Johnny Marr

There might be more intimate places to spend your birthday than a packed sweaty hall. Not for Johnny Marr - this sold out show at Berlin's packed Astra marking his 62nd year on planet earth.

After a few attempts, tonight’s crowd finally gets beaming Marr's acknowledgement of their choruses of Happy Birthday as he asks where his presents are.

There's a real Friday night feel to this show as Marr rattles through Smiths favourites, his solo work and some considerably catchy newer material, which he jokingly forewarns his audience of. But with its clap-alongs and chants, It’s Time is the kind of tune that stadium crowds would appreciate from Marr, who at one point was a bookies’ favourite to be support act for his Mancunian mates Oasis’ huge reunion gigs.

Tonight, as Marr sings "Panic on the streets of Berlin", much of the German capital is out getting its Halloween face on. Sartorially speaking, things are more uniform inside the walls of Astra, with no shortage of olive green parkas and Adidas trefoil. Marr, of course, is resplendent as ever in his tight denim shirt, flanked by his consummate bandmates of more than decade, Iwan Gronow (bass), Jack Mitchell (drums) and James Doviak (guitar, keys).

With its drum pad intro, Spirit Power and Soul (2021’s Fever Dreams), is well received electro-funk in a city where you can count the guitar shops on one hand. Indeed, Marr seems to have brought more Fenders with him than Astra’s small side stage area can hold.

Of course, those Smiths classics get the loudest roars. Not least, This Charming Man and Bigmouth Strikes Again. For some, it’s the second time in a few months they’ve heard How Soon Is Now?, after Morrissey’s June show at Tempodrom, just an u-Bahn ride away.

But there’s approval for both the irresistibly catchy Easy Money (2014) and sublime and extended Getting Away With It (Electronic, 1989), as Marr comes downstage and Astra’s mirrorball works its gleaming magic, shining shards of light over his head and out into the throng.

A rousing encore of Iggy Pop's Berlin-penned classic, The Passenger, Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out has the smartphones (thanks to the guy in front of me for filming entire songs) in the air, alongside a few empty beer beakers. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Johnny.