Legendary Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr on Tuesday became the latest musician to discover with horror that Donald Trump is using his songs at rallies.
The 60-year-old was unequivocal in an X post replying to a video showing his old band’s 1984 song “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” being played at a South Dakota rally for the former president last year. “Ahh… right… OK,” Marr wrote. “I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now.”
The footage was itself posted in reply to a journalist saying that The Smiths music was playing at a Trump event this week in New Hampshire. No word yet from singer Morrissey, who co-wrote “Please, Please, Please” with Marr, about his views on the matter.
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It’s not clear what action Marr intends to take, if any, to prevent the current 2024 GOP frontrunner from using his music. Acts including the Rolling Stones and Tom Petty have previously threatened legal action against Trump for playing their songs at his events, while others including the estates of David Bowie and Prince have also objected to the former president using their work at rallies, according to The Guardian.
Trump isn’t the first politician Marr has taken issue with in relation to his work. When current British Foreign Minister David Cameron was the U.K. prime minister, Marr banned him from being a fan of The Smiths. “David Cameron, stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don’t,” Marr wrote after the conservative publicly praised the band. “I forbid you to like it.”
