Opinion
Johnny Marr, lead singer and guitarist for the band The Smiths, is calling on former President Donald Trump this week to stop playing his music at his campaign rallies.
Marr opposes Trump
Earlier this week, a video went viral showing the Smiths’ 1984 hit “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” played at a Trump rally in Rapid City, South Dakota.
This didn’t sit well with Marr, who responded by calling on Trump to stop using his music.
“Ahh…right…OK,” Marr wrote. “I never thought this could happen in a million years. Consider this…shut it down right now.”
Marr’s comments contrast with those made by former Smiths frontman Morrissey, who has spoken out against woke left-wing cancel culture in recent years.
“People could make five flops and the label would stick with them, labels are pretty bloodless now, they’ll just get rid of you if you say something they don’t agree with, they’re not interested,” Morrissey said in 2022, according to Fox News. “Now they’re talking about ‘oh, we need to have diversity, diversity, diversity.’ Diversity is the people you don’t know, and it’s just another word for conformity, it’s the new way of saying conformity.”
Related: Woke Maren Morris Announces She’s Quitting Country Music Due to the ‘Trump Years’
Other musicians make the same request
Marr is the latest in a long line of musicians to ask Trump to stop using their music. Others who have done so include The Rolling Stones, Pharrell Williams, Linkin Park, Rihanna, Village People and Tom Petty’s estate. In 2019, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne released a statement saying they no longer wanted Trump to use the song “Crazy Train” at his rallies.
“Based on this morning’s unauthorized use of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train,’ we are sending a notice to the Trump campaign (or any other campaign) that they are prohibited from using Ozzy Osbourne’s music in political ads or in any political campaign,” they said in a statement posted on Sharon’s Instagram.
“Ozzy’s music may not be used for any reason without approval,” they added.
Neil Young sues Trump
Singer Neil Young went so far as to file a copyright infringement lawsuit against Trump for using his music in 2020.
“This is NOT OK with me…” Young wrote on social media in reaction to his songs “Rockin’ in the Free World” and “Devil’s Sidewalk” being played at a Trump rally in Tampa, Florida. In his initial complaint, Young stated that “he cannot allow his music to be used as a ‘theme song’ for a divisive, anti-American campaign of ignorance and hatred,” according to the New York Post.
Full article: Liberal rocker Neil Young files lawsuit against President Trump over alleged copyright infringement
Young had previously said he had “nothing against” Trump using his music legally.
“He actually got a license to use it,” he said. “I mean, he said he did it and I believe him… But if the artist who made it says you never talked to them, if that means anything to you, you’ll probably stop playing it. And it meant something to Donald and he stopped.
Despite filing this lawsuit, Young continued to quietly and voluntarily dismiss the case in the New York courts.
Trump typically ignores singers when they ask him to stop using his music. It remains to be seen whether he will heed Marr’s requests or continue to use Smiths songs during his shows.
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