NME News

Johnny Marr reveals The Smiths' 'most enduring song'

The Smiths

Stephen Wright, www.smithsphotos.com

The Smiths Stephen Wright, www.smithsphotos.com

Without further ado it is...

The Smiths’ guitarist Johnny Marr has declared the band’s 1985 single ‘How Is Soon Is Now?’ the “band’s most enduring record”.

But the star, talking about the seminal track in this month’s issue of Uncut, doesn’t like Russian pop duo T.A.T.u.’s 2003 version, calling it “plastic music”.

Marr said of the song: “It’s possibly our most enduring record. It’s most people’s favourite. And it’s the guitar track I’m still most asked about.

"When we'd done 'How Soon Is Now?', we knew it was something else."

The new Healers (Marr’s sometime band) do a really good job of it. I know Morrissey still does it live, too. But T.A.T.u.’s version was just silly. Plastic music.”

The interview is part of a look at The Smiths’ 30 greatest songs, chosen by the likes of REM, Ian Brown, Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand.

Uncut is on sale via UK newsstands now, priced £4.20.

See Uncut.co.uk for more information.

Add your comment

NME Alerts

Get NME news delivered direct to your desktop. Find out more

This Week's Issue
  • NME Magazine - The ultimate guide to the week in music
  • The ultimate guide to the week in music
  • NME Magazine - Subscribe now and save up to 37!
Please sign in

Forgot your password?

Register with MyNME

Every Tuesday and Friday

  • Up-to-the-minute news stories
  • The best new music and free downloads
  • Video interviews, photo galleries, competitions and more
  • Album and track reviews for the week ahead
  • Essential gigs in your area