Live Review: Johnny Marr charms fans at sold-out Roadmender show

The Smiths once played this fair town. 1985. It was, some older types tell me, a fantastic gig.

That was a long time ago though and no one believes for a second they’ll ever be a repeat performance, here or indeed anywhere.

Luckily for us, the two principal songwriters of said legendary indie band are regularly tearing up stages, winning new fans and warming up old hearts.

Almost eight years on from last playing the Roadmender guitarist extraordinaire Marr is back in town.

After Alberta Cross warm up the crowd with their pleasant, warming Americana, Marr swaggers onto the stage at 9pm.

Slim, resplendent in a pink shirt and black waistcoat and jeans and looking far younger than his 59 years.

Day In Day Out is a solid start and a decent template for what’s to come this evening.

The bulk of the songs are taken from his critically-acclaimed last two studio albums, Call The Comet and Fever Dreams Pts 1-4.

His solo material sits perfectly in the middle of his two passions in life.

Jangly, Byrdsian guitar motifs that once dominated The Smiths material and his late 80s Manchester contemporaries influence that would be reflected in the name of his old band - Electronic.

Peppered throughout are Smiths songs, of course.

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before is the first out the traps, eliciting hearty cheer from the mostly 50-somethings present in this sell-out crowd.

It’s not exactly played with the driving power of the 1980s version, but his voice works particularly well for the song.

Strong synths underpin Sensory Street, one of the stronger tracks on 2022’s Fever Dreams.

Amusingly Marr ‘dad dances’ during the instrumental break, such is the strength of its rhythmic oomph.

Similarly Spirit Power And Soul’s Manchester-born dance beats visibly moves the crowd into another gear.

Two new songs are debuted. The next single is called Somewhere and it is a joyous shimmering thing that will repeatedly played on the more enlightened radio stations soon no doubt.

The Answer, meanwhile, is an absolute juggernaut, his band firing on all cylinders.

On The Smiths front This Charming Man prompts a mass singalong and many phones aloft to capture the moment for posterity.

Panic is messed up the first time around, proving Marr is actually human.

Second time around they play fierce - throwing the most passion of the night into it.

It’s immediately followed by Please Please Please, a rare moment of melancholic reflection that he carries off with much style.

Main set closer How Soon Is Now is naturally epic. Its widescreen sound reflected in the love it receives from those present.

The encore touches on all his career moments. Night & Day (solo), I Feel You (a Depeche Mode cover), There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (“I dedicate this to all you lot, and my mate Andy [Rourke]”) before finishing with a rousing Getting Away With It, the high-point of that brief Electronic project.

Marr should be very proud of how he’s found his feet on a solo career that probably didn’t come as a natural move for someone previously in the “sideman” role.

Outside of a time machine to 1987 this is as good as it gets for some Smithsonians and certainly a damn lot more consistent than his former musical partner is.

Let’s not leave it another eight years for the next time please, sir.

Johnny Marr played:

Day In Day Out

Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

Sensory Street

The Answer

Ariel

New Town Velocity

Spirit Power and Soul

Spiral Cities

This Charming Man

Somewhere

Walk Into the Sea

Hi Hello

Panic

Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want

Easy Money

How Soon Is Now?

Encore:

Night and Day

I Feel You

There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

Getting Away With It