There’s been plenty of terrific books written about The Smiths over the years. Books by Tony Fletcher, Simon Goddard, and Johnny Rogan are all excellent and worth investigating. In 2016, guitarist Johnny Marr added writer to his name when his autobiography Set The Boy Free was published. The early stories will be familiar to fans of The Smiths – born to Irish parents living in Manchester, Marr became fascinated by music and the guitar at a young age. Later, while recording songs in the room he was renting and working in clothing shops, the music world changed when out of the blue he knocked on the door of singer Morrissey and asked to form a band together. In a short period of time, The Smiths became one of the most important indie rock bands in the history of music.
Where Marr’s autobiography really shines is when exploring his personal and professional life after The Smiths. The list of artists he’s played with is staggering – The Pretenders, The Talking Heads, The The, Kirsty MacColl, Electronic, Pet Shop Boys, Beck, Noel Gallagher, etc. Not to mention stints in Modest Mouse, The Cribs, working on soundtracks, and his own successful solo career. His love of music, his family and eventually healthy living make for a success story both in and out of the music business. Set The Boy Free is light on some of the drama covered by the other books about his life, but instead this is a breezy joy to read about the music side of Johnny Marr’s extraordinary life.
9/10
The Light Appears 