Johnny Marr on The Smiths' Breakup: Paul McCartney's "That's Bands" Became His Go-To Answer

In July 1987, Johnny Marr left The Smiths. Guitar duties briefly passed to former Easterhouse member Ivor Perry, but Perry didn't click with Morrissey, and by the time the Manchester legends' fourth and final album, "Strangeways, Here We Come," came out that September, the band was already effectively over.

In a recent MOJO interview, Marr looked back on that chaotic period and brought up an unexpected key figure: Paul McCartney.

Marr said he spent "a long, incredible day" with Paul and Linda McCartney. Linda was warm and kept asking about his life; when it was McCartney's turn, Marr laid out the whole story of the band's breakup. "I looked at him, waiting for a response, and all he said was: 'That's bands.'" Marr called it "a brilliant answer" — one he's pulled out ever since whenever people come to him for life advice. Sometimes, things just don't need overthinking.

That meeting was more than just a chat. In a 2012 interview with The Auto Jubilator, Marr shared details: the two never formally hit a recording studio, but spent a full eight or nine hours "just playing and playing, hard and loud." He described McCartney as "a great bass player, a great singer" — this was the first thing he did after The Smiths broke up, and "it was a happy time." The two crossed paths occasionally after that, but never played together again. "He was always very friendly, very gracious."

For Marr, that "that's bands" line ended up shaping his career choices in a way. He admitted he wasn't in a rush to form another band after the split, and was happy instead to work as a supporting guitarist for various artists: Matt Johnson of The The has been a close friend for years, and he cherished collaborations with New Order's Bernard Sumner, the Pretenders' Chrissie Hynde, and later recording sessions with Bryan Ferry. "If you wrote all that down as a résumé, it'd look like I was just drifting from gig to gig, but I knew a good job when I had one. Some things don't need overthinking."

This memory resurfaced just as The Smiths made fresh news. Earlier this month, Rough Trade announced "Rough Trade 45s: Volume 2," a vinyl box set featuring newly pressed classic singles from label acts including The Fall, Aztec Camera, Mazzy Star, Scritti Politti, and Robert Wyatt, limited to 1,000 copies and set for release on October 30. Among them is a Smiths single hand-picked by Morrissey and Marr themselves: "The Headmaster Ritual" on the A-side and "I Want The One I Can't Have" on the B-side. Both tracks originally appeared on the 1985 album "Meat Is Murder" but were never released as a single through Rough Trade — this marks their debut as a proper single.