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Johnny Marr (born October 31, 1963) is an English singer, songwriter and guitarist, known best for forming the Smiths with singer Morrissey, from Manchester, UK.
Johnny Marr, born John Martin Maher was raised in Manchester, England by his Irish-emigrant parents. With initial aspirations of being a professional football player, Maher started his first band, the Paris Velentinos, aged 13 with school friends, followed by the bands Sister Ray and White Dice. In 1980 the talented guitarist enrolled at Wythenshawe College, dissolved the White Dice band and formed a funk band titled Freak Party.
At the recommendation of previous White Dice singer Rob Allman, Maher approached Steven Morrissey, a punk singer with the band the Nosebleeds, who along with friend Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce, formed what has been described as the most influential and important band to emerge out of the 1980s. The Smiths signed to Rough Trade Records and issued their debut single “Hand in Glove” in May 1983. The highly anticipated eponymously-titled debut album shot to No. 2 in the UK Albums chart and consolidated the considerable fan base.
The Smiths’ subsequent albums include the politically charged No. 1 album “Meat is Murder” in 1985, Spin magazine’s ‘Greatest Album Ever Made’ “The Queen Is Dead” in 1986, “The World Won’t Listen”, “Louder Than Bombs” and “Strangeways, Here We Come” all in 1987, and their last release “Rank” in 1988.
Post-Smiths, Maher featured as a significant session player for artists and bands like the Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Talking Heads and Beck. On top of this he became an officiall member of the band the Pretenders in late 1987, formed the group Electronic with New Order’s Bernard Summer and formed Johnny Marr and the Healers in the year 2000. The band formed of Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Lee Spenser and Alonzo Bevan released their debut “Boomslang” in 2003.
In 2006 Maher became a full member of the American indie and alternative rock group Modest Mouse for the band’s 2007 release “We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank” and toured extensively in support of the album. A couple of years later in 2008 Maher imparted some of his skill and experienced wisdom on English indie band the Cribs. The collaboration led to Maher performing with the band across their UK and international dates and recorded the album “Ignore the Ignorant” with the Cribs in 2009.
After contributing to the soundtracks of films Inception and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Maher released his debut solo album “The Messenger” on February 25, 2013, followed-by his second solo studio album “Playland” in 2014.
Read moreThe main question being asked on Saturday night after Johnny Marr's triumphant Apollo gig, apart from "how good was that??!!", was, "why couldn't he have gone solo 25 years ago??"!
If a ten tonne truck or double decker bus had have run anybody over slap bang outside the Manchester Apollo on Saturday night, there is little doubt they would have gone with a smile on their face, what a show......!!!
Looking half his age, Marr's performance was polished yet bouncy, slick but with definite edge, he's clearly a happy man, even happier to be back in Manchester and even more happy to be in the place he is right now, it was a joy to behold.
Starting off with the title track from new album 'Playland', he steamrollered straight into 'Panic', the former got a good response, especially for a relatively new (for most of the audience) tune and a sign of the delirium that was to follow for the latter.
If you've ever read an interview with Marr over the past 25 or so years, you'll know he's very head strong and only does what he wants to do, he's also quick to skip over invitations to talk "Smiths" or any of his former impressive back-catalogue, so he could have been forgiven, nay expected, to focus on the track lists from his first two albums but it's a sign of how comfortable he is in his music right now that he feels no issue with sprinkling some of his very own solid British Indie gold into the set-list.
A big surprise to many was the opening track off The Smiths 1985 album 'Meat Is Murder', 'Headmasters Ritual' is a blistering take on the Manchester school system of the 60's and 70's and was a bolt from the blue for those, erm, older members of the audience when the opening riff came into auditory focus, 'Getting Away With It' is now a firm favourite in Marr's armoury and his band bring it to life in an effortless groove with a joyous chorus.
The top drawer 'New Town Velocity' from his debut 'The Messenger' rams home just what a fine accomplished musician Marr is on his own, at the same time his in-between-songs banter shows his wicked sense of humour and anybody who can play the theme to Banana Splits, twice! and do it with with such a cool rock flourish, is clearly at ease being Status: God Like!
The crowd singalong to 'There Is A Light...', the opening riff to 'How Soon Is Now', the fist in the air of 'Upstarts' the slight melancholy of "Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want", the catchy chorus to 'Easy Money' a knowingly ironic nod to the world's reliance on consumerism AND, this is always a bonus and shows the calibre of act you're watching, only two (that I saw) flying beer glasses, bonus!
One inebriated guy making his way through the crowd was overheard to say "can't believe it, nobody in the bogs and no queues at the bar!" Now if there was ever an indication of an act holding it's audience, that was it....
Johnny Marr for me is one of the best musicians I've ever heard.
I fell in love with his music since the very early beggining. From my early 10s I dreamt about watching him playing the guitar in a concert. Almost 30 years after, at Lollapalloza Chile, in Santiago, the dream came true! It was a really really hot sunny day at Parque O' Higgins, and I waited patiently for an hour just in the front row, because I needed to be as close as possible...
All started with "The Right Thing Right," then he played one of the four Smiths' songs "Stop Me If You Think That You've Heard This One Before"... and I saw everybody singing and jumping around... "Upstarts," "Sun and moon," "Generate! Generate!"... for all who love the guitar Go Johnny!
So he played "Bigmouth Strikes Again" and the crowd realised why they were there! "Getting Away With It" from Electronic and "I Fought The Law" from Crickets were just amazing, such a great surprise! The last two songs were Smiths': "How Soon Is Now?" and one of my favorites: "There Is A Light That Never Goes Out". At this time I though: "Oh, God, I can't believe this!". Every single person there singing together...
The next week he played at Lollapallooza Brasil, in Sao Paulo, and I felt I needed to watch him again... so I went there!
The perfect setlist of the week before was the same but... something unexpected happened! I saw him playing "How Soon Is Now?" with Andy Rourke! So hard to describe the feeling of seeing a "half Smiths reunion" few meters from my eyes and my ears!
Two of the best days of my life, undoubtedly!
Was better than I thought. He was fair with regards to playing a mix of his latest last few albums with old smiths and electronic material. It was amazing how big his four piece band sounded and each musician played with the expertise of Marr or at least cared enough to emulate his ability. His voice holds up and can carry the songs. Very hard to replace morrissey as a singer but then again, Marr played old stuff while morrissey only played 1 song from the smiths. A few people who sort of knew the smiths that went with me commented “exceeded their expectations”. Worth every penny!
What can be said about Johnny Fuckin Marr that hasn’t been said before. Greatest living guitarist with an ear for a great riff. And now more comfortable in the front man role. Not a great voice but strong enough to carry those songs and on the many Smiths tunes he is not tempted to ape Mozzer.
You could feel the love in the room which was not confined to Nile Rodgers who enthusiastically introduced his friend Johnny.
Seeing Johnny is the best way to remember the greatness of The Smiths and let’s hope there is one light that never goes out.
Johnny's shows are just get better and better. He plays a mix of songs from the major bands of his career (solo/The Smiths/Electronic) with the main emphasis on his increasingly confident solo work. The Smiths' songs are executed with aplomb and you don't really miss Mr Stephen Morrissey not being there to sing as Johnny's vocals are great. His guitar playing is clear and concise, the vocals are great and the band is tight.
If you're a fan of anything Mr Marr has had a hand in you will enjoy this show immensely.
Great show, the man is rocking and is a pleasure to watch picking his Fender and strutting the stage. He played a mix of classic Smiths songs and new material for two hours, using two Fender Jaguar's. No surprise with the song selection, everything was super pro, the band tight, and the ambience very nice. Except for a moment a security guy jumped to the crowd and dragged a guy out for no apparent reason; maybe taking a picture with a flash?
We waited a long time to see Johnny and he didn't disappoint. Great concert and great atmosphere. He should have been a front man years ago. Looking forward to seeing him back in Dublin soon again. The National Stadium is a great venue. Really intimate and a sense of being close to the artist. Sound was a bit ropey at times but then it got sorted.
Overall a fantastic experience.
The show was fantastic and very intimate! Johnny is extremely talented, and very friendly. He interacted with the crowd, and played many guitar riffs practically in your face. He played several Smith songs better than what you here on the records. Bottom line, it was an Amazing show.
Banging mixture of old and new with a couple of Electronic ditties thrown in for good measure. How Soon is Now a real highlight. Marr was witty and engaging. Support were pretty good too,if a little contrived. Would definitely see him again. Set well chosen
Johnny Marr is the genuine article. Originator, icon, in excellent form to boot. *Not* a heritage act, tho he knew just when to pull out Smiths material. Good light show too. A pleasure & privilege to see him play.
Johnny Marr will be performing near you at The Big Park on Friday 21 July 2023 as part of their tour, and are scheduled to play 16 concerts across 1 country in 2023-2024. View all concerts.
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