Standing in his own spotlight

YOU could understand the slightly less than spectacular turnout last Thursday evening when Johnny Marr played at the University Cultural Centre. Despite being co-founder of The Smiths, the 51-year-old has always stood in the shadow of Morrissey (who played here in 2012) and cynical fans of the seminal Brit-pop band stayed away thinking that maybe the guitarist won't be much of a frontman.

How wrong they were because even though he lacks the showmanship of his former bandmate, Marr commanded the stage and won the crowd over with his trademark Mancunian swagger.

For the faithfuls who showed up, they were rewarded with a mixed bag of new songs, Smiths classics and cover versions of Depeche Mode's I Feel You and The Crickets' I Fought The Law.