Electronic

Electronic were a musical duo formed by Bernard Sumner of New Order and Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, in the late 1980s. Originally intended as a solo project by Sumner, he later called upon friend and fellow Mancunian Marr for help with songwriting, effectively forming a 'super-group'. Influenced by electronic dance music of the time, Marr's guitar skills contributed to form a blend of both genres.

Their first recorded output was the single Getting Away With It, co-written with Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys who also contributes backing vocals to the song. Released on the Factory label (cat. no. FAC 257) the sleeve was designed by Peter Saville. the drums were played by David Palmer (of ABC) and the strings arranged by Anne Dudley (ABC, Art of Noise). Backed with the Italo-house influenced B-side Lucky Bag, the single reached no.12 in th UK in the final Christmas week Top 40 of the 1980s.

Electronic spent much of 1990 writing new material and performing live, including a support slot to Depeche Mode on their Violator tour. New recorded material finally came to light in the Spring of 1991 with a new single Get the Message released on 15 April and the parent album Electronic released on 27 May. The single went Top 10 in the UK reaching no.8 while the album went straight in to the charts at no.2, outsold only by Seal's eponymous debut. Album track Patience of a Saint was another collaboration with Neil Tennant, also involving Pet Shop Boys partner Chris Lowe. A further single Feel Every beat (the album's closing track) was also released a single but fared less well, reaching only no.39 in the UK in September.