John Martin Marr John Martin Maher
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Johnny Marr co-founded The Smiths with Morrissey in 1982, creating jangly guitar-driven songs that defined 1980s indie rock. After the band’s acrimonious split in 1987, he became a sought-after session musician, collaborating with The Pretenders, Bryan Ferry, Electronic, and The The. He later formed Johnny Marr’s Healers and won the MOJO Awards. His guitar style, often played on a black 1983 Rickenbacker 330, influenced many musicians including Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien.
Names, aliases, and relatives of Johnny Marr — birth name, kin, and personal ties.
Johnny Marr by the numbers — life, work, and family.
Johnny Marr — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.
Growing up in Longsight, Manchester, Johnny Marr was born John Martin Maher on October 31, 1963, to a working-class family. He attended The Manchester College and developed an early passion for music, inspired by the punk rock movement. His favorite album, Iggy and the Stooges’ Raw Power, shaped his raw, energetic approach to guitar playing. Before choosing music, he played football and was even approached by Nottingham Forest, but he decided to concentrate on his musical career.
Johnny Marr made his name as lead guitarist of The Smiths, formed with Morrissey in 1982. The band’s catchy melodies and his distinctive jangly guitar style, often played on a black 1983 Rickenbacker 330, created some of the most memorable songs of the decade. Personality clashes led to an acrimonious split in 1987. He then became a much sought-after session musician, working briefly with The Pretenders and Bryan Ferry, and more extensively with Electronic and The The in the early 1990s. In the late 1990s, he formed his own band, Johnny Marr’s Healers. More recently, he has performed as a guitarist in Hans Zimmer’s live concerts, including Hans Zimmer: Live in Prague 2017 and Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert 2025.
Johnny Marr has been married to Angie Brown since 1986, and they have a son named Nile Marr. Outside of music, he is known for supporting Manchester City football club. He used to play football himself and was approached by Nottingham Forest, but he turned down the opportunity to focus on his music career.
Johnny Marr became the most influential British indie rock guitarist of the 1980s. Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien said Marr inspired him to pick up a guitar as a teenager. Total Guitar Magazine named him the best guitarist in the North West of England in a poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists. No Marr riff made the magazine’s list of the 100 greatest riffs of all time. He received the Q Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007 and won MOJO Awards. The Smiths remain a touchstone for up-and-coming British guitar bands, and Marr’s jangly guitar sound continues to influence musicians worldwide. He is remembered for co-founding The Smiths and his signature guitar work.
The complete filmography of Johnny Marr — every film, TV show, and documentary credit, ranked by popularity.
Every award, honor, and recognition received by Johnny Marr — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.
A wall of memorable lines from Johnny Marr — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.
No One Has Any Respect for Someone Who Can Play a Million Notes per Minute but Can’t Put Together a Decent Tune That Someone Can Sing to or Feel Some Sort of Emotion From.
I’m Interested in Melody, Lyrics and the Overall Song. I Don’t Like to Waste Notes, Not Even One. I Like to Put the Right Note in the Right Place, and My Influences Have Always Been Those Kinds of Players. Keith Richards Comes to Mind, and I Really Like Nils Lofgren’s Soloing, Because He’s so Melodic. I Love John Lennon’s Rhythm Playing, and George Harrison Was an Incredible Guitarist.
It Was Good to Be in a Group That Stood for and Against Certain Things. We Were Against Synthesizers, the Conservative Government, Groups with Names Like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the English Monarchy, Cock-rock Guitar Solos and the American Music Scene at the Time. We Stood for the Englishness of the Kinks, T. Rex and Roxy Music, the Arty Quirks That Kept Those Groups from Being Huge in the US.
The Post-punk Era Is Where I Come From… I’m Very Proud to Come from That Generation. We Were the People Who Went on to Make Indie Records in the ’80S.
I Don’t Think the Smiths Was Ever Going to Be a Band That Was Still Together 35, 40 Years Later Like R.E.M. or U2. Morrissey and I Are Very Different People and Both Very Willful and Eventually Those Two People Are Going to Want to Go in Their Own Different Directions.
I’m Totally Cool with Having a Sound. That’s Something That Happened Towards the End of My Thirties. I Think It’s a Healthy Thing to Kick Against the Typecast or the Stereotypes. That’s Absolutely Fine, and That’s the Prerogative of a Young Musician. but I’ve Tried All Sorts of Things and That’s Kind of Gone into the Way I Play Now. When You Get Older, If People Are Saying They Know You Have a Sound Then, Man, You’re Pretty Lucky.
I’ve Always Had a Blind Spot to the Music of Queen. It Was All-pervasive When I Was Growing up in the Late 1970S and It Seems Like Everyone Reveres It. I’m Sure They’re Nice Fellas but It Never Did Anything for Me at All. Perhaps It’s Because It’s Very Choral and Written on Piano. I Just Couldn’t Click with It. I Like Brian May, I Just Don’t Like Queen.
I Used to Smoke 40 Cigarettes a Day. It Took Me About Three Attempts to Stop – and It Was Tortuous, to Say the Least.
We Have Seen to Have Gone Down Some Rabbit Hole of Earnestness and Faux Sincerity. a Great Song Doesn’t Have to Be Someone Sitting on the Porch or by a Campfire, Offering Emotional Exposition with Everybody Crying into Their Cider. There Quite Enough People Singing from the Heart. What’s Wrong with Singing from the Brain?
Little-known facts about Johnny Marr — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.
Radiohead guitarist Ed O’Brien has said that Johnny Marr inspired him to start playing guitar as a teenager.
Johnny Marr’s favorite album is Iggy and the Stooges’ Raw Power.
Total Guitar Magazine named Johnny Marr the best guitarist in the North West of England in a poll of the greatest 12 British guitarists.
He is a supporter of Manchester City football club.
Before focusing on music, Marr played football and was approached by Nottingham Forest, but he chose to pursue a musical career.
Despite being widely respected and influential, no Johnny Marr riff made it into Total Guitar Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest riffs of all time.
In 2007, Johnny Marr received the Q Lifetime Achievement Award.
His signature jangly sound was achieved using a black 1983 Rickenbacker 330 guitar.
Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Johnny Marr.
Celebrities similar to Johnny Marr — same craft, ranked by reach.
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