JOHNNY Marr has said going solo felt liberating after playing in bands for much of his career.
The 60-year-old guitar legend has a new collection of songs out called Spirit Power: The Best Of Johnny Marr, showcasing his past 10 years as a solo artist, and is due to perform two headline shows at Manchester's Factory International next month.
Marr, who grew up in Ardwick Green and Wythenshawe, admitted he had got 'really tired of rock music' by 2013 when he wrote his debut solo album The Messenger.
The founder member of The Smiths said: "It was liberating, the solo stuff.
"A lot of people might assume that me going solo was this sort of furtive thing - it's nothing like that.
"I've been forming groups since I was 14, I sort of know when I'm on to something for a group.
"But I believe that a group has to have a worldview. The singer needs to be saying something, I believe, other than 'listen to my feelings!"
Marr said he started writing solo music when he was touring with indie rock band The Cribs.
"We were pretty prolific," he said.
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