Johnny Marr issues warning over use of The Smiths songs at Trump rallies

Johnny Marr has hit out at the use of songs by The Smiths at Donald Trump rallies.

The British guitarist said he “never in a million years” thought this would be an issue and hinted he would take legal action.

Responding to a tweet from a US political journalist which read: “You actually hear the Smiths more often than you’d think at 2024 Trump rallies”, Marr wrote: “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 tweet featured a video, filmed at a rally in South Dakota in August 2023, in which The Smiths song Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want can be heard.

Marr co-wrote Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want with Smiths frontman Morrissey in 1984.

He is the latest in a string of musicians to blast the Republican presidential hopeful for using music without permission.

In 2018, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sent a letter to the then-President ordering him to stop playing the band’s songs at political rallies, after the band’s 1993 hit Livin’ On The Edge was played at a rally in Charleston, West Virginia.

The singer previously sent the Trump campaign two cease-and-desist letters in 2015 for its use of the band’s music.

The estates of Prince and Tom Petty have also demanded Mr Trump refrain from using the music of the late musicians, while Rihanna issued a cease-and-desist letter after Mr Trump played her 2007 hit Don’t Stop The Music at an event in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne also sent a notice to Mr Trump banning him from using Black Sabbath music in his campaign videos.

Other artists who have taken action after Mr Trump used their music include The Rolling Stones and Neil Young, while Linkin Park issued a cease and desist order after the band’s song, In The End, appeared in a video supporting the then-president.