Watch Johnny Marr reunite with The The at Forever Now 2025

23 June, 2025

Johnny Marr reunited with his former band The The at Forever Now Festival on Sunday – check out footage below.

The one-day post-punk festival went down at the Milton Keynes National Bowl on June 22, with Marr playing a solo set on the main stage in the early evening, before The The played later in the night.

It was during Matt Johnson and co.’s set that Marr came out for a reunion with his ex-bandmates, joining them on versions of ‘The Beat(en) Generation’ from 1989’s ‘Mind Bomb’ and ‘Dogs Of Lust’ from 1993’s ‘Dusk’.

Marr joined The The shortly after leaving The Smiths in 1987, serving as a full-time member of the band from 1988 until 1994. He played on the two studio albums mentioned above, before departing amicably.

Watch footage from the show here:

The The played: 

‘Cognitive Dissident’ 
‘Sweet Bird Of Truth’ 
‘Armageddon Days Are Here (Again)’ 
‘The Beat(en) Generation’ (with Johnny Marr) 
‘Dogs Of Lust’ (with Johnny Marr) 
‘Icing Up’ 
‘Slow Emotion Replay’ 
‘This Is The Day’ 
‘I’ve Been Waitin’ For Tomorrow (All Of My Life)’ 
‘Infected’ 
‘Uncertain Smile’ 
‘Giant’ 

Elsewhere at Forever Now, Kraftwerk topped the bill, while vintage punk and post-punk acts dominated the proceedings, with The Damned, Billy Idol, The Jesus And Mary Chain, Happy Mondays, Public Image Ltd and The Psychedelic Furs all playing.

As for Marr’s association with The The, he also featured on their 2017 comeback single ‘We Can’t Stop What’s Coming’, and a year later he told NME that they were among the bands he most wanted to reunite with.

He described working with them on the single as “a real joy”, adding: “I never really think the door is shut on The The.”

“There are some people I just keep going back to: Pet Shop Boys, The The, Modest Mouse. You never say never, but I’ve got too many new things that I want to do,” he said.

Last week, he spoke about his decision to turn down an “eye-watering” amount of money to play a Smiths reunion tour. “We got made an offer recently, but I said no,” he explained. “It was a little bit about principles, but I’m not an idiot, I just think the vibe’s not right.

“It was an eye-watering amount of money, but also, I really like what I’m doing now which makes it a lot easier. I like where I’m at. I still want to write the best song I’ve ever written. I want to be a better performer.”

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