Watch Johnny Marr perform with The The for the first time since 1990
At Forever Now in Milton Keynes on June 22nd, Johnny Marr reunited with The The for the first time since 1990.
The all-day event at Milton Keynes Bowl was headlined by Kraftwerk and featured sets from Billy Idol, The The, Death Cult, Johnny Marr, The Damned, Happy Mondays, The Jesus and the Mary Chain, and Public Image Ltd.
After finishing his set earlier in the day, which saw Marr perform a greatest hits set of his career, including ‘Getting Away With It’ by Electronic, classics by The Smiths such as ‘Panic’ and ‘This Charming Man’, and a series of solo cuts, the guitarist returned to the stage to perform with The The.
Marr was formerly a band member from 1988 until 1993. Before Forever Now, he had not performed with The The for 35 years, but joined his former group to play ‘The Beaten Generation’ and ‘Dogs of Lust’ during their reunion.
Following the set, Marr shared an image of himself on stage with Matt Johnson on social media with the caption, “Really nice to be back together with my bandmates in The The at Milton Keynes.”
Last week, Marr reflected on The Smiths’ split and revealed why he rejected an opportunity to reunite with Morrissey last year. He said on Stick to Football: “I looked at it for quite a long time and I was really about it, really. It certainly wasn’t a career decision because I had to really look at what’s next.”
The guitarist also opened up about the reunion offer they received in 2024. Marr told host Gary Neville: “We got made an offer really recently, in fact, but yeah, I said no.” He added: “I’m not an idiot, the vibe’s not right. Bad vibe.”
Later this year, Marr will head to North America for a headline tour before playing a series of European dates. Currently, he has no further UK shows planned.
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