johnny marr leaves the cribs

Johnny Marr ends collaboration with The Cribs

Ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr has ended his long association with Wakefield band The Cribs to focus on solo projects and film soundtracks. Marr has been recording and playing live with The Cribs since 2008, but is thought to have left the band early this year.  In a statement released today, the legendary guitarist said: “I’m […]

Live review: Jake Bugg at Royal Albert Hall – Fri 21 Feb 2014

Before arriving at the Royal Albert Hall I was already one bottle of wine into the night. The queue for the bar inside the venue was so big that me and the girlfriend made the sensible decision to each buy a bottle of wine, so as to avoid having to go back to the bar during the gig. Subsequently, my memory of Jake Bugg’s performance doesn’t extend to much of the particular details. I have a general sense of it being a very good gig, with Jake doing an excellent job of filling the vast and opulent cavern that is the Royal Albert Hall, and I remember certain aspects of the night – which I will try and sketch out below.

First of all, I had the presence of mind to capture the evening in photo form – with this excellent picture:

Jake Bugg Royal Albert Hall

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James Blake

Mercury Music Prize 2013 – 12 albums that should be on the shortlist

Whatever your thoughts on the annual music industry love-in that is the Barclaycard Mercury Prize Album of the Year, you can’t deny it creates a bit of a talking point in the music world. The shortlist for this years Mercury Prize is announced tomorrow evening (5.30pm, 10 September), so prepare for a few weeks of […]

New Town Velocity video

Watch: Johnny Marr – ‘New Town Velocity’ video

Johnny Marr heads home to Manchester for the video ‘New Town Velocity’ – a downbeat and melodic highlight from his excellent recent solo album The Messenger. Watch the video here: ‘New Town Velocity’ is released on 22 July as a download, and will also be available as a limited edition 7″.

Glastonbury

My Glastonbury 2013 review…

Glastonbury is commonly regarded as the world’s biggest and best festival for lots of reasons, but the one reason that stands out for me is the freedom it offers festival-goers to enjoy the weekend however they choose to. Other festivals pack you into designated areas and have a limited amount of stages and options. At […]

The Messenger

Johnny Marr – ‘The Messenger’ album review

Johnny Marr – The Messenger {rating} Buy: The Messenger When I first heard Johnny Marr was planning a solo album (his first, not counting 2003’s Healers debacle), I was worried. Since leaving The Smiths behind Marr has crafted an unrivalled legacy as the best guitar player of his generation – working with The Cribs and […]