Marr, Johnny: The Messenger

One of the most celebrated guitarists in the history of contemporary music, Johnny Marr will follow his recent Q Hero Award with the release of his first ever solo album ‘The Messenger’ on February 25th on Warner Bros.

Recorded in Manchester and Berlin, ‘The Messenger’ sees Marr contributing vocals, guitar and production. It was mastered at Abbey Road by Frank Arkwright who recently collaborated with Marr on the remastering work for The Smiths’ box set ‘Complete’.

‘The Messenger’ finds Marr’s vocals leading a sound which mixes elements of angular art-rock, indie and rock ‘n’ roll. Song titles which appear on the album include ‘The Right Thing Right’, ‘I Want The Heartbeat’, ‘European Me’, ‘Word Starts Attack’ and ‘Upstarts’.

Based in Portland, Oregon since 2005, Marr returned to the UK to commence work on ‘The Messenger’. “The underlying idea of the record is my experience of growing up in Europe,” he explains. “When you’re away from your home city you’re more compelled to write about it, whether that’s because you’re homesick or you’ve got more objectivity, I don’t know. Growing up in the city influences you, and I’ve continued to see, stories and energy in it.”