Despite the constant, and very firm, denials by Morrissey and Johnny Marr, it does seem at least one former member of The Smiths is very much open to the idea of a reunion.
Drummer Mike Joyce took the aforementioned pair to court some years back claiming unpaid royalties, and suffered the wrath of Morrissey’s acerbic lyrical tongue in the process. However, Joyce is still dreaming of a return for the hugely influential Manchester band, and believes they would sound better than ever if they did make an unlikely comeback.
“I actually had a dream that Morrissey, Johnny, Andy and me were all in the same room and we actually agreed to do a tour,” Joyce is quoted as saying in The Sun. “Morrissey said, ‘What song shall we open with?’, and we replied in unison, ‘Hand In Glove’. That’s what the show should open with. Then I woke up laughing.”
“It would sound great. I’m a better player than I was. Morrissey’s voice is still incredible, Johnny is playing great. With the equipment and PA systems 30 years on, if we got up on stage and played, it would sound incredible. A promoter asked me, ‘Why don’t you just do it — it would make millions of people happy?’ I said, ‘You’re asking the wrong man.’”
“I don’t think about it every day. But if they asked me, I’d probably say yes. If you put everyone in the same room it’s amazing how things can turn around.”
The Smiths ended abruptly in 1987 shortly after Johnny Marr announced he was quitting the band at the height of their powers.