Mike Joyce, drummer for the Smiths, has announced the publication of his “no-holds-barred” autobiography, The Drums.
A description by the publisher said: “The written history of the Smiths is not missing an encyclopaedic account of everything that happened over the years; but Mike’s honest, entertaining and deeply human memoir is what Smiths fans have been waiting for. This book truly conveys what it felt like to be a member of the Smiths.”
The Drums follows Morrissey’s memoir, Autobiography, released in 2013, and guitarist Johnny Marr’s Set the Boy Free in 2016. Bassist Andy Rourke died of pancreatic cancer in 2023 without writing a memoir.
Fans of the band will be hoping for insight into the 1996 high court case in which Joyce and Rourke sued Morrissey and Marr over earnings: the frontman and guitarist took 40% of the royalties each, leaving 10% apiece for Joyce and Rourke.
The rhythm section argued that they had been treated like session musicians despite being equal partners in the band. The court found in favour of Joyce, who received £1m in back royalties and a 25% share going forward, with the judge famously labelling Morrissey “truculent and unreliable”.
There remains next to no chance of the Smiths re-forming. Marr has said he turned down an “eye-watering” fee to re-form: “It was a little bit about principles, but I’m not an idiot, I just think the vibe’s not right,” he said, a reference to the differences between him and Morrissey. Joyce has said that without Rourke, a reunion would be “impossible”.
Joyce has recently been performing with Pete Doherty’s solo band. The Drums will be published on 6 November by New Modern, an imprint of HMV owner Doug Putman’s new Putman Publishing house.
