Johnny Marr Will Tell the Story of His Life Through His Guitar Collection in New Book
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Johnny Marr will use his extensive guitar collection as a jumping-off point for a new book about his life and career, Marr’s Guitars, out Oct. 17 via Harper Design (pre-order here).
In Marr’s Guitars, Marr will pair different guitars with chapters of his life, each instrument associated with a particular moment, song, or sound. The book will cover everything from Marr’s early days as a musician and work with the Smiths all the way up through recent projects, like collaborating with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for the James Bond flick, No Time to Die. Photographs shot by Pat Graham will accompany Marr’s words.
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“Guitars have been the obsession of my life … they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline,” Marr said in a statement. “So I’m delighted to have made Marr’s Guitars. It’s very different to other guitar books and is more of an art book, with stories of songs and sounds. It’s been a long time coming and a labour of love.”
For the guitar heads out there, some of the instruments featured in the book include Marr’s longtime favorites, like the Rickenbacker 330, the Gibson ES-355, and the Johnny Marr Signature Fender Jaguar. Some of the featured guitars were gifted to Marr over the years, like a Stratocaster from Nile Rodgers, a Hargstrom from Bryan Ferry, and an acoustic from Bert Jasnch. Other guitars, Marr gifted to some of his musician friends over the years, like a Stratocaster Noel Gallagher used on Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and a Gibson Les Paul that Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien used on In Rainbows.
The aforementioned No Time to Die soundtrack is just one of many projects Marr has been involved with recently. Last year, he dropped his fourth solo album, Fever Dreams Pts. 1 – 4, while he also partnered with Gallagher on “Pretty Boy,” a song off the most recent Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds album. Maybe most notably, Marr and former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke reunited last November for their first recording together in 35 years; the song “Strong Forever” was from Blitz Vega, a group featuring Rourke and former Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Blaggers.
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