Last night, Johnny Marr surprised lucky fans with a special guest appearance during Franz Ferdinand’s Amazon Music UK City Sessions in Manchester. The exclusive performance was held at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, Manchester’s iconic new venue for arts, music, and culture and was streamed live on Prime Video and the Amazon Music UK channel on Twitch.
Johnny Marr, the guitarist and songwriter best known for his work with The Smiths, Modest Mouse, and The Pretenders, joined Alex Kapranos, Bob Hardy, Julian Corrie, Dino Bardot and Audrey Tait on stage to perform new Franz Ferdinand track Build It Up, their classic Do You Want To and a cover of The Smiths’ Big Mouth Strikes Again in the intimate venue.
Featuring some of the biggest names performing on intimate stages in unique venues, the City Sessions series spans musical genres offering fans a unique opportunity to tune in to a once-in-a-lifetime show from some of their favourite artists. Viewers around the world can tune in to the shows on the Amazon Music UK channel on Twitch. The highly successful intimate performance and livestream series has captivated audiences across the US and Latin America with previous performances including global superstars Kings of Leon, Nelly Furtado, Andra Day, The Black Crowes, Glass Animals, and Wallows.
This performance is one of four shows across 2024 and 2025 presented by Aviva, the UK’s leading insurance, wealth and retirement business. Taking place at Aviva Studios, home of Factory International, they will bring City Sessions to a city steeped in music heritage. Music fans can tune in to City Sessions live on the Amazon Music UK channel on Twitch at 9pm on 18th January.
Photo credit: Nicholas O’Donnell
