To everyone on Solo.
Assuming this post is genuinely from Joyce he should be ashamed of himself as it is dishonest and clearly meant to inflame you against Morrissey.
As most of you will know Morrissey and I have parted company so I am not speaking on his behalf nor is he aware that I am posting this. My only agenda is to let you know the truth about Joyce's claim regarding Smiths' royalties. I should also qualify this by saying that I have nothing personal against Mike Joyce but I am in the business of protecting artists and it is offensive to me, not to mention, immoral that Mike Joyce should be getting paid for Morrissey's share of Meat Is Murder, The Queen Is Dead et al. It is the equivalent of the easel getting paid for Van Gogh's paintings ie it is ridiculous and no one with a conscience could accept the cheques regardless of what a court may say. Not if you really loved and respected the music.
The fact is Mike Joyce applies to the court every 6 months and on the basis of his historic judgement - which arguably he has now been paid many times over! - he asks the court to award him Morrissey's Smiths' royalties. As a result of the judgement the court orders Warner UK to pay 100% of Morrissey's Smiths' royalties to Joyce. For Joyce to say that he has not received Morrissey's Smiths' record royalties from the UK - and everywhere in the world for that matter - is as far from the truth as you can possibly get but I am sure he will hide behind his carefully chosen ambiguous words.
Mike Joyce takes great pleasure in being a thorn in Morrissey's side - it is perhaps his only purpose - and one of the downsides of my not working with Morrissey, in the future, will be not having the pleasure of being the person who eventually takes him out. It will happen and if you are a genuine Smiths or Moz fan and you want a target for the irritation you sometimes feel there is no one worthier.
Best wishes,
Merck
· "Mike Joyce on Smiths royalties"
· More News/Media stories
· More Index stories
· Also by davidt
Hmm..... (Score:0)
Cheers Merck (Score:1)
Peter
(User #7815 Info)
No mincing today (Score:0)
ACTON
Yay! (Score:0)
Wow! (Score:0)
Thank You Merck (Score:1)
If you and Morrissey have truly parted ways, then your input and willingness to speak on his behalf will be sorely missed.
(User #14203 Info)
Takes him out = kills him? (Score:0)
Well put (Score:1)
(User #21027 Info)
From what I gather... (Score:1)
Anything other than that is unjust.
Now as for the million pounds, I supposed that was awarded to Mike for back payment. Andy took a small settlement, but Mike pursued the full million and won. Morrissey refused to pay that million and I'm assuming this is what Mike is going after Morrissey for, right?
If I'm wrong, someone correct me, but I think both Andy and Mike have a right to 10 percent of Smiths music revenue as that was the original agreement many years ago.
If Mike is still going after that million pounds, he should probably get it. Even Johnny conceded to the ruling if memory serves.
(User #1665 Info | http://www.cherryplucker.com/)
Mercky Waters (Score:1)
(User #15615 Info)
Attn Morrissey ( know you are reading this) (Score:0)
PS: I like 5 night stands, especially in the US.
PPS: It worked for YATQ
Good to have people like you around... (Score:1)
(User #827 Info)
so then, (Score:0)
call to arms? (Score:1)
(User #17169 Info)
Merck (Score:0)
Egads! (Score:1)
Seriously, though, true justice will prevail. But the wait must be hell.
Thank you for taking the time to defend Morrissey and his art. I hope your successor carries on the same high standards, and continues to keep fans properly informed.
Salud!
(User #20502 Info | http://forums.morrissey-solo.com/member.php?u=5839)
It was inevitable.. (Score:0)
That he should be so stupid to try and suggest that Morrissey was receiving all the Smiths royalties to the detriment of the other members is unbelievable. How on earth could Morrissey have the means to do that? It totally destroys Joyce's credibility. If he can lie about that what else has he lied about in the past?
And to do it in such a sly, slimey way! It tells me all I need to know about the man.
I'm confused (Score:1)
(User #19449 Info)
Evil (Score:0)
grrrrrrrr (Score:1)
(User #15856 Info)
And the northern leeches go on... (Score:0)
Joyce is an Idiot! (Score:1)
(User #20999 Info)
Merck has a point but.... (Score:0)
Yours,
Agafa Kristy.
Merck (Score:0)
Merck.. (Score:0)
Here they come! (Score:1)
First off, I have no idea how valid Merck's claims are. It is quite clear that his role in Morrissey Inc. is to provide damage control via this site on hot button issues.
However, no one else knows the truth either, yet they eat Merck's comments up like sad drones searching for a leader.
If you're going to have skepticism, it's probably better off employed toward the comments of a "suit" who is involved in the music business, not a former drummer for a band that was truly taken advantage of by his narcissistic singer, and his "whatever you say goes" guitarist.
This grotesque cheerleading seems as if it would come from a horde of suburban teenagers.
I'm sure it is.
(User #20764 Info)
Mike Joyce's angst (Score:1)
You can't always get what you want
and in Mike Joyce's case he didn't get what
he needed obviously.
Sometimes you just have to give up on chasing
things like this and get on with your life.
It's sad, but it's just the same as when you grieve over a lost parent and then you have to deal with the terrible aftermath of wills and families tearing themselves to pieces over property and money.....you soon find out the true nature of people and their petty little ways.
There are more important things in life than money and if someone has ripped you off or if you feel that they have, do you still want their money. Some things are forever tainted..........
(User #13027 Info)
Thanks Merck! (Score:0)
Viva Morrissey!
Viva Merck!
'nother one (Score:1)
What a nice thing for someone besides Moz's fans to come to his defense so articulately and artistically. Only David T., due to seniority, surpasses him in tireless support. Anyway, I appreciate the input. Cheers!
(User #2318 Info | http://pechogrande.com/)
All he needs is u (Score:0)
Thank u Merck
Please send death threats through Moz-solo.com (Score:0)
a) The court ruled in Joyce's favour. Unlike Johnny Marr, Morrissey has yet to pay Joyce.
b) Any further royalties Mike has been paid were acquired rightfully and legally through the courts. I'm sure Morrissey would like you all to believe the British legal system is in cahoots with Joyce to steal his money. Of course this is not the case.
If you must pursue this line of argument, let's all hear your blinding insights into the faults of the legal system, the minutiae of contracts etc. Sure, issues of morality do have bearing. But until Mike's caught breaking into one of Moz's mansions to steal his hearing aid to sell at auction, please put the baseball bats down.
Of course everyone is entitled to their opinion on this matter, and I even can understand why Morrissey's supporters may feel a bit of Mike-bashing is in order. But if you really love The Smiths, why put down Mike's contribution? A lot of people have written expressing the belief that Joyce would not have amounted to anything had it not been for Morrissey/Marr. (I should remind everyone that this sort of thinking has in fact been applied to Morrissey with respect to Johnny Marr pulling him up and out of his bedroom-bound existence.) It puzzles me that some people can't acknowledge that Mike DID make something of himself. He WAS the drummer for one of the greatest of all UK bands after all.
All the naysayers please send in all your platinum discs showcasing your vast musical ability. And please include sales figures as evidence of your world-beating, chart-busting success story. Or just cut Mike some bleedin' slack.
This may sound crazy... (Score:1)
Everybody donates money into a fund until the million pounds is collected and then donate it to the courts for Joyce in Morrissey's name.
LOL.
(User #20618 Info)
Merck Should Verify First (Score:1)
I'm glad Merck is eager to share info, but he seems to have a tendency to say too much. "There are only 13 Tuesdays left..."
(User #8735 Info)
I hope... (Score:1)
(User #13690 Info)
Bless you, Merck (Score:0)
Don't Easily Dismiss Joyce and Rourke's Efforts (Score:0)
Call me biased or call me qualified because I play drums myself but Joyce and Rourke were a truly gifted section to behold. Consider a song like "Pretty Girls Make Graves", especially when they played it live - that is a mark of what "playing in the pocket" is all about.
Just a little consideration of their musicianship is all I'd like to see!
With luv,
Matt
www.myspace.com/elementzerogroove
whatever (Score:1)
1. He was a terrific drummer for The Smiths.
2. Morrissey didn't pay him what he owed him and Morrissey, thus, lost in court. (Morrissey lies a lot about the court case in the media, so I advise people to do your own research on it.)
Anything else to do with the dispute is irrelevant to me, and of course MErck is just a shill. Those who try and suggest The Smiths were not better for having Joyce in the band are just wrong. Those who insist Joyce was a jerk for taking Morrissey to court to get the money he was owed, how would you feel if a greedy person you had worked with was cheating you for years?
(User #778 Info)
Moz Owes Joyce 500 000 pounds, not a million! (Score:0)
Secondly, if Marr paid his share of the million dollar settlement, shouldn't Mike be waiting on no more than a half million from Morrissey?
So he's got half million from Marr, is (and has been) fattening up via all Smiths royalties lately while Morrissey gets nothing from the band he fronted and Joyce has the fucking balls to come here and stir shit up?
What a nasty, greedy man.
GET A JOB!
Thxs (Score:1)
(User #11218 Info)
No, Mr. Mercuriadis! (Score:1)
His comment isn´t factual & with the underlying aggression & populistic phrasing I can´t take his "information" any more serious than the "information" in the comment sent in by "Mike" (Joyce or other).
As someone else has already pointed out, Mr. Mercuriadis doesn´t even know IF the statement really was written by Mike Joyce & that he goes off on it the way he does gives me the impression he is doing what he reproaches Mike Joyce for: "it is dishonest and clearly meant to inflame you against {Mike Joyce}".
& even IF Mike Joyce had posted that other comment, he surely has the same right to state his opinion as everybody else - no matter if anyone agrees with him or not.
& to request us to take out the frustration we sometimes feel on Mike Joyce is clearly over the top. Mr. Mercuriadis sunk on a very low level here & lost his credibility for me. Shame.
As to the whole royalties-argument, I don´t feel able to pass a judgement - other than that I´m very sad that it came to this mudslinging. I wish ALL of them had been a bit more mature about it & found a way to settle their difficulties without becoming destructive towards the other party.
(User #18140 Info)
moz - a little word... (Score:0)
What about MY royalties?? (Score:1)
What about my share? Like legions of others, I now stake my claim to being the 'fifth Smith'!!! Oh dear, that was Craig Gannon. Life's a bitch.
I need to move on.
(User #16343 Info)
The manager won't listen (Score:0)
Has this guy actually heard 'The Queen Is Dead'. The music on the LP starts with Mike's drumming!
I Was At The Court Case (Score:1)
So here's my piece for what it's worth.
I actually went to the court case for a full four days (so much so that Johnny Rogan and the Mike Joyce Gang began to look at me like I was some sort of Morrissey spy-which I wasn't).
There is so much to go into that I won't get into it (I know), but trust me it's fascinating.
For all you Joyce and Rourke supporters that think Mike was hard done by all those years, guess what he and Andy's income was in 1986....
50,000 + POUNDS !!!! (Each)
Well when I heard that read out in court I just about fell off my seat.
For a session musician who never had to write any of the music, whom was in a band that never had top 5 singles or ever had top 5 albums (for very long) that's not bad wedge to make.
Look I'm not a Morrissey apologist but I did go to the court case and all those Joyce sychophants make it put as a straight forward claim when it was anything but.. and there are many other points I could bring up but what's the point???
Mike aint the gilded lily you paint him to be...
See you later.
Roger.
(User #14667 Info)
awwww (Score:1)
(User #19108 Info)
It could go on forever… (Score:1)
I’m intrigued by the reason he and Morrissey parted ways. His mention of absolution and penance makes me wonder if they had a little disagreement on something, besides it being unusual for Merck, as a company CEO, to be holding a parallel career temporarily as a manager. I sense it was not necessarily about the action taken to re- accommodate the NME editor when staying in the same hotel as Morrissey, but more about how he told the world about it, while at the same time feeling that Morrissey doesn’t mind Merck inserting a mark on Solo and making our day with reliable news and insights as the need arises. I think both see this as a very minor issue anyway and they’ll always highly respect eachother, so it’d be at the least convenient if they were teaming up again, as the reliable gossip source CMU surmises.
Mmmm, Mike Joyce says, like he is relishing something which, because of the seriousness of the case, seems very immature, as if he’s manically possessed by the hunt for blood. We have Morrissey’s clear factual statement which sharply contrasts in its openness and comprehensiveness. Mozzersgirl makes a very good point here of why Joyce’s position is lacking credibility -
http://www.morrissey-solo.com/comments.pl?sid=284
The artful roger confirms Joyce’s cushioned financial position ever since the band broke up - http://www.morrissey-solo.com/comments.pl?sid=285
But what now? Everyone is nearly up to speed on the realisation of the drain this business must have behind the scenes but is there a solution? Other people must have fallen into similar disputes, so have any of them salvaged an acceptable deal and importantly their autonomy so that they can regain attention and freedom to get on with life? If Merck, who has immense experience and competence in the industry, and Morrissey who is so intelligent, can’t address the possibility of a real settlement and final break from this enduring parasitical nightmare, it looks like we’re all stuck with it rearing its ugly fanged head intermittently from here to eternity.
The only thing that I’ve come up with is third party mediation or arbitration as described here - http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/conflict_reso
I’m off to read the newspaper now – murder, war, economies collapsing, planets burning, religions falling etc – the usual stuff, which will relieve my immediate over-involvement here! If as is likely I come across something about Moz’ visit, I’ll revert to fellow-soloers without undue delay.
Bottoms up!
(User #12673 Info)
Thank you, Merck (Score:1)
Your contributions are valued (unlike Joyce's).
The fact that Joyce is trying to make this a piss-fight (as evidenced by not only his first official post but his next in answer to yours) just exudes how insecure he is about the situation. Have we all become a thorn in his side? Maybe the scales of justice are tipping...slowly.
(User #2891 Info)
really?! (Score:0)
i think it's very strange how this has come out and it's odd that merck is leaping to morrisseys' defence since he's "parted company". i smell a rat.
what's even more ridiculous, though not surprising, is how devoted people on this site are to slagging off mike joyce.
F Mike Joyce (Score:0)
Be quiet Merck! (Score:1)
(User #16803 Info)