Entertainment Weekly article about artists going solo with success

BookishBoy

Well-Known Member
EW has an article / slideshow all about artists who left successful bands and who then remained successful in their solo careers (or became more so). It's a broad list, running from Paul Simon to Lauryn Hill and from Harry Styles to Beyonce - and includes Morrissey, of course.

https://ew.com/music/artists-who-left-bands-for-successful-solo-careers/

Here's the paragraph about him:

What The Smiths lacked in album sales they more than made up for in influence, spawning numerous soundalike bands during their brief reign in the U.K. (many of whom lead singer Morrissey would handpick to serve as concert openers). While Morrissey's collaborations with guitarist Johnny Marr veered between strummy guitar pop and sonically-innovative rock experiments, Morrissey's solo career was unabashedly commercial in approach, even as his lyrics — as always — oscillated between the poetic and the profane. While The Smiths continued to be lionized and dissected to this day, Morrissey's solo career — for those who are still around following the singer's never-ending run of controversial statements — has been defined by tracks like "Suedehead," "Everyday is Like Sunday," "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get," and "Irish Blood, English Heart." He is no longer the commercial or critical force he once was, but he's still defiantly, indisputably Morrissey (and no, he will not be reuniting The Smiths anytime soon).
 
Except of course Morrissey didn't leave The Smiths. Johnny Marr left The Smiths and after a half-hearted attempt to carry on with another guitarist, the band ground to a halt and broke up.
He is no longer the commercial or critical force he once was
Can't argue with that bit though.
 
Except of course Morrissey didn't leave The Smiths. Johnny Marr left The Smiths and after a half-hearted attempt to carry on with another guitarist, the band ground to a halt and broke up.

Can't argue with that bit though.

Where does it say that Morrissey left the Smiths?
 
D'oh! My bad. My own unconscious bias kicking in (thinking that Morrissey's genius is on a different scale to Johnny's).
 
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