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“Consider this s**t shut right down right now”: Johnny Marr slams Trump’s use of Smiths songs at rally
Footage has emerged of the song Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want being played at a Trump rally.
Image: Shirlaine Forrest / JIM WATSON / Getty Images
The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr is the latest musician to protest former US president Donald Trump’s use of his band’s songs at political rallies.
Earlier this week, a user on Twitter/X shared a video of The Smiths’ 1982 single Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want playing at a Trump campaign, noting, “You actually hear the Smiths more often than you’d think at 2024 Trump rallies.”
Responding to the post, Marr slammed the move, writing: “Ahh …right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now.”
The Smiths are far from the first group who’ve objected to their music being played at Trump rallies without permission. In the past, celebrities including Phil Collins, The Rolling Stones, Rihanna and Linkin Park have issued cease-and-desist directives to stop the MAGA leader from using their songs at public events.
“The BMI [music rights organisation] have notified the Trump campaign on behalf of the Stones that the unauthorised use of their songs will constitute a breach of its licensing agreement,” the Stones said. “If Donald Trump disregards the exclusion and persists then he would face a lawsuit for breaking the embargo and playing music that has not been licensed.”
Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass. Consider this shit shut right down right now. https://t.co/M6eYROedOy
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) January 23, 2024
In other news, Johnny Marr recently paid tribute to former Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke on what would have been the latter’s 60th birthday.
Rourke passed away last May, following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. His last performance took place in New York’s Madison Square Garden, where he joined Marr’s band on the classic Smiths track There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.