Leaving a seminal band to go it alone is a legend almost as old as rock’n’roll itself, but what sets the Johnny Marr story apart is the 26 years in between.

Famously just 23 when he quit The Smiths, the guitar virtuoso was in his 50th year when he unleashed solo debut The Messenger upon the world in 2013. In the intervening period he served stints with The Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse and The Cribs, as well as ...