Electronic: Bernard Sumner & Johnny Marr

Imagine telling a fan in 1985 that the singer of New Order and the guitarist of the Smiths would one day form a band together. Electronic did exactly that, and their first single brought in Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys too. It was a supergroup that actually sounded super.

Two Manchester legends join forces

Electronic formed in 1988, after the peak years of New Order and the Smiths. Bernard Sumner brought the electronic production and the melodies. Johnny Marr brought a guitar style you can pick out in two notes. Instead of copying either old band, they went for dance rhythms, polished synths, atmospheric guitar and thoughtful songwriting.

Getting Away with It, and a debut to match

The first single, “Getting Away with It” (1989), co-written and sung with Neil Tennant, was an international hit and is still one of the best collaborations of the era. The album Electronic (1991) was a critical favorite, with “Get the Message” and “Feel Every Beat”, and a year later came “Disappointed”, with Neil Tennant back on vocals.

Raise the Pressure and Twisted Tenderness

Raise the Pressure (1996) went bigger, with “Forbidden City”, “For You” and “Second Nature”, and featured Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk. Twisted Tenderness (1999), their third and last album, leaned on guitars without losing the electronic heart, with “Vivid”, “Late at Night” and “Prodigal Son”. Then Sumner and Marr went back to other projects. Three albums, all of them worth owning.

The friends they brought along

Electronic worked with some of Britain’s best musicians: Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe of Pet Shop Boys, Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, and the Manchester singer Denise Johnson.

Is Electronic new wave?

Electronic came after new wave’s peak, but they’re its direct descendants. Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr of the Smiths carried ’80s synth-pop and indie guitar into the ’90s, with help from Pet Shop Boys, and the result fits right beside the bands that inspired it.

Why they still matter

They showed that electronic production and guitar songwriting belong together. Their music connects new wave, synth-pop, alternative rock, dance music, Madchester, Britpop and indie, and plenty of bands since have followed the same path.

The essential Electronic songs

“Getting Away with It” · “Get the Message” · “Feel Every Beat” · “Disappointed” · “Tighten Up” · “Reality” · “Forbidden City” · “For You” · “Second Nature” · “Vivid” · “Late at Night” · “Prodigal Son”

The albums

Electronic (1991) · Raise the Pressure (1996) · Twisted Tenderness (1999)

New to Electronic? Start here

Start with “Getting Away with It”, then “Get the Message”, which is the purest blend of Sumner’s voice and Marr’s guitar they ever made. If you like those, the 1991 debut is the album to play all the way through.