Johnny Marr To Release Second Solo Album 'Playland' In October

Former Smiths guitarist's Johnny Marr has announced he will release his second solo album titled 'Playland' on October 6 via Warner.

The works for the follow up to his last year's debut 'The Messenger', commenced in London in the Spring as soon as the year of touring supporting the album came to a close, and finds Marr continuing the creative connection with collaborator and co-producer Doviak as well as the other musicians who performed on the album and accompanying tour.

As Johnny states: “When The Messenger came out I kept on writing. I liked that the band had a momentum going on tour and a connection with the audience, and I thought that energy would be good to capture on the new record.”

Written around a common theme of “songs that move at the speed of life,” ‘Playland’ captures much of the spirit that made ‘The Messenger’ so memorable with energetic, post-punk songwriting complemented by Johnny Marr’s characteristic guitar style, thought-provoking lyrical ideas and poised vocal phrasing. “It’s important to sound like your environment and on this record that’s London and Manchester,” he adds. “The feeling of the cities and the people make it into the music.”

According to the press released, the title ‘Playland’ is inspired by ‘Homo ludens’, a 1938 book by the highly influential Dutch cultural theorist Johan Huizinga which explores the concept of play as a precursor and principal element of cultural development.

The tracklist for 'Playland' is as follows:

01. Back In The Box
02. Easy Money
03. Dynamo
04. Candidate
05. 25 Hours
06. The Trap
07. Playland
08. Speak Out Reach Out
09. Boys Get Straight
10. This Tension
11. Little King

Pre-order your copy here.

Watch: Johnny Marr Shares New Video For "Upstarts"

Johnny Marr has unveiled his new video for "Upstarts", the lead single off his forthcoming solo debut, The Messenger. The song is now part of our current playlist www.koolrockradio.com.

The video was directed by David Barnes. Watch it below.

The Messenger hits stores February 26th via Sire/ADA, pre-order here. ‘Upstarts’ will be precede the record on 18 February as a Download, CD single and & 7" Vinyl. The B-side is Psychic Beginner, a non-album track which was a favourite from last years live shows.

Watch: Johnny Marr Share New Video For "The Messenger"

Former Smiths guitarist, Johnny Marr has unveiled the video for his debut solo single “The Messenger”.

The song is the title track to his upcoming debut solo album, out on February 26th via Sire/ADA in U.S.  and in UK via Warner Bros. Along with “The Messenger”, song titles include “I Want the Heartbeat”, “The Right Thing Right”, “Upstart”, “Word Starts Attack”, and “European Me”.

Watch the video below.

Johnny Marr Announces Debut Solo Album "The Messenger"

Jonnhy Marr, who is celebrating his birthday today, is set to release his debut LP titled 'The Messenger' sometime next year.

The song has been added to our current playlist www.koolrockradio.com

"It is late in the day to be making my debut," Marr said in a recent interview. 

"I didn't want to be in someone else's band at this point. In the past I might have been reluctant to stand up front, and I've been lucky enough to be in bands with great singers, so it wasn't necessary. But this is my band now, and the frontman in my band has to play guitar. I do both." He continued.

Speaking about the rumours that his former band The Smiths are set to reunite, he said: "Everybody seems to know more about a Smiths reunion than I do. Those rumours are like a sport for everyone involved bar the people who were in the group 30 years ago. But it's not happening."

No further information has been offered yet. We'll keep you updated.