Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance [Paperback]

Johnny Rogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1993

One of the most controversial and complete rock biographies ever written.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Made most famous by The Smith's singer's wish that Rogan 'ends his days very soon in an M3 pile up' before he'd read the book. Had he bothered, he'd have found it a deep insight into both halves of one of the 1980s greatest musical marriages.' MONDO

About the Author

Johnny Rogan's back catalogue includes highly acclaimed biographies/musical studies of The Byrds, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Roxy Music, the Kinks, John Lennon and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. The much respected, groundbreaking Starmakers & Svengalis: The History Of British Pop Management was adapted for a six week BBC series and is now a university set text. His last major biography, Van Morrison: No Surrender (Secker & Warburg) was included in The Sunday Times Top Ten Books of the Year. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: Omnibus Press; Revised edition (December 31, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0711930007
• ISBN-13: 978-0711930001
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #375,766 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written and researched work., April 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance (Paperback)

In Morrissey and Marr, The Severed Alliance, Johnny Rogan gives Smiths fans a wonderful look inside the most influential band of the 80's with a great feel for the subject and many pictures. As a rabid Smiths fan (although not a fan until fully 7 years after the breakup), I was both facinated and saddened by the events which conspired to tear apart the beloved band from Manchester. After turning the English music press on its ear for just a few short years, The Smiths still hold the attention of fans around the world. This book gives you the background that helps explain how Morrissey and Marr could write some of the greatest pop songs ever, and how they could lose the whole thing. What's even worse is that it never had to end. Johnny Rogan writes this book from the perspective of the journalist looking for the truth, the novelist providing entertainment, and most importantly, the Smiths Fan who feels the loss. Read it, if you love The Smiths, or even if you just love the history of pop music. The latest edition of the book includes a forward and epilogue and also an invaluable Discography complete with concert tape listings and known "bootleg" recordings. ~Max Silva: Houston, Texas 199

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Obscenely comprehensive, erudite, and highly readable., October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance (Paperback)

I've spent the better part of high school idolizing Morrissey the entity, the writer, the singer. I had a faint, unrealistic, and embarrassingly devoted view of him. Rogan's even-handed book, full of detail, subtext, and and enthusiasm did nothing to quell my ardor for Morrissey. It helped frame it into more realistic terms. Morrissey and Marr is an eye opening book about a very real, complex, and quintessentially unique man. The detailing of his history, his faults, and his idiosyncries humanized this former "rock god," and made him a little more accessible.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive, but not exhaustive to read!, January 30, 2003

By 

matt (the reading room) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance (Paperback)

I love Morrissey and The Smiths, so this book could be written [bad] and I would still like it. But fortunately Rogan is a gifted writer who loves the subject matter even more than I do!

You'll learn way more than you ever wanted to know about the band and the split between Johnny Marr and Steve Morrissey from this at times obsessively accurate and detailed account. I was struck by how weird Morrissey really is. His odd antics in print and life are not an act. He really is an odd duck. But isn't that why we love him so much? He speaks for all of us when he whines, moans, and sighs about life's missed opportunities, unrequited loves, and the mystery of personal identity.

Included are dozens of photos of everyone involved in the whole saga. It is a really great read! Enjoy!

"It's so easy to laugh. It's so easy to hate. It takes guts to be gentle and kind...I know it's over, and it never really began. But in my heart it was so real."