Johnny Marr (born John Martin Maher on 31 October 1963 in Ardwick, Manchester) is an English guitarist, keyboardist, harmonica player and singer, and is best known as the man behind the music of The Smiths. In 2006, Marr became a member of Modest Mouse. He is married with one son and one daughter.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/fc/Johnny-marr-1.jpg

 

 

Early career

Like many Mancunians – including his bandmates in The Smiths – Marr is of Irish Catholic descent; his parents emigrated from County Kildare to Manchester in the 1950s. Marr started out as a soccer player, being approached by Nottingham Forest F.C. and also having had trials with Manchester City F.C., whom he supports. In an interview with FourFourTwo magazine, Marr said that "I was good enough for City, but they didn't follow up because I was probably the only player out there wearing eyeliner."

 

 

Musical career

 

The Smiths

In 1982, Marr began writing songs with Steven Morrissey, after they formed The Smiths. To complete the lineup, they recruited Mike Joyce on drums and Dale Hibbert on bass guitar. After two gigs, 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 stars in The UK and Ireland, but did not have the same degree of success elsewhere. Worldwide success came later, but not while the band was still together; Marr eventually left the band due to his frustrations with Morrissey, stemming from Morrissey's infatuation with 1960s pop artists such as Cilla Black. Having to shoulder increasing managerial duties and other day-to-day pressures also contributed.

 

From The Smiths' year of inception to the breakup of the band 5 years later in 1987, Marr and Morrissey co-wrote enough material for four albums, as well as numerous B-sides and other unreleased materials that eventually appeared on one compilation or another. Today, the Morrissey-Marr songwriting duo is held in the highest esteem among critics and fans alike, due to Morrissey's groundbreaking lyrics and Marr's highly melodic and harmonious music.

 

It was announced in December 2005 that Marr would be performing with former Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke at the Manchester v Cancer benefit concert at Manchester's MEN Arena on Saturday 28th January 2006, which was also to feature New Order, Doves and Badly Drawn Boy — with whom Rourke plays bass guitar.

 

It was rumoured that Mike Joyce and/or Morrissey would play alongside their former bandmates for the first time since The Smiths split up in 1987, fulfilling the much hoped-for Smiths reunion. However Marr dispelled rumors of the reunion by posting on his official website that THE SMITHS WILL NOT BE RE-FORMING AT [THE] CONCERT. However, Andy Rourke did join Marr onstage to play The Smiths' classic "How Soon Is Now?"

 

 

The The, Electronic, and the Healers

After the demise of The Smiths in 1987, Marr played guitar and harmonica for The The and also worked with New Order's Bernard Sumner to form Electronic. He also became a sought-after session player and producer, 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.

 

Johnny Marr and the Healers first appeared in 2000 when Marr started looking for musicians. He recruited the son of Beatle Ringo Starr, Zak Starkey, and Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan. The band took two years to complete, because Marr wanted members to be chosen "by chemistry." The debut of the new band was released in 2003, where Marr sang and wrote the lyrics. The second LP was originally going to be released in April 2005 and a short tour was expected soon after that, but as Starkey currently is involved with Oasis and the Who, and Bevan has regrouped with Kula Shaker for a successful re-union, it is unknown when or whether a next LP will come.

 

 

Modest Mouse

In 2006, it was confirmed that Marr is now an official member of the American band Modest Mouse. It has been revealed he not only wrote some of the songs on the album that the band is working on, but is also playing guitar on the album. According to band leader Isaac Brock, he will also be touring with the band in support of the new album, to be titled We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

 

 

Musicianship

Marr, in The Smiths, was known for a delicate, angelically sweet guitar style that could evoke musicality from just a few well-chosen notes. However in the Smiths, Marr was far more open minded to stick to the Roger McGuinn jangly sound that he is often praised for. Tracks like 'I Started Something I couldn't Finish' nod towards Mick Ronson, while the chords to 'Panic' are similar to those of 'Metal Guru' by T-Rex. This fits in with Morrissey's ideology of "Talent borrows, Genius steals", a quote taken from Oscar Wilde, a hero of Morrissey, who is noted in the song 'Cemetry Gates' where Marr again displays Nashville-style guitar parts, along with a Kinks sensibility. Other influences included the likes of Bo Diddley (Best displayed in the shuffling chords of 'How Soon is Now?') and Keith Richards.Contrasted with the common rock guitar flashiness and speed of the time, best exemplified by Eddie Van Halen, Marr's playing was out of place in the usual pop mainstream. (However, in an interview Marr has acknowledged the work of Eddie Van Halen and Yngwie Malmsteen.)

 

 

Post Smiths Albums discography

Only those bands of which Marr was a regular member are included; his session work discography is extensive.

 

The The

Mind Bomb (1989)

Dusk (1992)

 

Electronic

Electronic (1991)

Raise the Pressure (1996)

Twisted Tenderness (1999)

 

Johnny Marr and The Healers

Boomslang (2003)

 

Modest Mouse

We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (2007)

 

He sings for Johnny Marr & the healers and is meant to be dreadful!! lol

 

Imo, he needed Morrissey more than Morrissey needed him. But together, unstoppable

Here are a few of Johnny's post Smiths work.

 

He has been a hell of a lot more influential than most people realise:

 

Billy Bragg - Greetings To The New Brunette (1987 UK#58 - co produced and featuring JM on guitar)

 

Bryan Ferry - Kiss and Tell (1988 UK#41/US#31 - co written by Johnny Marr & featuring his guitar playing)

 

Talking Heads - Blind (1988 UK#58/US#38 - featuring JM on Rhythm guitar)

 

The The - The Beat(en) Generation (1989 UK#18/US#73 - co written, produced and featuring JM's guitar & harp playing)

 

Kirsty MacColl - Days (1989 UK#12 - co produced & featuring JM's guitar work)

 

The Las - Way Out (1988 debut single of Lee Mavers cult Scouse band produced by JM & featuring his guitar solo on the instrumental bridge of the track)

 

More to follow:

His work with Electronic:

 

Electronic - Getting Away With It (1989 UK#12/US#38)

 

Electronic - Get The Message (1991 UK#8)

 

Electronic - Feel Every Beat (1991 UK#39/US#59)

 

Electronic - Disappointed (TOTP Performance 1992 UK#6)

 

Electronic - Forbidden City (1996 UK#14)

 

Electronic - Vivid (1999 UK#17)

Pinned ^_^

More of his session work.........

 

Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison (1991 UK#23/US#71 co-written & produced by JM & featuring his guitar work)

 

Billy Bragg - Sexuality (1991 UK#27 co-written, produced & featuring JM's guitar work)

 

Banderas - This Is Your Life (1991 UK#16 co-written and produced by JM, featuring his guitar work)

 

Pretenders - Night In My Veins (1994 UK#25/US#71 co-written by JM & featuring his guitar work)

 

Black Grape - In The Name Of The Father (1995 UK#8 - JM came up with the sitar riff/motif that runs through the track by the band featuring former members of the Happy Mondays & The Smiths "5th member" Craig Gannon)

 

Oasis - Slide Away (live at Knebworth 1996. In 2002 Noel Gallagher admitted that JM played Guitar (uncredited) on this Definitely Maybe track using a guitar JM had bought off of The Who's Pete Townsend, which Noel went on to buy off of JM!)

 

Pet Shop Boys - I Get Along (live on TOTP 2002 UK#18 featuring JM on guitar)

Nice topic, I'll check some of that stuff when I have time

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c0/Modest_Mouse_promo.jpg

 

"Dashboard" is the first single from US indie rockers Modest Mouse's sixth album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

 

However it is the first to feature ex-Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr who co-wrote all the tracks on the album with Modest Mouse founder member Isaac Brock who said of Johnny Marr, "He made a cautious commitment to write and record with us, and then the tighter we got, he was like, ‘okay, let's tour too.' Then he was pretty much a member of the band-- not pretty much. He's a full blown member of the band. It's really f***in' nice." According to Brock, Marr was involved in songwriting on the album, and will even tour with the band in support of it. In the interview, Brock described We Were Dead as a "nautical balalaika carnival romp." Johnny Marr later responded to Brock's comments by saying, "Isaac contacted me and asked if I'd help Modest Mouse write the new album. I was intrigued and played with the band in Portland a couple of times. We hit it off and wrote three great songs straight away, something clicked, it felt right from the off. I have a new Healers album pretty much done, but we've been having such a good time playing these new Modest Mouse songs. When people hear the record they'll see why, we're very good together."

 

Modest Mouse - Dashboard video

 

This song is already at a peak of #7 on the Billboard Modern Rock tracks and is expected to climb significantly from its US#59 peak due to the release of the video and track to download outlets this week in America. The music video for the track was premiered on USA MTV at 6:00 a.m Monday, Febuary 26 And repeated every hour on MTV2 and MTVU. While the track is being added to Top40 US Radio Stations playlists acroSs the country.

 

The video was produced by Motion Theory (Matisyahu, Beck, Velvet Revolver) as "a drunken shouting match between sailors that expands on the nautical mythology."

 

What do you think of this track? Can you see it being a potential huge hit in the UK (as well) or not?

 

thanks for this mate :)

also vote here:

 

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