The moment The Smiths worried that their “mildly embarassing” hit made them sound like Duran Duran
Morrissey has never been one to shy away from having an opinion and letting it be known, but there is a vast, uncomfortable distance between the provocative ‘Meat Is Murder’ animal rights activism of his heyday and the unsettling rhetoric of his later years.
From his support of far-right movements to the controversy surrounding the 2025 single ‘Notre-Dame’, which reportedly excised a lyric about terrorism he had previously debuted in live sets, he has transitioned from The Smiths’ indie icon to a persistent lightning rod for controversy, and this pivot toward reactionary politics and divisive social commentary has left a bitter taste for fans and former collaborators alike.
Speaking to The Guardian in 2025, former Smiths drummer Mike Joyce addressed the singer’s trajectory with a mix of distance and weary diplomacy, saying, “From what I’ve gleaned, he’s certainly got very different politics to mine”.
While Joyce attempted to balance the scales by adding, “But that’s his opinion. He just seems very angry about a lot of things,” he acknowledged the growing camp of listeners who find the man’s current output impossible to reconcile with his past, adding, “Of course I hear it, people saying, ‘I can’t listen to The Smiths. I can’t separate the art from the artist’. If that’s how you feel, that’s fine.”
But before the headlines and the political fallout, The Smiths were simply a definitive indie outfit with an uncanny knack for making relatable bangers. Released in January 1984, ‘What Difference Does It Make?’ preceded the band’s self-titled debut album by just one month, peaking at number 12, making it was their highest-charting effort at the time, and a foundational stone in the house that Moz and Johnny Marr built. Thematically, the track explores the sting of dismissal after revealing a secret to a friend, and while never officially confirmed, fans have long speculated that the lyrics stem from a real-life moment of vulnerability, where Morrissey confessed his feelings to another man only to be met with rejection.
In a rare display of modesty and humility, while Morrissey championed Marr’s ability to craft a majestic pop melody, he remained embarrassed by his own contribution to the track, telling Following The Mozziah, “’What Difference Does It Make’ is musically interesting, but lyrically it is very…Simon Le Bon [Duran Duran]. I find the lyrics facile and mildly embarrassing. Otherwise, it’s a majestic pop melody by Johnny and, ironically, had the lyrics indeed been penned by Simon Le Bon, I would probably cover it! As it is, I’d feel too ashamed.”
For the singer, this comparison to Duran Duran was the ultimate insult, for where Le Bon and co represented the 1980s obsession with expensive luxury, models, and yachts, The Smiths were the architects of working-class ‘otherness’. On this point, Morrissey found a rare ally in his rival Robert Smith of The Cure, who told The Guardian in 2019 that the excess of Duran Duran represented “the whole glamorous ’80s, consumer bullshit; this horror show that we were up against”.
The former’s distaste for the track has proven remarkably consistent, for since launching his solo career in 1988, he has yet to perform ‘What Difference Does It Make?’ live, such that if you want to hear on stage, you’ll have more luck heading to a Rick Astley x Blossoms gig. Despite the singer’s own shame, the song remains a lyrical treasure trove for the disaffected. If I had been allowed to get a tattoo at 16, I would likely now be sporting the line “We have been through hell and high tide, I think I can rely on you” down my arm (with sincere thanks to my mum for intervening on this one, and saving me to cost of paying for definite removal).
Then there is the masterful delivery of “The devil will find work for idle hands to do / I stole and then I lied, and why? Because you asked me to […] But I’m still fond of you, oh-oh”, where it’s impossible to read those lines without hearing Morrissey’s signature “oh-oh” delivered with that cheeky, “caught-again” inflexion that defines the track’s charm. The man has a lot to answer for, but the lyrics to ‘What Difference Does It Make?’ aren’t among his many sins.
