No time for midlife crises

London 1977: Paul Weller, barely 19, leads punk trio the Jam on a mission to bring snazzy mod styling and R&B; roots to the world of no future and safety pins.

Manchester 1982: Johnny Marr, just 19 himself, crafts the supple, sinewy and sophisticated music supporting singer Morrissey’s sensitively solipsistic poetry as the Smiths counter-program to the silly synth-pop that has dominated the post-punk new wave.

Los Angeles 2003: The two former wunderkinder are coincidentally scheduled to perform within days of each other: Weller on Feb. 7 at the Wiltern and Marr with his new band, the Healers, on Sunday and Monday at the Troubadour.

Though they’re now 44 and 39, respectively, the two men arrive not in the throes of midlife crises, but renewed, reinvigorated and making music as fresh and inspired as in their heady days of yore.

Weller, for one, is singing some of his old bands’ songs now, with gusto -- something he once had sworn off.

And Marr is, well, singing -- something he never had a desire to do through his career standing just outside the spotlight.

“Doing an acoustic tour [two years ago] broke barriers down for me about playing the old songs,” says Weller, in an affably rich speaking voice that bears the same working-class character and soul grit as his singing voice. “They can work together with new songs in the set. That’s nice doing that. It’s not like I’m doing a greatest-hits thing, either. But it’s a good balance for me, and hopefully for the audience.

“When I was clawing my way back after the Style Council [his band in the ‘80s], I thought, ‘If I do make it, I want to do it on the merits of what I’m doing. I never want to be a nostalgia package.’ Now I’ve proven my point and am more comfortable. The set doesn’t rely on [old songs]. It’s just nice to drop in one of those tunes here and there.”

The comfort translates on Weller’s new album, “Illumination,” to a set of new songs that draws on all parts of his career -- from dense rockers to silky love songs -- with depth and passion and some of the best singing he’s ever done.

Not coincidentally, the album debuted at No. 1 in the U.K. upon its release there last fall, though the impact here after its release this month is at the other end of the scale -- in fact his last two studio albums were not even issued in the U.S.

“That’s cool as well,” he says. “As long as I’ve still got an audience to play for -- I’m not out for world domination, I just want to keep working.”

For Marr fans, the revelation of his and the Healers’ shows and new album “Boomslang” (in stores Tuesday) is that he is singing at all. It’s a bit of a surprise to Marr himself. “I’ve not been harboring any burning desire to take center stage or anything like that,” he says.

Marr’s comfort zone had been in the shadows, crafting music for others to sing. Following the Smiths, his projects included Electronic, a collaboration with Bernard Sumner, singer of fellow Manchester band New Order, and stints as guitarist with The The (where he worked with singer Matt Johnson) and a brief tenure in the Pretenders.

It wasn’t until the late ‘90s, in fact, that he even had much interest in making an album purely of his own, though he wasn’t really sure what direction that would take.

That became clearer after he struck up a friendship with drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr and a Keith Moon acolyte who played with the Who in recent years) following a chance meeting in a New York elevator.

With former Kula Shaker bassist Alonsa Bevan joining in and a reconnection with former Smiths manager Joe Moss, the Healers was born. Marr was looking back to such childhood influences as T. Rex for musical inspiration and figured that once the foundation of the group’s sound was set, he’d find a singer to fill out the lineup.

“We found a couple of guys I thought were cool fellows, but the band collectively decided I should do it,” he says. “They went off to the cafe while I was in the studio finishing the record and I guess I should have known then I was the lead singer.”

And now for the first time he’s taking the full frontman role on the road -- and the self-described studio rat is relishing the role.

“It’s an amazing feeling: a great drummer behind you again, bass player beside you,” he says. “And it’s nice to see people’s faces in the audience and take the whole heat from them.”

Unlike Weller, though, don’t look for Marr to sing any songs of his old bands.

“Of course not,” he says. “This is a new band, our first album and it’s not about history right now.”

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Concerts

Johnny Marr & the Healers

Where: Troubadour, 9081 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood

When: Sunday and Monday, 8 p.m.

Cost: $20.

Info: (310) 276-1158

Paul Weller

Where: The Wiltern, 3790 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles

When: Feb. 7, 8 p.m.

Cost: $30 to $37.50

Info: (213) 380-5005