Morrissey is selling The Smiths merchandise with his name on it instead of the band's

Morrissey has released new merchandise based on the iconic artwork of two classic The Smiths albums, but with one striking difference: the band's name has been replaced by his own. The shirts, inspired by the album covers of 1985's Meat Is Murder and 1986's The Queen Is Dead, quietly appeared in the UK version of MPORIUM, his official online store. The typography and layout are virtually identical to the originals, except that where it once said The Smiths, it now says Morrissey. A third shirt features Salford Lads Club in Manchester, the location of a famous band photo taken in 1985 by photographer Stephen Wright, which was used as the inner sleeve of The Queen Is Dead at the time. The shirts are priced between thirty and thirty five pounds, roughly 48 dollars for the American market. The Queen Is Dead shirt has already sold out, while the Meat Is Murder design is still available.

The timing of the release is hard to separate from the ongoing feud between Morrissey and his former bandmate Johnny Marr. Just days before the shirts appeared, Morrissey published a lengthy public attack on Marr prompted by an upcoming BBC documentary. In it he accused Marr of deliberately splitting The Smiths fanbase and of registering the band name's trademark in his own name, something Marr disputes. Marr has stated that he only had the trademark registered after Morrissey failed to respond to attempts to handle it jointly, and that he subsequently transferred half the ownership to Morrissey. According to reports, the two currently share the rights to the band.

The battle over ownership has been dragging on for years. In the autumn of 2024, Morrissey announced he wanted to sell all his business interests in The Smiths. In a post titled 'A Soul for Sale' he offered his share of the band name, the artwork, the recordings, the publishing rights and the merchandising rights for sale, writing that he wanted to be separated from his former bandmates. No sale was ever announced. Earlier that year he had also claimed that Marr had ignored a lucrative offer for a reunion tour. Marr responded briefly on social media with the words: 'I didn't ignore the offer, I said no.' In an interview he added: 'I'm not an idiot, the vibe's not right.'

The shirts also arrive at a symbolic moment, as The Queen Is Dead celebrated its fortieth anniversary on 16 June. Earlier this year Morrissey claimed the idea for the Salford Lads Club photo had been entirely his, describing it as 'solely my idea, to which as usual the other three initially viewed as more unnecessary Morrissey lunacy.' For Dutch fans who grew up with The Smiths, these album covers are immediately recognisable, which makes the peculiar nature of the new shirts all the more striking.

Morrissey is currently on a European summer tour and will return later this year for a series of shows at British arenas in support of his most recent solo album Make Up Is A Lie. Earlier this year he was forced to cancel several concerts, including a show in Valencia due to lack of sleep.