Johnny Marr
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher on 31 October, 1963 in Ardwick, Manchester) is an English guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and singer, and is best known as the man behind the music of The Smiths. In 2006, Marr became a member of Modest Mouse. He is married with one son and one daughter.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Like many Mancunians – including his bandmates in The Smiths – Marr is of Irish Catholic descent; his parents emigrated from County Kildare to Manchester in the 1950s. Marr started out as a footballer, being approached by Nottingham Forest F.C. and also having had trials with Manchester City F.C., whom he supports. In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Marr said that "I was good enough for City, but they didn't follow up because I was probably the only player out there wearing eyeliner."
[edit] Musical career
[edit] With The Smiths
In 1982, Marr began writing songs with Steven Morrissey, after they formed The Smiths. To complete the lineup, they recruited Mike Joyce on drums and Dale Hibbert on bass guitar. After two gigs, Hibbert was replaced by Marr's friend Andy Rourke. By then, Morrissey had dropped his first name and Maher had changed his name to Marr to avoid confusion with the Buzzcocks drummer.
Having achieved commercial and critical success with landmark albums such as The Queen is Dead, The Smiths were soon stars in The UK and Ireland, but did not have the same degree of success elsewhere. Worldwide success came later, but not while the band was still together; Marr eventually left the band due to his frustrations with Morrissey, stemming from Morrissey's infatuation with 1960s pop artists such as Cilla Black. Having to shoulder increasing managerial duties and other day-to-day pressures also contributed. For example Marr is said to have had to leave a studio session to take a phone call from Salford Van Hire about possible legal action over unpaid bills.
From The Smiths' year of inception to the breakup of the band 5 years later in 1987, Marr and Morrissey co-wrote enough material for 4 albums, as well as numerous B-sides and other unreleased materials that eventually appeared on one compilation or another. Today, the Morrissey-Marr songwriting duo is held in the highest esteem among critics and fans alike, due to Morrissey's groundbreaking lyrics and Marr's highly melodic and harmonious music.
It was announced in December 2005 that Marr would be performing with former Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke at the Manchester v Cancer benefit concert at Manchester's MEN Arena on Saturday 28th January 2006, which was also to feature New Order, Doves and Badly Drawn Boy — with whom Rourke plays bass guitar.
It was rumoured that Mike Joyce and/or Morrissey would play alongside their former bandmates for the first time since The Smiths split up in 1987, fulfilling the much hoped-for Smiths reunion. However Marr dispelled rumors of the reunion by posting on his official website that THE SMITHS WILL NOT BE RE-FORMING AT [THE] CONCERT. However, Andy Rourke did join Marr onstage to play The Smiths' classic "How Soon Is Now?"
[edit] With The The, Electronic, and the Healers
After the demise of The Smiths in 1987, Marr played guitar and harmonica for The The and also worked with New Order singer/guitarist/keyboardist Bernard Sumner to form Electronic. He also became a sought-after session player and producer, writing, touring and recording with, among others, Bryan Ferry, The Pretenders, Kirsty MacColl, Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk, Talking Heads, Black Grape, Billy Bragg, Pet Shop Boys, Beck and Oasis.
Johnny Marr and the Healers first appeared in 2000 when Marr started looking for musicians. He recruited the son of Beatle Ringo Starr, Zak Starkey, and Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan. The band took two years to complete, because Marr wanted members to be chosen "by chemistry." The debut of the new band was released in 2003, where Marr sang and wrote the lyrics. The second LP was originally going to be released in April 2005 and a short tour was expected soon after that, but as Starkey currently is involved with Oasis and the Who, it is unknown when or whether a next LP will come.
[edit] With Modest Mouse
In 2006, it was confirmed that Marr is now an official member of the American band Modest Mouse. It has been revealed he not only wrote some of the songs on the album that the band is working on, but is also playing guitar on the album. [1] According to band leader Isaac Brock, he will also be touring with the band in support of the new album, to be titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. [2]
[edit] Musicianship
Marr, in The Smiths, was known for a delicate, angelically sweet guitar style that could evoke musicality from just a few well-chosen notes. However in the Smiths, Marr was far more open minded to stick to the Roger McGuinn jangly sound that he is often praised for. Tracks like 'I Started Something I couldn't Finish' nod towards Mick Ronson, while the chords to 'Panic' are similar to those of 'Metal Guru' by T-Rex. This fits in with Morrissey's ideology of "Talent borrows, Genius steals", a quote taken from Oscar Wilde, a hero of Morrissey, who is noted in the song 'Cemetry Gates' where Marr again displays Nashville-style guitar parts, along with a Kinks sensibility. Other influences included the likes of Bo Diddley (Best displayed in the shuffling chords of 'How Soon is Now?') and Keith Richards.Contrasted with the common rock guitar flashiness and speed of the time, best exemplified by Eddie Van Halen, Marr's playing was out of place in the usual pop mainstream. (However, in an interview Marr has acknowledged the work of Eddie van Halen and Joe Satriani,and Yngwie Malmsteen.)
[edit] Albums discography
Only those bands of which Marr was a regular member are included; his session work discography is extensive.
[edit] With The Smiths
- The Smiths (1984)
- Hatful of Hollow (compilation, 1984)
- Meat Is Murder (1985)
- The Queen Is Dead (1986)
- The World Won't Listen (compilation, 1987)
- Louder Than Bombs (compilation, 1987)
- Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
- Rank (live, 1988)
- Best...I (compilation, 1992)
- ...Best II (compilation, 1992)
- Singles (compilation, 1995)
- The Very Best of The Smiths (compilation, 2003)
[edit] With The The
[edit] With Electronic
[edit] With Johnny Marr and The Healers
- Boomslang (2003)
[edit] With Modest Mouse
[edit] External links
- Johnnymarr.com-Official site
- Manchester v Cancer official concert website
| The Smiths |
| Morrissey - Johnny Marr - Andy Rourke - Mike Joyce |
| Craig Gannon - Dale Hibbert |
| Discography |
|---|
| Albums: The Smiths | Meat Is Murder | The Queen Is Dead | Strangeways, Here We Come | Rank (live) |
| Singles: Hand in Glove | This Charming Man | What Difference Does It Make? | Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now | William, It Was Really Nothing | How Soon Is Now? | Shakespeare's Sister | That Joke Isn't Funny Anymore | The Boy with the Thorn in His Side | Bigmouth Strikes Again | Panic | Ask | Shoplifters of the World Unite | Sheila Take a Bow | Girlfriend in a Coma | I Started Something I Couldn't Finish | Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me | There Is a Light That Never Goes Out |
| Band-assembled compilations: Hatful of Hollow | The World Won't Listen | Louder Than Bombs |
| Other compilations: Stop Me |Best...I | ...Best II | Singles | The Very Best of The Smiths |
| Related |
| Rough Trade Records |
es:Johnny Marr fr:Johnny Marr nl:Johnny Marr ja:ジョニー・マー sv:Johnny Marr
