SONGWRITING
The world’s greatest songs. By the people who made them. THIS WEEK:
Electronic’sGet The Message hit the Top 10 and convinced two Manchester legends they could work together. Johnny Marr explains
E
how it saved him from The Smiths fallout and sealed his partnership with Bernard Sumner... INTERVIEW: PAUL STOKES
lectronic formed because Bernard Sumner and I had wanted to do something for a while. The Smiths had split up and he was feeling like he wanted to get away from the politics and dynamics of New Order. It just so happened there was a cultural explosion going on in music at that time – and the heart of it was in our home town! Of course Bernard was one of the owners of the Hacienda in Manchester, and that was the centre of everything that was changing in music. Our original intention was to be technological, in other words, a break from the four indie guys against a wall with their leather jackets. I wanted to embrace technology, and there wasn’t a better person than Bernard I could think of doing it with. With The Smiths splitting up, there was a lot of emotional upset and I was dealing with a lot of things in public, but privately I was excited about getting to grips with new technology. Electronic was a sanctuary for me. Then Bernard decided to go on holiday, so I found myself with a week free in late 1990. I set up a makeshift studio in my house and wrote it on a lovely summer’s day – and, even though it was a Monday, I was probably still feeling the chemicals from the days before, if you know what I mean. All of Manchester seemed so blissed out.
I got a loop going, then I tried to find a bassline that reminded me of Soul II Soul. There was a track called Ghetto Heaven by The Family Stand out at that time which had a low, jazz acoustic bass which was an inspiration too. Sometimes technology helps you
30 | Music Week 01.07.19
find what you didn’t realise you were looking for. Within five minutes I had a great rhythm track which seemed to suit not only the vibe of this lovely sunny day but the times generally. Then I put some strings on it and it was one of those rare, wonderful times where everything you add just works. A 12-string acoustic finished the job. That was the first time with Electronic that I knew it was going to sound nowhere near The Smiths and nowhere near New Order. It sounded like us.
Bernard came home on the Saturday so there was a bunch of people in my house getting ready for a night out at the Hacienda. I put on the demo of Get The Message, and asked him what he thought and he just went, “Is this us?!” It was a beautiful moment. After that I went off to tour Japan with The The. One night, after a show in Tokyo, I had to get the bullet train to Osaka. I was sat on a lush, dimly lit, high-tech train feeling very serene when my wife Angie gave me a DAT and said, “This came for you”. That was the first time I heard Bernard sing Get The Message. I couldn’t believe it! He was the Mancunian Lou Reed – so low-key, beautiful and confident. With all the drama going on about me leaving The Smiths, I remember thinking, “This is why I do it, this is what it’s all about.”
Because of the way it was written, all loops, I never thought I could play it, but my current band are so good they worked out a way to do it. We did it live at All Points East recently, which is great because I’ve always had a special place for that song. Also, Shaun Ryder once told me that one of his kids was born to it. Brilliant!
“With The
Smiths splitting up, Electronic was a sanctuary for me”
JOHNNY MARR ON GET THE MESSAGE
On message: Johnny Marr and (inset) with
Bernard Sumner in the Get The Message video
musicweek.com
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