Johnny Marr in Manchester

There was a time - wasn't there, chums of my age - when, whether one liked him or no, Morrissey represented a Platonic ideal of contemporary ethics. In those days, 'What would Morrissey do?' was a yardstick one could employ without fear of successful contradiction. 

The rot set in, of course, in the post-Smiths world, specifically his near perfect album 'Viva Hate', which was marred tellingly by the awful 'Bengali In Platforms'. Thus began Morrissey's descent into unrepentant racism and the adoption of the Brexiteers' putrid colours. From here, he would only release a tight handful of decent tracks, culminating with the magnificent 'Maladjusted'.

And thus, by conventional wisdom, The Smiths' cannon should have been consigned to history, never to be roused by the annual stirring of the nostalgia circuit. And yet, and yet... here comes Johnny Marr, after years in the apparent wilderness, re-emerging not only with a better than decent solo career but also laying what turns out to be an unequivocal claim on The Smiths' back catalogue. Looky here, at his complete ownership of that quintessential Smiths track 'How Soon Is Now?'.

Tonight, the Minx and I met up with our friends Vic and Phil to see Marr play at the Albert Hall in Manchester. He was absolutely stunning, playing a mixture of his vibrant solo work and The Smiths' back catalogue, of which, I would say, he has unarguably taken possession. 

The Morrissey is dead. Long live the Marr!

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No scales
Reading: 'Are We Still Rolling?' by Phill Brown