After thirty years onstage, Marr says “I didn’t want to be in someone else’s band at this point.”

In an interview with NME, the former Smiths guitarist opens up about his long-awaited debut LP, The Messenger, which is due in February 2013.

“It is late in the day to be making my debut,” Marr tells NME. “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.”

After leaving The Smiths in 1987, Marr played in a number of other bands, including The The, Modest Mouse and The Cribs. Still, that doesn’t stop nearly constant rumors of a Smiths reunion. “Everybody seems to know more about a Smiths reunion than I do. Those rumours are like a sport for everyone involved bar the people who were in the group 30 years ago. But it’s not happening.”

Marr will tour in support of his LP in January. He will also join alt-rock icons Dinosaur Jr for a special performance in New York this December to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the band’s 1987 album You’re Living All Over Me.