Morrissey vs Joyce

The feud between former Smiths Morrissey and Mike Joyce has reignited, amid claims that the bass player plans to sell unheard recordings from the band.

Joyce and Morrissey have been at odds for years, culminating in a lengthy legal trial ten years ago over the split of royalties between the four members of the seminal group.

Joyce is now claiming he is in dire financial straits and recently appeared on BBC radio to insist he may yet have to sell a number of valuable items of memorabilia from the Smiths heyday.

However, Morrissey has dismissed Joyce's claims out-of-hand, in a statement released through a Smiths fansite, in which he details the financial settlements agreed between the group over the last decade.

The former Smiths singer comments: "The point I wish to make is this: Joyce is not poor, unless, living as he does in the Cheshire green-belt, he lives beyond his means.

"Somehow, he appears to believe that he should have equal financial status to both myself and to Johnny Marr, even though Joyce has done dramatically less than Johnny and I to attain the positions we now have."

Commenting on the suggestion that Joyce could attempt to sell unreleased Smiths music, which would probably be extremely lucrative, Morrissey said: "Finally, Joyce does not have the legal right to sell unreleased Smiths material.

"It belongs to Warner Music. Joyce did not pay for the recording time under which any demo material was recorded. Furthermore, Joyce cannot sell any unreleased work by Johnny Marr or Andy Rourke without, at very least, their permission."