Hold on to your huge grains of salt, y’all … the British tabloid newspaper The Sun is reporting that ’80′s mope-rockers and original emo boys The Smiths are “closer than ever” to reuniting once again. According to inside “sources”, rumor has it that the former bandmembers are seriously considering a one-off headlining reunion performance at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, CA next year:

IT’S the reunion no one thought was possible. But iconic Mancs THE SMITHS are “closer than ever” to setting aside their poisonous differences for a comeback. Sources close to the band believe they could headline California festival Coachella in a one-off show next April for a huge pay day. Singer MORRISSEY turned down a £2.8million bid from the event organisers in 2006 but they will have massively upped the offer. Any deal would mark a remarkable turnaround. Veg-loving frontman Morrissey has repeatedly vowed to never again share a stage with his former bandmates, guitarist JOHNNY MARR, bassist ANDY ROURKE and drummer MIKE JOYCE. A source revealed, however: “It has looked impossible in the past but suddenly it all looks like it could happen. “The buzz around the people who used to work for the band is they could play Coachella for a ludicrous amount of money. It’s closer than it ever has been. The split was a messy affair, but time’s a healer.”

Time may be a healer but I suspect that cold hard cash goes a long way in healing bitter band rifts as well. This rumor is just too good to be true. I have prayed for a reunion of The Smiths for years since I was too young to ever be able to see them perform live in their hey day. Trust me, I want to believe that this reunion might actually come to fruition but I’m reserving judgment BIG TIME until some sort of confirmation comes our way. I can tell you this, I would most assuredly haul my cookies out to the desert of Indio, CA to witness a reunion of The Smiths. Let’s see if such a reunion ever comes to pass.

In solo Morrissey news, the new album artwork for his upcoming new release Years of Refusal has reportedly made its way to the InterWeb. After the jump, check it out …

It has NOT been confirmed that this new photo of Moz & baby is the actual album artwork but that is the word goin’ around amongst Mozzer fans. Even if it isn’t the album artwork, I think it’s an awesomely Morrissey photo nonetheless. He looks pretty damn good, too. Years of Refusal is due for release next February. The Coachella Music Festival is scheduled to take place next April. Do any of y’all think we’ll be seeing The Smiths reunite and perform live there?

[Source, Source]