Johnny Marr

The latest gig on our A to Z Musical Tour was ……

Johnny Marr at The Barrowlands, Glasgow with Gaz Coombes supporting.

August 10 2019. That’s the last time we seen Johnny Marr live, supporting Primal Scream at Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh. It would be no exaggeration to say that he left the stage that night to ‘thunderous’ applause. The thunder in question accompanied by ever regular lightning streaks across the sky. The health and safety police hooked him after only one song, though he did return to complete his set!

3 April 2024, and it’s a wee jaunt across town to the iconic, and indoor, Barrowland Ballroom to see him reprise many of the songs that we have become accustomed to listening to over the years, all part of his Spirit Power tour.

And, as expected, the star of the show entered the stage, acknowledged the crowd with a wave, looked around his band, and cranked up the levels of excitement from an audience drawn of the young and not so young. Many of the young, appeared to be accompanied by the not so young, family sounds from households drawing generations together to witness a man with a musical history steeped in classic guitar led sounds.

And it wasn’t long, before you sensed why many had come to The Barrowlands.

………Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life……

Every Smiths song was to be greeted with loud applause, group singalongs and any number of social media documentary film makers, photographing and videoing most aspects of the show. (Yeah I know, where did I get the photos for this post? All took the camera about the length of time to sing the chorus above!)

Johnny Marr is the consummate showman. He knows his audience, he knows how to get the crowd onside. He didn’t say very much between songs throughout the set. He didn’t have to. His music was the script we were all wanting to read with him and he and the band didn’t disappoint.

The tour is named after his Best of album. His best of ‘Solo’ album. While the ‘solo’ songs were met with loud cheers, the Electronic songs had us all singing the choruses, the roof was raised each time the opening bars of a Smiths song began. Verses as well as choruses rang out across the room.

Iggy Pop‘s The Passenger, was probably the closest song to come to the same level of joint commitment by the audience. A mainstay of many a household no, doubt.

As the last refrain from There Is a Light That Never Goes Out ended the night, Johnny Marr, left the stage to more appropriate ‘thunderous’ applause. A casual wave of the arm, guitar raised aloft. It would appear the light might never go out for Johnny Marr and The Smiths.

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Support Act

Gareth “Gaz” Coombes is best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of Supergrass.

Supergrass, one of a number of bands who brightened our musical lives in the mid nineties, early noughties, with a string of catchy songs that made us laugh and sing and dance.

Gaz Coombes, by Johnny Marr‘s own admission later in the evening, a musical gem in his own right.

It’s not very often a headline act in the main, is happy to support another leading light. This isn’t the case for this leg of the tour and everyone who arrived early for the gig would all be the better for it. Gaz Coombes and his band were magnificent throughout their relatively short set.

Mostly new songs from his recent album, the songs continued in the vein of old. Maybe not instantly recognisable, however, well worth listening to again and again.

On this night when Johnny Marr was inducted into The Barrowland Hall of Fame, Gaz Coombes reminded the audience that he too has played, and continues to play, a meaningful role in our musical heritage.

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About the venue

Date 3 April 2024

 The Barrowlands,  244 Gallowgate, Glasgow G4 0TT

The original Barrowland Ballroom opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow’s city centre and was built by “Barras Queen” Maggie McIver. 

The Barrowland building includes large street-level halls used for the weekend markets, with a sizeable weatherproof hall above. The front of the building is decorated with a distinctive animated neon sign. The sign is believed to be the biggest of its kind in the UK

The building was largely destroyed by fire in 1958, leading to a complete rebuild. The rebuilt ballroom opened on Christmas Eve 1960.

In more recent years, the Ballroom has become a major concert venue with a capacity of around 1950 people, known for its acoustics and its sprung dance floor.

Simple Minds filmed the video for their 1983 hit single, “Waterfront” at Ballroom.  Bowie, Biffy Clyro, Oasis, U2, The Stranglers, The Clash, The Smiths, Big Country, Muse, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Texas, Snow Patrol, SLF, The Vatersay Boys and many other acts too have played the Ballroom.

Adjacent to the Ballroom is The Barrowland Park where there is a pathway which features the names of many artists ,who have played at the Ballroom over the decades.