The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr vows to ‘shut down’ Trump using band’s song at rallies
The Smiths have become the latest musical act who are sowing discord with Donald Trump for using their songs without permission on the campaign trail.
Guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr was apparently taken aback upon seeing a video clip of the former president playing the English band’s song “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” at a 2023 rally in Rapid City, South Dakota.
“Ahh…right…OK. I never in a million years would’ve thought this could come to pass,” the British rocker wrote on social media Tuesday afternoon. “Consider this s– shut right down right now.”
Trump has reportedly used the song multiple times to warm up crowds ahead of his events — even as most recent as his final rally in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday.
The Smiths join a growing list of music stars — Steven Tyler, Rihanna and Linkin Park, to name a few — who have issued cease-and-desist directives to stop the MAGA leader from using their songs without permission.
In 2020, the Rolling Stones enlisted their performing arts agency, BMI, to launch legal action against the Trump campaign for playing the group’s 1969 classic “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the end of his speeches.
Formed in 1982 and composed of Morrissey, Marr, Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, the Smiths enjoyed success on the alternative rock scene with the chart-topping opus “Meat Is Murder” and the Top 20 songs “How Soon Is Now?” and “Ask.”
Co-written by Marr and Morrissey, “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want” gained popularity on the “Pretty In Pink” soundtrack in 1986 and was later featured in the 1999 Drew Barrymore rom-com “Never Been Kissed.“