Johnny Marr stuns Newcastle crowd with raucous setlist packed with classics from The Smiths

Johnny Marr kicked off his first live show of 2024 in Newcastle - and it was jam-packed with surprise classics.

The guitar hero graced the stage at Newcastle City Hall on Tuesday night when he launched The Spirit Power Tour and crowds were delighted to be treated some of The Smiths greatest songs. Johnny and his band stunned fans by performing a set list of tunes from across his entire recording career, and an abundance of surprise hits only served to heighten the atmosphere with support from Supergrass indie-icon Gaz Coombes who warmed things up hits from his latest album 'Turn the car around'.

The set included The Smiths’ classic ‘You Just Haven’t Earned It Yet, Baby’, Johnny’s first live performance of the song since 2019, and a cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘The Passenger’ - the first time Johnny has performed the song live. Johnny took to the stage dressed in a black denim jacket and black jeans, wearing his signature Fender Jaguar guitar strapped over his shoulder.

• Read more: Pete Wicks gets tattoo in Newcastle before Sam Thompson tour opens at Tyne Theatre
• Keep up to date with all the latest local news from Newcastle with our free newsletter

After performing ‘Sensory Street’, ‘Generate Generate’ and ‘Panic’, Johnny greeted the audience, saying: “Newcastle City Hall, alright?! Hello everyone! Nice to see you! This is the first night of our tour. I’m so happy to be here. I first came here in 1985, when I was a little dude. Now I’m a big little dude! This next song is from our first album, The Messenger, it’s a very personal song. It’s called New Town Velocity.”

After performing the sixth song of the set and fan-favourite, ‘This Charming Man’, Johnny introduced a new song, ‘Somewhere’. After a stunning performance of ‘Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want’ and a high intensity rendition of ‘Get The Message’, Johnny led fans through a mass singalong of ‘Bigmouth Strikes Again’.

As the superb set ended, the band left the stage as the crowd demanded more and gave a standing ovation. Returning to the stage for an encore, he closed the show with ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’. Johnny added: "Newcastle, thanks so much! This has been a lot of fun. What a great way for us to start our tour. We really appreciate it. This last song is dedicated to everybody in here - and no one else!”

Johnny Marr and his band are touring in celebration of the first decade of Johnny’s solo body of work - 10 years since the launch of his debut solo album The Messenger in 2013. The performance marked his first live show in Newcastle since performing an intimate set at the Northumbria University Students’ Union in April 2022.