Johnny Marr

Probably my only regret as far as music is concerned is that I never got to see The Smiths play live!

They're probably the greatest band to emerge from this country. As music journalist Andrew Harrison put it recently: 'They were like The Beatles...but with better songs'

For those who don't know, at the core of The Smiths was singer/wordsmith Morrisey and guitarist Johnny Marr who wrote all of the music. Since they split I've seen Morrissey twice (one wonderful gig, one crushingly disappointing one), but never Johnny Marr.

But Johnny is back, he has made a rather good solo album and he's even including a handful of Smiths songs in his live set. Tonight it doesn't matter that it's not Morrissey singing, Johnny's vocals are confident, his band are sharp and his guitar playing is passionate. His take on 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' may be the greatest four minutes I've ever spent at a concert.

And if you thought Johnny could only provide the rowdier part of The Smiths back catalogue, there is a heartbreakingly lovely version of 'Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want' and ,as the final song, the magnificent 'There is a Light That Never Goes Out'.

The song still means a huge amount to me, so here it is...
song.