Johnny Marr ist ein englischer Gitarrist, Keyboarder und Sänger, der in den 1980er Jahren als Gitarrist von The Smiths berühmt wurde. Seine einflussreiche Songwriting-Partnerschaft mit Morrissey prägte den Sound einer Ära. Marr gilt weithin als einer der fähigsten und einflussreichsten Rockgitarristen seiner Generation. Sein innovativer Stil und sein melodisches Gespür haben unzählige Musiker inspiriert und prägen bis heute die moderne Rockmusik.
Johnny Marr was born in 1960s Manchester to Irish emigrant parents and knew from an early age that he would be a musician. Forming his first band at thirteen, Marr spent his teenage years on the council estates of Wythenshawe playing guitar, devouring pop culture and inventing his own musical style. It wasn't until the early eighties, when Marr turned up on the doorstep of a singer named Steven Patrick Morrissey, that both a unique songwriting partnership and the group recognised as one of the most iconic bands of all time were formed. In 1983 The Smiths released their first single, and within a year their eponymous debut album reached number two in the UK chart, paving the way for mainstream and critical success on their own never stopped. Here, for the first time, he tells his own side of the story
More than twenty of the UK’s finest musicians discuss the magic and reveal the secrets behind their art in a rare collection of conversations about fifty years of classic British songwriting.
A stunning photographic presentation of the guitars that defined the distinctive sounds and style of Johnny Marr with personal reflections and insights from the legendary guitarist himself. “Guitars have been the obsession of my life . . . they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline.”—Johnny Marr The guitarist’s guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to be one of the most influential and important British bands of all time. Tracing Marr’s career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr’s Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr’s superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song, or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion. Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which shows the guitars were played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including Nile Rodgers’ Stratocaster, Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music Hagstrom and Bert Jansch’s Yamaha. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on “Wonderwall” and the Gibson Les Paul Goldtop used on In Rainbows by Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien. Punctuating the photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage, and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr’s Guitars a unique cultural history of modern music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr’s experiences and achievements.
