of one reason - me. His career now is the fictitious position of an unpaid ex-member of the Smiths. He has also pursued all of his claims on Legal Aid.”

“I have fought the Joyce action as much as I could over the years, but the simple truth is that, under British law, the word of a judge will not be overturned. In the absence of any evidence from the 1980s, the judge in this case relied upon the Partnership Act of 1890 to help Joyce win his claim. Joyce has exploited the judge's final verdict in order to get as much as he can from me, from Johnny Marr, and also from Andy Rourke.”

“Finally, Joyce does not have the legal right to sell unreleased Smiths material - it belongs to Warner Music. Joyce did not pay for the recording time under which any demo material was recorded. Furthermore, Joyce cannot sell any unreleased work by Johnny Marr or Andy Rourke without, at very least, their permission.”

You can read the full statement from Morrissey here. Gigwise doubts this will be the last we hear of this feud.

Grab your copy of the Gigwise print magazine here.

More about: Morrissey