Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher, 31 October 1963) is an English guitarist from Ardwick, Manchester, best known as one of the two key members (and the least-divisive one at that) of The Smiths alongside Morrissey. His use of layered, jangly guitars and arpeggiation helped give rise to the revival of British Guitar Pop in the 80s and 90s, directly influencing The Stone Roses, Oasis, Radiohead, and nearly every Indie Rock band since.
Since the breakup of The Smiths, Marr has performed as a member of Electronic (with New Order's Bernard Sumner), Modest Mouse, The Cribs, supergroup 7 Worlds Collide, and plenty of session work, including with The The, The Pretenders, and Talking Heads. He released his solo debutnote , The Messenger, on February 25, 2013 to an enthusiastic reception, and followed it with Playland on October 6, 2014 to much the same response. He also frequently collaborates with Hans Zimmer on film soundtracks.
He released his autobiography, Set the Boy Free, on November 3, 2016.
Associated Projects:
- The Smiths
- The The
- Electronic
- The Pretenders
- Modest Mouse
- The Cribs
- Oasis - Guest musician
- 7 Worlds Collide
- Talking Heads
Solo Discography
- Boomslang (2003) - Johnny Marr + the Healers.
- The Messenger (2013) - Considered his proper solo debut.
- Playland (2014)
- Adrenalin Baby (2015) - Live album
- Call the Comet (2018)
- Fever Dreams Pts. 1 - 4 (2022)
This artist provides examples of:
- Alternative Rock: An Indie mainstay for his whole career.
- Brit Pop: Ur-Example with The Smiths.
- Iconic Item: His Rickenbacker and Fender Jaguar guitars.
- Oop North: One of Manchester's musical treasures.
- Pop-Star Composer: Wrote much of the score to 2010's Inception and 2011's The Big Bang. Also collaborated with Zimmer on the score of No Time to Die.
- Stage Names: Marr's real name is John Maher. He changed it to avoid confusion with the drummer of Buzzcocks, as well as because it sounds like the French phrase 'J'en ai marre', which roughly means 'I'm fed up with it all'.
- Supergroup: Part of both the superduo Electronic with Bernard Sumner and the supergroup 7 Worlds Collide.
