Johnny Marr releases Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr, a major new collection spotlighting spotlighting the breadth of musicality across the first ten years of his prolific solo career.
Curated by Johnny, the deluxe 2CD edition of Spirit Power features 21 tracks including unheard demos, singles, rarities, and two brand new songs in previously released single ‘Somewhere’ and latest focus track ‘The Answer’ – both shot through with a sense of attack and immediacy.
Out now, ‘The Answer’ explodes into life from a spoken word intro delivered by Meredith Sheldon. It’s a song, notes Marr, that would get the approval of his 17 year-old self, mainlining the “narky energy” of Magazine and Buzzcocks: “It’s taken me a long time to write songs that are led by the singing rather than the guitar, and that’s definitely one of them.”
“I’ve played a lot of arenas over the years, and in terms of songwriting, there’s nowhere to hide. For a song to work, it has to be a banger. I know it’s almost uncool to think in those terms, but I grew up in a house where my parents listened to Motown, where you couldn’t get a song released if it wasn’t full of hooks.”
Listen to ‘The Answer’ by Johnny Marr on the Manchester City Official Playlist on Spotify.
Spirit Power arrives amidst a wave of celebratory activity. Two very special homecoming concerts, titled A Night with the Johnny Marr Orchestra, will take place at Manchester’s Factory International Aviva Studios on December 7 and 8 where, for the first time, Johnny and his band will perform backed by a 30-piece orchestra. Led by conductor Fiona Brice, the orchestra has been assembled by Johnny specially for the event and is composed of musicians from across the North. Fans can expect a special set spanning Johnny’s entire 40-year career in what is tipped to be an epic finale to his 2023 live tour.
Spirit Power closely follows the publication of stunning new photography book, Marr’s Guitars. Its pages offer a portal into the symbiotic relationship between Johnny and the guitars that have informed not just the past decade, but the lifetime evolution of his iconic sound. Johnny describes, “the guitar book for people who wouldn’t usually own a guitar book”.
With personal reflections and insights written by Johnny Marr, a foreword written by Hans Zimmer and photographs shot by Pat Graham, each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion for songwriting. The book also features contributions from Noel Gallagher, Bernard Butler and Ed O’Brien.
Looking ahead, Johnny Marr has announced The Spirit Power Tour. UK headline shows will take place through Spring 2024 at some of the UK’s most iconic venues, beginning at Newcastle’s O2 City Hall on April 2 and including London’s Eventim Apollo on April 12, before closing at Nottingham’s Rock City on April 14.
