Johnny Marr discusses the death of political songwriting

To makr his second album Playland, Johnny Marr has spoken about about the decline of  political songwriting.

In an interview with The Guardian Marr spoke of his disapproval of the current government, explaining:“Traditionally, it’s always been the job of the artist to flag these things up, and stand in opposition to oppressive forces, even just to ask questions.”

When asked about why this change has come about Marr said: “I think a lot of it’s down to careerism. But I also think a lot of people are afraid. And I think they’ve got good reason to be. I think there’s a feeling of some kind of retribution. It’s getting more and more difficult to bring your show into other countries. And it’s getting really difficult for people to bring what they do here: visas, borders, immigration.”

Marr was also pessimistic about the future political landscape. "We’re so lucky to be able to live in a democracy, and I’m not sure how long that’s going to last. I think the digital age is going to make things more confusing. I think it’s going to take control out of the hands of people who live ordinary lives. That’s happening very, very fast. Propaganda, misinformation – everything is going to be about people who’ve got vast amounts of money.” 

Last year the former Smiths guitarist lamented: “In the culture I came up in, if you were a British indie band, you were against Margaret Thatcher and the Conservative party.”

Marr’s second solo album Playland is released on 6th October and has been preceded by a video for the track ‘Easy Money’.

The indie guitar icon will be heading on tour this October across the UK playing dates in London, Bath, Cardiff, Manchester, Wolverhampton and more. For more information and tickets visit here.