Johnny Marr
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| Johnny Marr | |
|---|---|
| Image:Johnnymarrfree.jpg | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | John Martin Maher |
| Born | October 31 1963 Manchester, England |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, Songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica, Vocals |
| Years active | 1982 - present |
| Label(s) | Various |
| Associated acts | The Smiths Electronic Johnny Marr and The Healers Modest Mouse The The |
Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher on 31 October, 1963 in Ardwick, Manchester) is an English guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and singer. Marr rose to fame in the 1980s as the guitarist in The Smiths, where he formed a highly influential songwriting partnership with Morrissey. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon, and has been a member of Modest Mouse since 2006.
[edit] Childhood
Marr's parents emigrated from County Kildare, Ireland, to Manchester in the 1950s. He attended St Augustine's RC Grammar School, which then merged with other schools to form a Comprehensive School. Marr had aspirations to be a professional football (soccer) player, and was approached by Nottingham Forest F.C. and had trials with Manchester City F.C. (whom he supports). In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Marr said, "I was good enough for City, but they didn't follow up because I was probably the only player out there wearing eyeliner."
[edit] The Smiths
Billy Duffy, guitarist of The Cult, taught Marr how to play the guitar. In 1982, Marr began writing songs with Morrissey, after they formed The Smiths. To complete the lineup, they recruited Mike Joyce on drums and Dale Hibbert on bass guitar. After The Smiths' live debut at the Ritz in Manchester, 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 popular in the UK and Ireland, but did not have the same degree of success elsewhere. Although they were a fixture on American college radio, worldwide commercial success came after the band was split up. Marr left the band in 1987 due to his frustrations with Morrissey and the direction that The Smiths' music was taking.
From The Smiths' inception to the breakup of the band five years later, Marr and Morrissey co-wrote four albums, as well as numerous B-sides and other unreleased songs that eventually appeared on compilations. Still today, the partnership of Marr and Morrissey is praised by critics and cited by numerous musicians as a highly influential songwriting duo.[citation needed]
Since Marr left the group, no known attempts have been made of reuniting The Smiths. Amidst false press reports of a Smiths reunion, Marr performed "How Soon Is Now?" with former bandmate Andy Rourke at the Manchester v Cancer benefit concert at Manchester's M.E.N. Arena on 28 January 2006.
[edit] Post-Smiths
[edit] The The, Electronic, the Healers & others
After the demise of The Smiths in 1987, Marr recorded and toured with The The and formed Electronic with New Order's Bernard Sumner and sometime members Pet Shop Boys. He also became a sought-after session player, 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. He also acted as co-producer for some of the aforementioned artists and co-produced Manchester band Haven at his own Clear Studios.
In 2000 Johnny recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Cavewaves guitarist Lee Spencer and ex-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 (Manchester Evening News, May 2007). Drummer Starkey is currently involved with Oasis and The Who, and Bevan has regrouped with Kula Shaker.
[edit] Modest Mouse
In 2006, Marr became an official member of the American band Modest Mouse. Rumour has it that Modest Mouse had put out the word that they were looking for a "Johnny Marr-esque guitarist", and coincidentally, Johnny Marr was one of the people who answered the call. He wrote some of the songs with lead singer Isaac Brock on their new album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, in addition to being featured on guitar.[1] Marr is currently touring with the band.[2][3]
The new album reached number one on the American Billboard charts in late March 2007. For Marr this is the first time he has had a number one record in the US. The highest chart position before that was with Electronic, who made the Top 40 in the singles chart with "Getting Away With It".[4]
[edit] University Of Salford
Marr is set to deliver a series of workshops and masterclasses to students at the University of Salford in the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording programme.[5]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums (as band member)
[edit] The Smiths
- The Smiths (1984)
- Hatful of Hollow (1984)
- Meat Is Murder (1985)
- The Queen Is Dead (1986)
- Strangeways, Here We Come (1987)
- The World Won't Listen (1987)
- Louder Than Bombs (1987)
- Rank (1988)
[edit] The The
[edit] Kirsty MacColl
[edit] Electronic
[edit] Johnny Marr and The Healers
- Boomslang (2003)
[edit] Modest Mouse
[edit] Albums (as a guest musician)
[edit] Billy Bragg
[edit] Bryan Ferry
[edit] Talking Heads
[edit] Pet Shop Boys
[edit] Banderas
[edit] Kirsty MacColl
[edit] Moodswings
- Moodfood (1992)
[edit] K-Klass
- Universal (1993)
[edit] Electrafixion
[edit] M People
[edit] Beck
[edit] Tom Jones
[edit] Bert Jansch
- Crimson Moon (2000)
[edit] Neil Finn
[edit] Oasis
[edit] Beth Orton
[edit] The Charlatans
[edit] Quando Quango
[edit] Karl Bartos
[edit] Lisa Germano
[edit] Jane Birkin
- Fictions (2006)
[edit] Transit Kings
[edit] Crowded House
[edit] Albums (as producer)
[edit] Marion
[edit] Haven
- Between the Senses (2002)
[edit] Singles
In addition to an extensive singles discography with the artists listed above, Johnny has appeared on singles by Sandie Shaw, Everything But the Girl, The Pretenders, Andrew Berry, A Certain Ratio, The Cult, Denise Johnson, Stex, The Impossible Dreamers (as producer) and Black Grape.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1001956909
- ^ http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2006/08/03/jeff/#more-426
- ^ http://www.jmarr.com Johnny Marr website
- ^ Former Smiths' guitarplayer reaches number 1 in this weeks American Billboard Chart
- ^ Johnny Marr appointed visiting professor. University of Salford (2007-10-18). Retrieved on 2007-12-03.
[edit] External links
- jmarr.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 |
de:Johnny Marr es:Johnny Marr fr:Johnny Marr it:Johnny Marr nl:Johnny Marr ja:ジョニー・マー pt:John Martin Maher fi:Johnny Marr sv:Johnny Marr
Categories: Articles to be split | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since November 2007 | 1963 births | English record producers | English rock guitarists | English songwriters | English vegetarians | Living people | Musicians from Manchester | People of Irish descent in Great Britain | The Smiths members | People from Ardwick | The Pretenders members
