Getty ImagesJohnny Marr is to auction almost 100 of his guitars, including the ones he played on The Smiths’ This Charming Man and the Billie Eilish song No Time To Die.
The sale also includes a 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355, given to Marr by music mogul Seymour Stein as an incentive for The Smiths to sign to his label, Sire Records.
The first song Smith played on it was the classic indie anthem Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now.
Speaking to the BBC, Marr said he was letting go of his guitars because, “I didn’t like the idea of my studio space becoming a museum”.
Getty ImagesHe received his first guitar – “a little wooden toy thing, bought in a haberdashery shop in Manchester” – when he was just four years old.
He went on to form The Smiths with Morrissey in 1982, defining an entire era of indie music with his intricate, chiming tones – rooted in British pop, while stubbornly avoiding cliché.
Since the group disbanded in 1987, he has become a serial collaborator, working with everyone from The Pretenders and Talking Heads to Bryan Ferry, Oasis, Blondie, Beck, Modest Mouse, The Cribs and Franz Ferdinand.
This weekend, he was a special guest at The Gorillaz’ kaleidoscopic, one-off stadium concert. Later this year, he’ll release fifth solo album, The Age Of Everything.
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It was while writing the 2023 book Marr’s Guitars that he first decided to offload some of his treasured possessions.
“Making that book gave me an excuse to take all the guitars out and photograph them and take them to a few events. When that came to an end, that period, the idea of them all just going back into storage just seemed very weird,” he said.
He realised it would be better if the instruments could continue to provide inspiration for other musicians.
“I thought about people in Belfast or in Dundee or Tokyo owning one of these guitars for the rest of their lives – coming down to breakfast in the morning and really loving and cherishing this instrument.
“Once I got that idea in my head, I thought it was really much, much more, more appealing than them being in some glass case.”
And if the auction clears some space to fill with new guitars, all the better.
“I like your thinking,” he laughs. “I wasn’t going to say that, but I like your thinking.”
Christie’sThe 95 lots will go on display at Christie’s in New York and London over the summer, ahead of the auction in London on 17 September.
The guitars are listed with estimates between £1,000 and £150,000. Marr will donate the hammer price of 10 lots to benefit The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The National Autistic Society.
Among the highlights are:
Speaking backstage at The Gorilaz’ concert this weekend, Marr acknowledged that it would be “emotional” to part ways with his collection.
“But I’m hoping that maybe it’ll be somewhat cathartic as well.
“I’m pathologically someone who doesn’t really look back, but this thing with the guitars has made me somewhat nostalgic, without a doubt.”
