Johnny Marr (Guitarist) – Overview, Biography

Name:Johnny Marr
Occupation: Guitarist
Gender:Male
Height:173 cm (5′ 9”)
Birth Day: October 31,
1963
Age: 57
Birth Place: Manchester,
England
Zodiac Sign:Scorpio

Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr was born on October 31, 1963 in Manchester, England (57 years old). Johnny Marr is a Guitarist, zodiac sign: Scorpio. Nationality: England. Approx. Net Worth: $14 Million.

Trivia

He collaborated with Electronic, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs, and also found work as a session musician.

Net Worth 2020

$14 Million
Find out more about Johnny Marr net worth here.

Physique

HeightWeightHair ColourEye ColourBlood TypeTattoo(s)
173 cm (5′ 9”) N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Before Fame

His first band, The Paris Valentinos, was formed when he was thirteen with future Smiths bass guitarist Andy Rourke and Coronation Street actor Kevin Kennedy.

Biography

Biography Timeline

1963

Marr was born John Martin Maher on 31 October 1963 in Ardwick, Manchester, to John Joseph Maher and Frances Patricia Doyle, Irish emigrants to England, hailing from Athy, County Kildare. The family moved to Wythenshawe in 1972. From 1975, he attended St Augustine’s Catholic Grammar School, which in 1977 merged with other schools to form St John Plessington High School.

1977

At the age of 13, Marr’s family moved him to a new neighbourhood in Manchester where he met up with “a bunch of guitar players” which “changed his life”. The Cult guitarist Billy Duffy was in a high school band that practised across the street from Marr’s new house, and Marr would hang out listening to them rehearsing. Marr formed his first band, the Paris Valentinos, at the age of 13, with Andy Rourke (who had gone to the same high school as Duffy) and Kevin Williams (who later became an actor, known as Kevin Kennedy), performing for the first time at a Jubilee party in Benchill in June 1977, playing Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy covers.

1979

In 1979, he played a single gig at Wythenshawe Forum with a band called Sister Ray and re-united with Rourke in a band called White Dice. White Dice entered a demo-tape competition organised by the NME and won an audition for F-Beat Records, which they attended in April 1980 but were not signed. Around the age of 14, he began spelling his name “Marr” to simplify the pronunciation for those who had difficulty with his birth name “Maher”, and to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks drummer John Maher.

1980

In October 1980, Marr enrolled at Wythenshawe College, serving as President of the school’s Student Union. White Dice dissolved in 1981. Marr and Rourke then formed a funk band, Freak Party, with Simon Wolstencroft on drums. Around this time, Marr first met Matt Johnson, with whom he would later collaborate.

1982

By early 1982, Freak Party had fizzled out, being unable to find a singer. Marr approached Rob Allman, singer in White Dice, who suggested Steven Morrissey, a singer with the short-lived punk band the Nosebleeds. Marr approached a mutual friend asking to be introduced and they visited Morrissey at his house in Kings Road, Stretford in May.

1983

Marr’s jangly Rickenbacker and Fender Telecaster guitar playing became synonymous with the Smiths’ sound. Marr’s friend Andy Rourke joined as bass player and Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer. Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, “Hand in Glove”, on 13 May 1983. By February 1984, the Smiths’ fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band’s long-awaited eponymous debut album to number two in the UK chart. Early in 1985, the band released their second album, Meat Is Murder. This was more strident and political than its predecessor, and it was the band’s only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts. During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, The Queen Is Dead.

1987

In July 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrissey’s becoming annoyed by Marr’s work with other artists and Marr’s growing frustration with Morrissey’s musical inflexibility. Referring to the songs recorded in the band’s last session together (B-sides for the “Girlfriend in a Coma” single, which preceded the album’s release), Marr said “I wrote ‘I Keep Mine Hidden’, but ‘Work Is a Four-Letter Word’ I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didn’t form a group to perform Cilla Black songs.” In 1989, in an interview with young fan Tim Samuels (who later became a BBC journalist), Morrissey claimed the lack of a managerial figure and business problems were to blame for the band’s eventual split. In a 2016 interview, Marr agreed with this.

In August 1987, he was very briefly an official member of the Pretenders. In late 1987, he toured with the band and appeared on the single “Windows of the World” b/w “1969”. He then left the Pretenders, and recorded and toured with The The from 1988 to 1994, recording two albums with the group. He simultaneously formed Electronic with New Order’s Bernard Sumner. Electronic were intermittently active throughout the 1990s, releasing their final album in 1999.

1988

Marr is also mentioned in the 1988 single “John Kettley Is a Weatherman” by British band A Tribe of Toffs.

1989

In 1989 Spin magazine rated The Queen is Dead as number one of “The Greatest Albums Ever Made”. Spin was not alone in this designation—numerous periodicals rank the Smiths and their albums, especially The Queen is Dead, high on their best ever lists. NME, for example, has dubbed the Smiths the most important rock band of all time. A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band’s exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, “‘Worse for wear’ wasn’t the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit… dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle.” Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin, although he was reinstated in short order. Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr—saw them on the verge of splitting.

1992

In 1992 he recorded a cover version of Ennio Morricone’s The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the NME compilation Ruby Trax together with Billy Duffy.

1996

In 1996, Smiths’ drummer Mike Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lion’s share of the Smiths’ recording and performance royalties and allowed ten per cent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive 25% thenceforth.

2000

In 2000, Marr recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Cavewaves guitarist Lee Spencer and former Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan for his new project, ‘Johnny Marr and the Healers’. The band had taken two years to come together as Marr had wanted members to be chosen “by chemistry”. Their debut album Boomslang was released in 2003, with all lyrics and lead vocals by Marr. A second album was originally scheduled for release in April 2005, and a short tour was expected soon after, but Marr has since stated that the band is on the “side burner” for the time being.

2001

He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Black Grape, Jane Birkin, Talking Heads, and Beck. Marr played guitar on four songs on Talking Heads’ final album Naked, including the single “(Nothing But) Flowers”, and he prominently appears in that song’s music video. Marr played guitar on several Pet Shop Boys songs; he continues to have guest appearances on their albums, with his most significant contribution on Release (2002). The only remix that Marr has ever done was for Pet Shop Boys—it was a mix of his favourite track from their 1987 album, Actually, called “I Want to Wake Up”, and was released as the b-side to 1993’s “Can You Forgive Her?” He later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry. He also joined Oasis on stage at a gig in 2001, playing “Champagne Supernova” and “I Am the Walrus”.

In 2001, Marr performed two Smiths songs and music by others with a supergroup called 7 Worlds Collide consisting of members from Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Split Enz and others, assembled by Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House in 2001. A second set of concerts took place in December 2008/January 2009, and an album of new studio material titled The Sun Came Out was released in August 2009 to raise money for Oxfam.

2005

Marr and Morrissey have repeatedly stated they will not reunite the band. In 2005, VH1 attempted to get the band back together on its Bands Reunited show but abandoned its attempt after the show’s host, Aamer Haleem, failed to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and the Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions. Rumours suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Marr on his website.

2006

In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer. In 2006, he began work with Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock on songs that eventually were featured on the band’s 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07.

2007

In 2007 Marr was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Music at the University of Salford, where he delivered an inaugural lecture (on 4 November 2008), and a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording programme.

When performing with the Smiths, he wanted to play a music which was pop. “100% of my focus was on providing interesting guitar hooks and putting some kind of space-age twist on the guitarist’s role. The pop guitarist crossed with the mad professor. That’s how I thought of myself.” In a 2007 interview for the BBC, Marr reported that with The Smiths his goal was to “pare down” his style and avoid rock guitar clichés. Marr forbade himself from using power chords, distortion, lengthy solos, or “big rock chord changes”, instead relying on sophisticated arpeggios to create his signature chiming guitar work for the band.

2008

In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that “stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?” Marr went on to say that “It’s no biggy. Maybe we will in 18 or 32 years’ time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and I’m doing mine, so that’s the answer really.” This was the first indication of a possible Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously had said that reforming the band would be a bad idea. In 2008 Marr and Morrissey met and discussed the possibility of a reunion, but after initial enthusiasm from both parties, neither pursued the idea.

2009

In 2009, he recorded an album with the Cribs titled Ignore the Ignorant, which was released on 7 September. On Soccer AM on 9 September he explained he met up with the Cribs’ bass player in Portland and it has gone from strength to strength. He says the Cribs last album with Marr, Ignore the Ignorant, which came out in 2009, is “as good as anything I’ve done”.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Marr played on three Billy Bragg recordings. In the late 1980s, he performed on albums by Bryan Ferry and Talking Heads. In the 1990s and 2000s, he performed on three Pet Shop Boys albums, and also plays guitar and harmonica on their Xenomania-produced album, Yes, released in 2009. In the 1990s, he also performed on albums by M People, Beck and Tom Jones. In the 2000s, he played on albums by bands such as Oasis, Pearl Jam, Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano and Crowded House. He also plays guitar on Girls Aloud’s fifth album, Out of Control, on a track entitled “Rolling Back the Rivers in Time”, as well as harmonica on the track “Love Is the Key”. He also appeared on two tracks (“Enough of Me” and “Central”) on John Frusciante’s album The Empyrean which was released January 2009.

2011

On April 2011 it was confirmed that Marr would no longer be part of the band. Marr, who had been understood to officially leave the band in January, released a statement in which he affirmed that he would be working on solo material “over the next year or so.”

2012

In July 2012, Marr gained an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford, following his contribution to popular music, and the guidance he gave to students in his workshops and visits.

When Marr started to sing as a solo artist in 2012, he explained his decision saying : “[The frontpersons] I related to were Peter Perrett, Colin Newman, Pete Shelley, Siouxsie Sioux. They were singing from the mind and had integrity.” He also added : “I’m absolutely not interested in being the frontman in a band that bares my soul or feelings in song. Siouxsie Sioux, or Ray Davies, or Howard Devoto don’t sing from some weird, shlocky, sentimental place. What’s wrong with singing from the brain?”.

On 19 July 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford for “outstanding achievements” and “changing the face of British guitar music”.

2013

Johnny Marr returned to play with The Cribs during the second of two special Christmas shows at Leeds Academy on 19 December 2013.

On 25 February 2013, Marr released his début solo album, The Messenger, in the UK through Warner Bros. and on 26 February in the US through Sire. The album was preceded by the single “Upstarts”, released in the UK on 18 February 2013. Marr recorded music for the film The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Michael Einziger and David A. Stewart.

2014

His second solo album, entitled Playland, was released on 6 October 2014. He also announced a worldwide tour around the release of the “Playland” album that commenced in the UK on 13 October 2014. The album’s lead single was “Easy Money”. After the supporting tours, he is planning to work on a new album with Zimmer contributing the arrangements. In October 2014, Marr appeared as a guest musician for Hans Zimmer at his two concerts, Hans Zimmer: Revealed, at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. In December 2014, Marr announced the cancellation of the remainder of his US tour, in support of Playland, due to a close family illness. In January 2016, Marr announced new and rescheduled dates as part of his West Coast ‘California Jam’ tour, which took place in the US throughout February and March 2016.

2017

Marr features on “Ballad of the Mighty I”, the second single from Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ Chasing Yesterday, playing lead guitar, and joined the band for this song at a concert in Manchester. Marr contributed the track “My Monster” for the Blondie album Pollinator, released on 5 May 2017. On 12 March 2018 Marr announced his third solo album, Call the Comet.

2018

On 3 November 2018, Johnny Marr unveiled a plaque in his parent’s hometown of Athy in County Kildare, Ireland. This was part of the Made of Athy project.

2020

On 18 February 2020, Marr performed ” No Time to Die” with Billie Eilish at the Brit Awards under the direction of Hans Zimmer. It was the first live performance of the title track of the James Bond film of the same name. On 6 August 2020, Marr posted a photo on Instagram with the caption “Joe’s Corner. Crazy Face Factory. Album 4.”, indicating he is in-progress recording his 4th solo album.

🎂 Upcoming Birthday

Currently, Johnny Marr is 57 years, 10 months and 23 days old. Johnny Marr will celebrate 58th birthday on a Sunday 31st of October 2021.

Find out about Johnny Marr birthday activities in timeline view here.

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