The Smiths broke up back in 1987 and after that Andy Rourke continued to play for a bunch of other bands, with the most recent being Blitz Vega alongside Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Blaggers. They currently have a single out titled, Strong Forever,” that features ex-Smith Johhny Marr, making it the first time they have recorded music together in 35 years.
“Strong Forever” will appear on Blitz Vega’s upcoming album, and was originally created for a UN/UK football anti-discrimination/anti-bullying campaign that fell through when then Kasabian frontman Tom Meighan plead guilty to domestic violence in 2020. However, Rourke did not want to simply discard the song and replaced Meighan’s vocals and called up his old friend. He stated that, “I wanted exactly what Johnny does, He has a very distinctive sound, and that’s what he did. We love what he brought to the track.”
Blaggers added that, “Andy calls me [one day], and he says Johnny said he’ll record some guitar on the track… I was like, ‘What? Johnny? Johnny Marr?’ He’s like, ‘Yeah,’ in his laidback but very Mancunian way.” Marr also made an onstage appearance with Rourke last month while he was touring with The Killers. They played Smiths classics such as ” There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and How Soon Is Now?”
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