Johnny Marr has shared another new single – listen to ‘Ophelia’ below.
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The song marks the second preview of the singer-songwriter’s fifth solo album, ‘The Age Of Everything’, which is out on October 2.
Following on from lead track ‘Spin’, Marr’s majestic latest offering was inspired by the nobility and strength of William Shakespeare’s infamous character from Hamlet.
“Who will come to play?/ Who will come your way?/ When the day is done/ And you get home/ You can stop the rain,” Marr sings in the widescreen chorus, following bounces of shimmering guitars in the verse.
“Ophelia/ You got to find out/ Who will come your way.”
Marr explained: “The character of Ophelia is confounding but there’s a real nobility and strength which reminds me of someone in my life. So the name just stuck and sounded like a song.
“I thought about the character, and I saw quite a few similarities with Ophelia. As a songwriter, sometimes these things happen where it just sings really well over the track and you go with it. It turned out right.”
The new single comes on the heels of the artist playing a big homecoming gig at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl this month, ahead of a stop at Dublin’s Iveagh Gardens. Marr’s concert at London’s OVO Arena Wembley, initially scheduled for October 24, was postponed earlier this week.
‘The Age Of Everything’ will follow on from the musician’s 2022 album ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1–4’. In a four-star review, NME hailed the latter as “a soulful record fuelled by fresh ideas”.
Last year saw Marr drop a new live LP, ‘Look Out Live!’. The project comprises 22 tracks recorded at the Eventim Apollo in London as part of his ‘Spirit Power’ live tour in 2024.
More recently, he contributed to Gorillaz‘ latest album ‘The Mountain’, and made an appearance with the band in London last September. Marr worked on the star-studded ‘Help(2)’ charity album for War Child, too. He released a ‘best-of’ compilation in 2023, featuring a new track titled ‘Somewhere’.
In other news, Morrissey last month shared a lengthy attack on his former Smiths bandmate Marr over a new BBC documentary about the band. Earlier this year, the singer corrected Marr about the history of The Smiths signing with Rough Trade.
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