Johnny Marr doesn't want to be a part of "someone else's band" anymore.

The guitarist - a former member of The Smiths, Modest Mouse and The Cribs - is working on his debut solo album The Messenger is no longer "reluctant" to front the project himself.

"It is late in the day to be making my debut. I didn't want to be in someone else's band at this point. In the past I might have been reluctant to stand up front, and I've been lucky enough to be in bands with great singers, so it wasn't necessary. But this is my band now, and the frontman in my band has to play guitar. I do both," he told NME.

The Smiths - also featuring singer Morrissey, drummer Mike Joyce and bass player Andy Rourke - broke up in 1987, but have constantly been the subject of reunion rumors since, although Johnny laughs them off: "Everybody seems to know more about a Smiths reunion than I do. Those rumors are like a sport for everyone involved bar the people who were in the group 30 years ago. But it's not happening."