Marr's Guitars - Johnny Marr

Marr's Guitars - Johnny Marr 

A stunning photographic presentation of the guitars that defined the distinctive sounds and style of Johnny Marr with personal reflections and insights from the legendary guitarist himself.'Guitars have been the obsession of my life ... they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline' – Johnny Marr

The guitarist’s guitarist, Johnny Marr redefined music for a generation. His ringing arpeggios and chordal innovations helped elevate The Smiths to one of the, if not the, most influential and important British bands of its era.Tracing Marr's career from his teenage years to his recent work on the Bond soundtrack, Marr’s Guitars showcases the most significant of Marr’s superb collection of electric and acoustic guitars, revealing through them the evolution of his iconic sound and style of playing. Each guitar is identified with a crucial moment, a specific song or a particular sound, and each embodies a key aspect of Marr’s lifelong passion.

Renowned photographer Pat Graham presents each instrument as a full body portrait, supported by micro shots highlighting the specific details that make each one unique, while Johnny Marr himself reveals in his accompanying commentary on what tracks and at which gigs each guitar was played. Many of the guitars are closely associated with Marr, such as the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355 and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some were passed down to him, including John Entwistle’s Epiphone Coronet, Bert Jansch’s Yamaha acoustic, Bryan Ferry’s Hagstrom and Nile Rodgers’ Stratocaster. Others are guitars once owned by Marr that have since been passed on to the next generation of guitar heroes, including the Stratocaster used by Noel Gallagher on ‘Wonderwall’.

Punctuating the gorgeous photography of the guitars and the accompanying commentary are contextual studio, backstage and onstage shots. Together, they make Marr’s Guitars a unique cultural history of indie music and guitar playing told through the prism of Johnny Marr’s experiences and achievements.