Johnny Marr Flies Solo
Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr will release his debut solo album this summer under the tag “Johnny Marr and the Healers.” Marr, who never sang on a single Smiths song, will be making his debut as a lead vocalist.
In a post on his Website (www.jmarr.com), Marr writes that his friend Chrissie Hynde encouraged him to take the mike. He also explains that after all his various collaborations — which include Hynde, Billy Bragg, The The’s Matt Johnson and New Order singer Bernard Sumner — he was ready to go it alone. “I’ve kinda run out of people, so I’m on my own now. All the people I ever wanted to work with, well, I’ve been working with!”
Marr’s not exactly on his own, as Mickey P (of Beck fame) is producing the album, and Zak Starkey, the in-demand Beatles offspring, plays drums.
Despite reports to the contrary, the album does not mean the end of Electronic, Marr’s on-again/off-again project with Sumner. “Everyone seems to love a good feud,” Marr writes of the rumors of Electronic’s demise. “Bernard and I are really close friends, and at the moment he’s doing New Order and I’m doing my album.”