Johnny Marr Warms Up Sheffield with Intimate Unforgettable Gig

Review by Alisha Lawton.

On a warm Friday night in Sheffield, where else would you want to be but The Foundry, watching one of the most favoured guitarists from the 80s? Well, that’s where we were last week!

Best known for his guitar work and as co-writer of the iconic 80s indie-rock quartet, The Smiths, Johnny Marr played two intimate warm-up shows ahead of his upcoming festival run in Southampton and Sheffield. We were lucky enough to attend his Sheffield performance.

Arriving promptly at 8pm, with no support act, Johnny Marr and his band entered the stage to vibrant blue and red lights swirling around, and a blaring siren ringing out from the speakers.

**Johnny Marr performing at The Foundry in Sheffield** [Photo Credit: Alisha Lawton/ADRENALINE Magazine]

Playing three songs back-to-back, starting with Generate! Generate!, into Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before, a song from the band with which he found his first success – The Smiths – and then Armatopia, Johnny carried a well-deserved cool swagger right from the start, and remained in that zone throughout the evening. Playing intricate guitar segments with ease, mesmerising the audience, Johnny quipped, ‘Check me out, Sheffield on a Friday night!’ which got some laughs.

Fittingly, his next song was Hi Hello, and like the true showman he is, there was no messing around as Johnny moved from song to song with almost no pause.

After playing Spirit Power and Soul, the name of his most recent LP, he remarked: ‘That’s a good one’, to which the audience agreed, then went on to tell the audience that himself and the band had been away for a little while, and he explained that these gigs were a warm-up for his upcoming festival stints this year.

Kicking off summer in style, we were treated to brand new music, and the atmosphere felt very special considering it was only the second time Johnny had ever played these new tracks to a live audience. They really enjoyed the songs and those who’d never heard them before clearly appreciated hearing them for the first time.

Eventually, Johnny tricked the audience, saying: ‘This is another new one’, then immediately began one of the most iconic Smiths songs, This Charming Man, to which the audience erupted into cheers.

Overall, for such a small venue, Johnny Marr managed to make it feel as big as an arena. The crowd sang along to every word as Johnny Marr and his band sifted through fan-favourite tracks from his solo catalogue and some of the greatest songs from The Smiths back catalogue.