April 10, 2007 13:58

Mark Ronson says The Smiths approved of cover

Morrissey 'liked vocal'

Mark Ronson has said that The Smiths have responded positively to his cover of their classic track ’Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’.

The song is featured on Ronson’s ’Version’ album, is released on April 16.

However the cover has drawn criticism from the likes of Arctic Monkeys, who berated the track.

Writing on his Myspace blog Ronson defended himself, claiming the only people who matter are into the song.

“When I recorded the original demo of ’Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before' …the first thing I did was send it to Morrissey and Marr immediately... I needed to know if they would be alright with it, basically like a kid showing his parents his finger painting for their approval," he wrote.

“It took a long time to hear back from them, but when I found out that Morrissey liked it, and especially liked Daniel's (Merriweather) vocal, you can imagine how I felt when (Johnny) Marr approved it as well - but I don't know his exact thoughts. The man who co-wrote my favourite song of all time gave (his) blessing to this new interpretation."

The DJ added that he was not defending his track, but wanted to demonstrate his motivation, writing: “This is not an apology but a way of showing respect for people who love The Smiths like I do."

The original version appeared on The Smiths' final album, 1987's 'Strangeways Here We Come'.

Meanwhile the DJ has just been added to this Saturday's (April 14) line-up for London club Chalk.