Johnny Marr Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

Pulp and PJ Harvey have been announced as the first headliners of Øya Festival 2024.The 25th-anniversary edition of the event is due to take place at Tøyenparken in Oslo, Norway between August 7 and 10. Week-long tickets are on sale now – you can buy yours here.Today (October 26), organisers revealed that Pulp and Harvey will co-headline Øya ’24 on Wednesday, August 7.

Johnny Marr has announced a 2024 greatest hits tour in support of his new album ‘Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr’.The former Smiths guitarist will kick off the tour at Newcastle’s O2 City Hall on April 2, before making stops in Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Cardiff, Bristol, London and Brighton. The tour will then wrap up at Rock City in Nottingham on April 14.Tickets are due to go on sale this Friday, October 27, at 10am BST.

The Last Dinner Party made their Later…with Jools Holland debut by playing two songs – watch the videos below.The band played two of the three singles they have so far released, ‘Nothing Matters’ and ‘My Lady of Mercy’, both of which were produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence + the Machine, Foals).Alongside the band, the episode also featured performances from Johnny Marr, Take That, METTE, Frankie Archer and Skindred.The Last Dinner Party recently completed their UK tour, and they are now preparing to cross the Atlantic Ocean and make their way to the US.They will play five gigs there, with stops in New York, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Chicago. They will then make their way back to Europe as opening support for Hozier on his arena tour.Earlier this month, they also announced details of an “intimate variety show” that they will play at London’s Roundhouse on February 1, 2024, with support from Heartworms.Check out their full tour dates below and visit here for any remaining US tickets.In a five-star review of their live show in London in April, NME wrote: “The Last Dinner Party’s ability to go straight from something as potent and wrenching as slow-burning ballad ‘Mirror’ to hamming up the theatrics of ‘Lady Of Mercy’ is a hugely impressive skill: even this early on in their career, on stage, they prove to be masters of contrast.

Johnny Marr has said in a new interview that The Smiths‘ break-up was “mostly a personal thing”.Speaking to MusicRadar, the musician reflected on how the Morrissey-fronted band parted ways back in 1987 following the release of their fourth and final studio album, ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’.“It was mostly a personal thing,” Marr told the outlet. “We were working at such a breakneck pace – 50-odd tracks in four years – that I thought I was going to end up repeating myself.”He continued: “Also, I was frustrated with what people expected me to come up with.

Johnny Marr has said that gifting Noel Gallagher with an expensive guitar – after he smashed the previous one – is partly what motivated him to stop drinking.Marr previously recalled the time he gave a young, “skint” Gallagher his guitars before the pre-Oasis guitarist could afford his own.“He was just this guy who I recognised was intense and really serious about what he was doing, and he was skint and I had a load of guitars and I thought, ‘right OK well I’ll give him this guitar’,” he told Radio X.The Smiths guitarist gave Gallagher a 1960 Gibson Les Paul – which can be heard on The Smiths’ 1986 album ‘The Queen Is Dead’, and was formerly owned by The Who‘s Pete Townshend – only for him to smash it while dealing with a stage invader during a gig in Newcastle.Gallagher called Marr to ask for a replacement, after which the guitarist gifted his black 1978 Gibson Les Paul Custom.Marr also gave his 12-string sunburst Gibson 335, which features in the video for ‘Sheila Take a Bow’, to former Suede guitarist and producer Bernard Butler.“It’s just to be nice,” Marr told The Guardian. “As simple as that.

Best known for fronting one of the biggest rock bands in the world, Angus Young performed many iconic gigs worldwide with AC/DC.

PJ Harvey has teased a career-spanning US tour that could be happening next year.Earlier this year, Harvey shared her first album in seven years, ‘I Inside The Old Year Dying’. In a four star review of that, NME said it was “an immersive return from a modern master.”Harvey has been touring the album in the UK and Europe recently and has now hinted at a possible US tour in a new interview with Vulture. In that, Harvey discusses her ongoing European tour while also shining a light on what’s ahead for her in the future.Speaking ahead of the upcoming UK and European tour, Harvey told the outlet: “It’ll be a look at all of my material over the years, but with a concentration on the latest album…I think it’ll be a really comprehensive show for all ages of PJ Harvey fans,” she said.“It’s been a great joy, actually, to play some of those earlier songs.

Chvrches’ Lauren Mayberry has covered PJ Harvey’s ‘Down By The Water’ with Lo Moon – check out the moment below.The frontwoman of the Scottish synth-pop trio is currently out on a North American tour where she is showcasing a selection of solo material, including her debut single ‘Are You Awake?’.On Monday (September 2), the Los Angeles-based band Lo Moon played the first night of their residency at Zebulon. Mayberry joined them on stage for a rendition of ‘Down By The Water’, which Harvey released in 1996 from album, ‘To Bring You My Love.’Check out the cover in full here:Elsewhere on the tour, Mayberry has covered Madonna’s ‘Like A Prayer’ and Adam Schlesinger’s ‘That Thing You Do’.The singer-songwriter is set to play a string of solo concerts in the UK and Europe following her North American gigs.

PJ Harvey was joined on stage by Johnny Marr at her show in Manchester last night (October 3) – check out the footage below.The singer-songwriter was performing the second of two consecutive gigs at the city’s Albert Hall as part of her current UK and European headline tour.After playing her latest album ‘Inside The Old Year Dying’ in full, Harvey treated the audience to a second set of songs.“I’d like to welcome a very special guest to the stage – please welcome Johnny Marr,” the artist said ahead of a collaborative rendition of ‘The Desperate Kingdom of Love’. The former Smiths guitarist later returned for the encore tracks ‘C’mon Billy’ and ‘White Chalk’.You can watch fan-shot footage of the three performances here:A post shared by Elizabeth Aubrey (@eaubrey_writes)A post shared by Elizabeth Aubrey (@eaubrey_writes)Following the concert, Marr took to X/Twitter to share an image of himself on stage with Harvey and her band.

Fans were left emotional during Peter Kay's opening night of his Manchester residency after a touching gesture. The hit comedian pledged that a portion of the ticket sales would be donated to a charity in memory of a beloved daughter and campaigner who died from cancer.

Johnny Marr has announced a new compilation album ‘Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr’ and shared new single ‘Somewhere’.The former Smiths guitarist will release the new collection on November 3 via BMG, which will spotlight “the breadth of musicality across the first ten years” of Marr’s solo career, according to a press release – you can pre-order/pre-save the album here.The record will also include two brand new tracks produced by Marr along with co-producer James Doviak – ‘The Answer’ and ‘Somewhere’. Listen to the latter below.The musician wrote ‘Somewhere’ while on tour with The Killers and Blondie in 2022.

UK production duo Jungle have announced a huge outdoor show at Castlefield Bowl next summer.

Johnny Marr has announced two concerts in Manchester, where he’ll be backed by a 30-piece orchestra.The former Smiths guitarist will mark his first 10 years as a solo artist with a two-night residency at the Factory International’s new venue Aviva Studios on December 7 and 8.Led by conductor Fiona Brice, the orchestra has been assembled by Marr specifically for the two-night billing; and is composed of musicians from across the North.Tickets go on general sale this Friday (September 15) here.“I’ve had two experiences of playing with an orchestra – Hans Zimmer, obviously, and also with Pet Shop Boys – but to actually sing in front of an orchestra playing my own work, that’s a first. You can’t help feeling a little bit emotional,” said Marr.He continued: “It’s been really enjoyable working on the arrangements.

Johnny Marr was joined at his Halifax show this weekend by The Charlatans‘ Tim Burgess – watch them cover Electronic below.During his gig at the Piece Hall on Saturday (August 26), Marr welcomed Burgess on stage for a rendition of the track ‘Getting Away With It’.“We’re going to play a disco song from Manchester, from the Haçienda,” Marr told the crowd.“What’s even better,” he added, “we’re going to be joined by my friend – he’s a national treasure – Mr Tim Burgess from The Charlatans.”After the show, Burgess shared footage of the collaboration and called it “such a thrill”.See footage of the collaboration below.Wow! Such a thrillThanks for the invite @Johnny_Marr – maybe you can join us for a couple of songs later

The Maccabees’ Felix White has spoken about how Johnny Marr helped steer the direction of new music with his comeback band 86TVs.The group – comprising Felix’s brothers Hugo and Will (the latter formerly of mid-noughties indie band Talk Taxis and his solo project BLANc) and The Noisettes’ drummer Jamie Morrison – recently released their debut single ‘Worn Out Buildings’.Speaking to NME in a recent interview about writing post-Maccabees and the direction of the new band, Felix explained how The Smiths guitarist and songwriter gave them some important advice for their new material.The band recalled that for the first year of the project, “it was completely instrumental and we were writing music we thought could be a soundtrack or we’d get someone else to sing on”.However, eventually they were convinced by Marr to sing on the tracks themselves.“I think The Maccabees had just split up, but I’d read Johnny Marr’s autobiography, which I loved, and it was a really striking time to read it because a lot of his life has been about reinvention and change,” Felix recalled.He continued: “So there was a correlation in my head at that particular moment in my life with what Johnny’s book had said. I bumped into him at the NME Awards and said, ‘Can I send you some music? We’ve just been doing some instrumental music and we don’t know if it’s good’.

The Cult’s Billy Duffy has joined Johnny Marr on stage to play tracks by The Smiths and Depeche Mode. Check out footage of the moment below.The gig took place at the Cheese and Grain venue in Frome last night (August 16) as part of Johnny Marr’s latest run of solo gigs, and featured a number of tracks from across his discography, including solo tracks and classics by The Smiths.Fans at last night’s show, however, were left surprised after the singer-songwriter and guitarist brought out The Cult’s Billy Duffy as a surprise guest for the evening.The on-stage appearance is the latest of the multiple times the two musicians have joined forces, as they both have a long history of playing music together – stemming back to their adolescent years.Meeting in Manchester during their childhood, Duffy was in an early incarnation of The Smiths with Morrissey and had also played guitar with Marr when the latter was just 12 years old.

Johnny Marr was joined onstage by Gaz Coombes to perform The Smiths‘ classic ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ at Lakefest 2023 this weekend.Performing on the first day of the festival at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury on Thursday (August 10), the Smiths guitarist and Supergrass frontman performed the track from the former’s 1986 album ‘The Queen Is Dead’.“Love and thanks to the great Gaz Coombes for joining us last night,” Marr shared in an Instagram post, along with a snap of their performance.You can watch a snippet of their performance, which included an ethusiastic singalong from the crowd, on the second slide below.A post shared by Jas

Dave Grohl has surprised fans by joining Guns N’ Roses on stage at Glastonbury 2023 this evening (June 25).Fresh from his appearance on The Pyramid Stage last night, Foo Fighters’Dave Grohl also made another surprise appearance earlier in the evening – joining the Pretenders alongside Johnny Marr to play drums.

The Pretenders have taken to the stage at Glastonbury 2023 and delivered a career-spanning setlist complete with some surprise guests.Taking place at The Park stage this evening (June 24), the set marked the band’s third time returning to Worthy Farm, following two previous appearances in 1994 and 2017. It also marked one of their first performances since they announced their upcoming album ‘Relentless’ — which is set for release on September 15 .Despite being nearly three decades since they made their Glastonbury debut, Chrissie Hynde and co.

Dave Grohl and Johnny Marr have been rumored to be two of the special guests for The Pretenders during their Glastonbury 2023 set.On an episode of his  Radio 2 show reporting from Glastonbury, host Dermot O’Leary shared that he understands both Dave Grohl and Johnny Marr will be joining The Pretenders later at their set on The Park Stage.The Pretenders announced their surprise slot at this year’s festival earlier this week with frontwoman Chrissie Hynde sharing: “It’s always been there for most of our lifetimes. There has never been a festival like it anywhere else.”A post shared by The Pretenders (@thepretendershq)The band also revealed that they would be bringing friends to perform with them.Grohl previously joined the band on stage during the Taylor Hawkins tribute show at Wembley Stadium last year.

Rick Astley and Blossoms have announced the return of their Smiths supergroup covers band for a secret set at Glastonbury 2023, with the pop icon telling NME about what went into it and the backlash from Johnny Marr.Astley, who this weekend made his Glastonbury debut by opening up the Pyramid Stage, made headlines last year when he joined Blossoms on stage in London to perform a number of Smiths covers – before they then played a number of full gigs dedicated to the iconic ’80s indie icons. Former Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was less than pleased having not been told about it, before telling NME that he’d been in touch with Blossoms and “dealt with it“.Now, they’ve announced that the tribute project will be performing at Glastonbury on the Woodsies stage at 6pm tonight (Friday June 23), filling in one of the TBA slots with a secret set.“I can’t tell you how much I love doing this,” Astley told NME of the covers band. “I know it’s sacrilege and they should hang the lot of us on the line for doing it, but I also just don’t care.

Noel Gallagher has spoken about working with Johnny Marr on his new album ‘Council Skies‘ – hailing the former Smiths turned solo star as “the G.O.A.T.”The pair have long been friends and collaborators – with Marr contributing to Oasis‘ 2002 album ‘Heathen Chemistry’ as well as playing on The High Flying Birds‘ ‘Ballad Of The Mighty I’ in 2015 and ‘If Love Is The Law’ from 2017. They teamed up again for three songs on Gallagher’s new album ‘Council Skies’, namely lead single ‘Pretty Boy’ along with ‘Open the Door, See What You Find’ and the title track.“Sadly, we’ve never sat down to write a song,” Gallagher told NME for the latest in our In Conversation series.

Noel Gallagher has spoken to NME about his love of The Cure, and how Robert Smith came to remix his recent single ‘Pretty Boy’.Back in March, Gallagher shared Smith’s “spacey remix” of the Johnny Marr-featuring single, taken from his acclaimed new album with The High Flying Birds, ‘Council Skies‘. Now in a new interview with NME’s In Conversation series, the former Oasis guitarist and songwriter has discussed how they came to collaborate.Gallagher explained: “Because the song [‘Pretty Boy’] sounds like The Cure I was like, ‘Does Robert Smith do remixes?’ I got hold of his email, the first line was, ‘Hi Robert, it’s Noel Gallagher’.

In what's set to be one of the biggest chart battles of the year, two iconic rock acts - Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds and Foo Fighters - will be going head-to-head to secure the UK's Number 1 album next week.

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds have shared ‘Open The Door, See What You Find’, which features Johnny Marr – you can listen to the new single below.Released today (May 31), the track is the fifth to be shared ahead of Gallagher‘s latest LP with High Flying Birds ‘Council Skies’, which is out this Friday (June 2) via Sour Mash.The single is an optimistic, retro-inspired counterpart to its predecessors, and sees Gallagher rejoin forces with songwriter, composer and former Smiths guitarist Marr.Discussing the meaning behind the track, the former Oasis frontman described ‘Open The Door, See What You Find’ as being about acceptance, and the peaceful realisation that each person has to accept the route that life will pave out for them.“Lyrically, the premise is that, at a certain point in your life you look in a mirror and you see all you’ve ever been and all you’re ever going to be,” he explained. “It’s about being happy with that.

On a spring afternoon in 1982, a young musician named Johnny Marr turned up unannounced outside a council house in Kings Road, Stretford.

Morrissey has paid a touching tribute to his former bandmate Andy Rourke saying he 'will never die as long as his music is heard'. It was announced on Friday that Rourke, bass player in The Smiths, had died at the age of 59 'after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer'.

Johnny Marr and his late Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke reuniting on stage last year, following the news of his death.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from Marr this morning (May 19). He was 59 years old.Last year, Rourke made a guest appearance at one of Marr’s New York City shows, joining Marr on stage at Madison Square Garden when supporting The Killers to play ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ and ‘How Soon Is Now?’.See footage from the show below.We got a mini-Smiths reunion at Madison Square Garden! Johnny Marr just brought up Andy Rourke for There Is A Light That Never Goes Out@mainlyoasis pic.twitter.com/irPi6lNR5L— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) October 1, 2022After the on-stage reunion, the pair then went on to reunite for their first new song in 35 years with Blitz Vega, the band comprising Rourke and ex-Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Blaggers.Upon the release of the new song, Rourke reflected on reuniting with his old bandmate.

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Morrissey has paid tribute to former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke following the news of his death.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from Johnny Marr this morning (May 19). He was 59 years old.Expressing his “deep sadness” over his passing, Marr added: “Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.”The soloist has since shared a longer message, in which he described Rourke as “one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn’t like”. Marr went on to say that he’d “be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by everyone who knew him”.Elsewhere, ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce hailed Rourke as “not only the most talented bass player I’ve ever had the privilege to play with but the sweetest, funniest lad I’ve ever met”.He continued: “Andy’s left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual.