Johnny Marr performs "Please, Please, Please..." on "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon"

brilliant song, beautifully played

 

[VivaGil]

Maybe so, but I don't think a few hundred thousand people bought Johnny marr tickets, says it all

If ticket sales were a measure of merit then justin beiber would have dwarfed our moz.

 

[Anonymous]

When Johnny Marr quit The Smiths he did the equivalent of "delete system 32 to make computer faster."

 

[Irish blood Irish heart]

If ticket sales were a measure of merit then justin beiber would have dwarfed our moz.

The difference is morrissey gigs have been hugely popular for the last 25 years and will continue to be so, whenever his next tour is announced the demand for tickets will be huge as usual. Johnny has been a hired guitar for the last 25 years and now he is solo and playing smiths songs he still can't sell out the smallest of venues. As for beiber no one will even remember him in 25 years, thankfully

 

[Anonymous]

You're both wrong. The shitty cover version used for the John Lewis Xmas advert a couple of years ago was obviously the most popular version amongst the sweaty herd, so therefore it must be the best. Apparently.

 

[Deleted member 6305]

Can we just say it's a good song and leave it at that? We can't we all just bang a gong?

 

[Anonymous]

The difference is morrissey gigs have been hugely popular for the last 25 years and will continue to be so, whenever his next tour is announced the demand for tickets will be huge as usual. Johnny has been a hired guitar for the last 25 years and now he is solo and playing smiths songs he still can't sell out the smallest of venues. As for beiber no one will even remember him in 25 years, thankfully

Exactly. Everytime I hear someone here talking about Morrissey's waning popularity, I think that these people must not have been to any recent concerts. The tickets sell out instantly and there are still massive crowds lining up in advance to get to the front. For example, I was at that concert where "Satelite of love" was recorded. I flew into Las Vegas the day before, and when I checked into the Cosmopolitan, there were hundreds of people camped out on the floor of the concert hall lobby; some had been there for days. Obviously, some posters on this site have lost interest, and it confuses me as to why they stay, but there can be no debate that Morrissey has had the more successful solo career. He became an iconic pop figure, love him or hate him, while most people who weren't Smiths fans probably wouldn't know who Marr is. I'm not saying Johnny isn't amazingly talented, but it is clear that Morrissey's lyrics, vocals, appearance, and persona are what attracted such a strong fanbase. Anyway, I always look forward to your posts, IBIH.

lynnda

 

[Anonymous]

If Moz isn't going to work with Marr again, the least he can do is ask him how to put a good band together.

Johnny's band is so far superior to Morrissey's it's ridiculous. The difference is remarkable.

Johnny's guys are first-rate and Morrissey's seem more third rate.

Why does Moz settle for this?

Wake up Morrissey before it's too late.

(Sadly, I Do think it's too late now).

 

[Anonymous]

Johnny Marr is one of the best guitarists ever so it's not fair to compare anyone else to him, however.....Jesse Tobias is completely exposed as the very poor guitarist he is when the two guitar renditions of "Please, Please, Please..." are compared to each other.

We all already know that Jesse wouldn't know soft-touch, delicacy, and finesse if it hit him in the head.

I don't even know where to begin in terms of figuring out what the hell he was doing on the outro of "Please, Please" (and pretty much any other song for that matter).

Honestly, how the hell did this guy get in Moz's band to begin with?

(yeah, Mike Farrell blah, blah, blah).

Jesse Tobias shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a Smith song. It's outrageous and offensive that he's playing those songs for Morrissey.

 

[Amy]

If Moz isn't going to work with Marr again, the least he can do is ask him how to put a good band together.

Johnny's band is so far superior to Morrissey's it's ridiculous. The difference is remarkable.

Johnny's guys are first-rate and Morrissey's seem more third rate.

Why does Moz settle for this?

Wake up Morrissey before it's too late.

(Sadly, I Do think it's too late now).

It strikes me that Morrissey and Johnny have different ideas of what is important these days.

I don't think Morrissey cares if his band are leaden or mediocre musically - that's not the point anymore. I think he keeps them around because he wants "blood bubbas" (his phrase not mine!) - he wants to feel that he's got a loyal, solid support network around him, like an extension of his family. Johnny has that kind of support elsewhere in his life (Angie etc) and he's an inveterate band-hopper so he can pick and choose the best musicians without all the emotional baggage that Morrissey brings into it.

Morrissey knows that he will make money and sell tickets regardless of who his backing musicians are, so why rock the boat? He wants his friends around him. Pretty grim for the actual fans, of course.

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. Everytime I hear someone here talking about Morrissey's waning popularity, I think that these people must not have been to any recent concerts. The tickets sell out instantly and there are still massive crowds lining up in advance to get to the front. For example, I was at that concert where "Satelite of love" was recorded. I flew into Las Vegas the day before, and when I checked into the Cosmopolitan, there were hundreds of people camped out on the floor of the concert hall lobby; some had been there for days. Obviously, some posters on this site have lost interest, and it confuses me as to why they stay, but there can be no debate that Morrissey has had the more successful solo career. He became an iconic pop figure, love him or hate him, while most people who weren't Smiths fans probably wouldn't know who Marr is. I'm not saying Johnny isn't amazingly talented, but it is clear that Morrissey's lyrics, vocals, appearance, and persona are what attracted such a strong fanbase. Anyway, I always look forward to your posts, IBIH.

lynnda

Yanks know nowt so beat it ! We English have the right to say what we want for we have been here from the birth of The Smiths !!!!!
So mind yer own beeswax lynnnnnnnnndada

 

[Anonymous]

If Moz isn't going to work with Marr again, the least he can do is ask him how to put a good band together.

Johnny's band is so far superior to Morrissey's it's ridiculous. The difference is remarkable.

Johnny's guys are first-rate and Morrissey's seem more third rate.

Why does Moz settle for this?

Wake up Morrissey before it's too late.

(Sadly, I Do think it's too late now).

Moz is fkin-doomed a tell yer !
Damaged goods

 

[Irish blood Irish heart]

Exactly. Everytime I hear someone here talking about Morrissey's waning popularity, I think that these people must not have been to any recent concerts. The tickets sell out instantly and there are still massive crowds lining up in advance to get to the front. For example, I was at that concert where "Satelite of love" was recorded. I flew into Las Vegas the day before, and when I checked into the Cosmopolitan, there were hundreds of people camped out on the floor of the concert hall lobby; some had been there for days. Obviously, some posters on this site have lost interest, and it confuses me as to why they stay, but there can be no debate that Morrissey has had the more successful solo career. He became an iconic pop figure, love him or hate him, while most people who weren't Smiths fans probably wouldn't know who Marr is. I'm not saying Johnny isn't amazingly talented, but it is clear that Morrissey's lyrics, vocals, appearance, and persona are what attracted such a strong fanbase. Anyway, I always look forward to your posts, IBIH.

lynnda

Thanks for that, it's good to hear the sane thoughts of a fellow fan, the hatred on here is overbearing at times but we can't let the lunatics take over the asylum

 

[Anonymous]

I saw Johnny Marr at Webster Hall a few nights ago. His guitar playing is superb. And, his band is excellent.

 

[Chip]

Sorry. Wrong voice.

Also, isn't it generally agreed upon it's a song about longing for companionship and love? He's been married his whole life. Did he write the song? Yes. Why is he singing it now? Cashing in on the sorrow.

This is the most asinine thing I have read since one reviewer went ballistic about Morrissey singing this same song in Morrissey:25. He claimed it was offensive for Morrissey to sing it, as he had an adoring fan base and has been financially successful.

I thought he was full of shit. Just like you are.

I don't really see the need for people to have this intense and stupid partisanship concerning Morrissey and Marr. I love the Smiths and I like both of their solo output. I saw Morrissey in concert three times and each and every time was amazing. I also saw Johnny Marr just last night and you know what--he was f***ing amazing, as well. While I loved his solo album I was really unsure at first about how I felt about singing songs that I obviously associated with Morrissey's voice and were very much Morrissey's words. I had very similar feelings about seeing New Order play Joy Division songs.

But you know what? It was a great show--he's still probably the greatest guitarist of the last 30 years and his band isn't bad either. And let's face--I am never going to get sick of hearing those songs live--whether it's Marr's band or Morrissey's that playing them.

Morrissey and Marr have very different stage presences and they both bring very different perspectives to the material. Not better or worse--just different.

So please, please, please give it a rest.

 

[Jamie]

Morrissey and Marr have very different stage presences and they both bring very different perspectives to the material. Not better or worse--just different.

So please, please, please give it a rest.

Mirrors my thoughts on the matter quite succinctly. They are just as much Johnny's songs as Morrissey's.

 

[Chip]

I don't know if I'd agree there. Johnny was quite the frontman when I saw him. it's not Morrissey level for sure but maybe not as far as one expects.

I agree 100%. Morrissey has an extremely unique and charismatic stage presence. There is no other artist like him and there never will be.

But I saw Marr last night and he is a first rate front man. I was really surprised. I knew Marr was brilliant musically, but I never really thought of him as being a frontman, but he's really quite good at it--full of energy, good at working the crowd, etc. Actually, he's probably one of the better frontmen I've seen. I don't know how he's hidden this fact so well for all these years.

Of course, he's not Morrissey. But I wasn't expecting him to be.

 

[Guernie]

Carry on Chip, you are speaking the truth ! Funny how people get into this HUGE tizzy over Marr not sounding like Moz .............. who cares. Be thankful they both still play Smith songs

 

[Anonymous]

Morrissey should get a keyboard with all the songs sampled into it. He could spend the money he pays the band to buy some strobelights and subwoofers. Can you imagine when he learned how to make that Skrillex noise? He would put it on every song. That would be so hot if That Charming Man had bass wobbles.

 

[Irregular Regular]

I have uploaded the audio from the Fallon performance here http://www.sendspace.com/file/uknjrf
There is a slight glitch at 3:00, if anyone is able to fix it I'd be really grateful.

Enjoy!

 

[Anonymous]

Yanks know nowt so beat it ! We English have the right to say what we want for we have been here from the birth of The Smiths !!!!!
So mind yer own beeswax lynnnnnnnnndada

How ethnocentric of you. Does that mean that American art, literature, and film can only be enjoyed and analyzed by Americans; should each country hoard its own art and music and deprive the rest of the world from sharing it? You have the right to say what you please; it's just too bad that you choose to do so in such a juvenile, inarticulate, unintelligent manner. I expect better from the English. Just for the record, I first heard the Smiths on an Indie radio station in the mid-80's and instantly became a fan, so some Americans are not that far behind you in your length of devotion. How about a unified appreciation of Morrissey/ the Smiths? Isn't there enough division in this world?

lynnda