MUSIC HISTORY 101 OCTOBER 31, 1963 - Born on this day as John Martin Maher in Ardwick, Manchester, England: Singer/songwriter/musician JOHNNY MARR Marr was born to Irish emigrants from Athy, County Kildare. The family moved to Wythenshawe in 1972. From 1975, he attended St Augustines Catholic Grammar School, which in 1977 merged with other schools to form St John Plessington High School. Maher had aspirations to be a professional football player. He was approached by Nottingham Forest and had trials with Manchester City Maher formed his first band, the Paris Valentinos, at the age of 13, with Andy Rourke and Kevin Williams (who later became an actor, known as Kevin Kennedy), performing for the first time at a Jubilee party in Benchill in June 1977, playing Rolling Stones and Thin Lizzy covers. In 1979, he played a single gig at Wythenshawe Forum with a band called Sister Ray and re-united with Rourke in a band called White Dice. White Dice entered a demo-tape competition organised by the NME and won an audition for F-Beat Records, which they attended in April 1980 but were not signed. In October 1980, Marr enrolled at Wythenshawe College, serving as President of the schools Student Union. White Dice dissolved in 1981. Maher and Rourke then formed a funk band, Freak Party, with Simon Wolstencroft on drums. Around this time, Maher first met Matt Johnson, with whom he would later collaborate. By early 1982, Freak Party had fizzled out, being unable to find a singer. Marr approached Rob Allman, singer in White Dice, who suggested Steven Morrissey, a short-lived singer with the punk band the Nosebleeds. Marr approached a mutual friend asking to be introduced and they visited Morrissey at his house in Kings Road, Stretford in May. Marrs jangly Rickenbacker and Fender Telecaster guitar playing became synonymous with the Smiths sound. Marrs friend Andy Rourke joined as bass player and Mike Joyce was recruited as drummer. Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, Hand in Glove, on May 13, 1983. By February 1984, the Smiths fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the bands long-awaited eponymous debut album to number two in the UK chart. Early in 1985 the band released their second album, Meat Is Murder. This was more strident and political than its predecessor, and it was the bands only album (barring compilations) to reach number one in the UK charts. During 1985 the band completed lengthy tours of the UK and the US while recording the next studio record, The Queen Is Dead. In 1989 Spin magazine rated The Queen is Dead as #1 of The Greatest Albums Ever Made. Spin was not alone in this designation—numerous periodicals rank the Smiths and their albums, especially The Queen is Dead, high on their best ever lists. NME, for example, has dubbed the Smiths the most important rock band of all time. However, a legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the bands exhausting touring and recording schedule. He later told NME, Worse for wear wasnt the half of it: I was extremely ill. By the time the tour actually finished it was all getting a little bit... dangerous. I was just drinking more than I could handle.[19] Meanwhile, Rourke was fired from the band in early 1986 due to his use of heroin, although he was reinstated in short order. Despite their continued success, personal differences within the band – including the increasingly strained relationship between Morrissey and Marr—saw them on the verge of splitting. In August 1987, Marr left the group, and auditions to find a replacement for him proved fruitless. By the time Strangeways, Here We Come (named after Strangeways Prison, Manchester) was released in September, the band had split up. The breakdown in the relationship has been primarily attributed to Morrisseys becoming annoyed by Marrs work with other artists and Marrs growing frustration with Morrisseys musical inflexibility. Referring to the songs recorded in the bands last session together (B-sides for the Girlfriend in a Coma single, which preceded the albums release), Marr said I wrote I Keep Mine Hidden, but Work Is a Four-Letter Word I hated. That was the last straw, really. I didnt form a group to perform Cilla Black songs. In 1989, in an interview with young fan, Tim Samuels (who later became a BBC journalist), Morrissey claimed the lack of a managerial figure and business problems were to blame for the bands eventual split. In 1996, Smiths drummer Mike Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, claiming that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties. Morrissey and Marr had claimed the lions share of the Smiths recording and performance royalties and allowed ten percent each to Joyce and Rourke. Composition royalties were not an issue, as Rourke and Joyce had never been credited as composers for the band. Morrissey and Marr claimed that the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive 25% thenceforth. As Smiths royalties had been frozen for two years, Rourke settled for a smaller lump sum to pay off his debts and continued to receive 10%. Morrissey was described by the judge as devious, truculent and unreliable. Marr and Morrissey have repeatedly stated they will not reunite the band. In 2005, VH1 attempted to get the band back together on its Bands Reunited show but abandoned its attempt after the shows host, Aamer Haleem, failed to corner Morrissey before a show. In December 2005 it was announced that Johnny Marr and the Healers would play at Manchester v Cancer, a benefit show for cancer research being organised by Andy Rourke and his production company, Great Northern Productions. Rumors suggested that a Smiths reunion would occur at this concert but were dispelled by Marr on his website. In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio Five Live, Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows? Marr went on to say that Its no biggy. Maybe we will in 18 or 32 years time when we all need to for whatever reasons, but right now Morrissey is doing his thing and Im doing mine, so thats the answer really. This was the first indication of a possible Smiths reunion from Marr, who previously had said that reforming the band would be a bad idea. Marrs guitar playing was a huge building block for more Manchester bands that followed the Smiths. The Stone Roses guitarist John Squire has stated that Marr was a major influence. Oasis lead guitarist Noel Gallagher credited the Smiths an influence, especially Marr, whom he described as a f***ing wizard, also stating that hes unique, you cant play what he plays. Marr has talked about a session that occurred with Paul McCartney shortly after the Smiths demise. At the age of only 23, he found himself sharing a mic with the former Beatle on I Saw Her Standing There, an occasion that he has described as, a pretty good moment. In August 1987, he was very briefly an official member of the Pretenders. In late 1987, he toured with the band and appeared on the single Windows of the World b/w 1969. He then left the Pretenders, and recorded and toured with the The from 1988 through 1994, recording two albums with the group. He simultaneously formed Electronic with New Orders Bernard Sumner. Electronic were intermittently active throughout the 1990s, releasing their final album in 1999. In 1992 he recorded a cover version of Ennio Morricones The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the NME compilation Ruby Trax together with Billy Duffy. Fellow Manchester band Happy Mondays also once tried to court him to be a member of their band, which did not work out. He has also worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Black Grape, Jane Birkin, Talking Heads, and Beck. Marr played guitar on several Pet Shop Boys songs; he continues to have guest appearances on their albums, with his most significant contribution on Release (2002). The only remix that Marr has ever done was for Pet Shop Boys—it was a mix of his favorite track from their 1987 album Actually called I Want to Wake Up, and was released as the b-side to 1993s Can You Forgive Her? He later worked as a guest musician on the Oasis album Heathen Chemistry. He also joined Oasis on stage at a gig in 2001, playing Champagne Supernova and I Am the Walrus. In 2000 Marr recruited drummer Zak Starkey (son of Ringo Starr), Cavewaves guitarist Lee Spencer and ex-Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan for his new project, Johnny Marr and the Healers. The band had taken two years to come together as Marr had wanted members to be chosen by chemistry. Their debut album Boomslang was released in 2003, with all lyrics and lead vocals by Marr. A second album was originally scheduled for release in April 2005, and a short tour was expected soon after, but Marr has since stated that the band is on the side burner for the time being (Manchester Evening News, May 2007). Drummer Starkey is currently involved with the Who, and Bevan has regrouped with Kula Shaker. 7 Worlds Collide (2001–2009) In 2001, Marr performed two Smiths songs and music by others with a supergroup called 7 Worlds Collide consisting of members from Pearl Jam, Radiohead, Split Enz and others, assembled by Neil Finn of Split Enz and Crowded House in 2001. A second set of concerts took place in December 2008/January 2009, and an album of new studio material titled The Sun Came Out was released in August 2009 to raise money for Oxfam. In addition to his work as a recording artist, Marr has worked as a record producer. In 2006, he began work with Modest Mouses Isaac Brock on songs that eventually were featured on the bands 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The band subsequently announced that Marr was a fully fledged member, and the reformed line-up toured extensively throughout 2006–07. During 2008, when Modest Mouse opened for R.E.M. during their summer tour of the United States, Marr would come on stage during the encore of R.E.M.s set, for Fall on Me, and, toward the end of the tour, Man on the Moon. Marr and R.E.M.s guitarist Peter Buck have often been compared by alternative music fans as having a similar guitar style. The new album reached #1 on the American Billboard charts in late March 2007. For Marr this is the first time he has had a number one record in the US. The highest chart position before that was with Electronic, who made the Top 40 in the singles chart with Getting Away With It. In 2007 Marr was appointed as a Visiting Professor in Music at the University of Salford, where he delivered an inaugural lecture (on 4 November 2008), and a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA (Hons) Popular Music and Recording programme. In July 2012, Marr gained an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford, following his contribution to popular music, and the guidance he gave to students in his workshops and visits. While touring in Los Angeles with Modest Mouse, Marr spent a day in John Frusciantes home studio and contributed to Johns album The Empyrean. He recorded several guitar tracks on songs Enough of Me and Central. In January 2008, Marr was reported to have been contributing his skill and experience to a secret songwriting session with Wakefield indie group the Cribs. Sources revealed that they worked together for a week at Moolah Rouge recording studio in Stockport and had penned a number of new songs. He also played at the Glasgow Barrowlands, Manchester Academy, Oxford Academy, Bristol Carling Academy, Leeds University, Cardiff University and Brixton Carling Academy with the Cribs on the NME Awards Tour. On February 23, 2008, XFM reported that Marr was to become a full member of the Cribs. On February 28, 2008, he also played onstage with the Cribs at NME Big Gig at the O2. he also played along with the Cribs at the Reading & Leeds Festival 2008, singer Ryan Jarman introduced Marr as Johnny Jarman, the newest member of the band. In 2009, he recorded an album with the band titled Ignore the Ignorant, which was released on September 7th. On Soccer AM in September he explained he met up with the Cribs bass player in Portland and it has gone from strength to strength. He says the Cribs latest album, Ignore the Ignorant, which came out last year, is as good as anything Ive done. On April 2011 it was confirmed that Marr would no longer be part of the band. Marr, who had been understood to officially leave the band in January, released a statement in which he affirmed that he would be working on solo material over the next year or so. Johnny Marr returned to play with the Cribs during the second of two special Christmas shows at Leeds Academy on December 19, 2013. Recent soundtrack, session work and the Messenger (2011–present) In the late 2007, Marrs daughter Sonny performed backing vocals on the track Even a Child on Crowded Houses album Time on Earth, on which her father Marr played guitars. He played a large role in making the score for the 2010 science-fiction/drama film Inception, which was written and directed by Christopher Nolan. Using a 12-string-guitar, he produced repetitive, simple melancholic tones that became a character theme for the protagonist, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. I kept coming up with this phrase churned-up, Marr said, Youve got this character who all the way through the film has this underlying turmoil. Longtime composer Hans Zimmer penned the soundtrack. Marr has been working since 2007 with Fender to develop and design his own guitar. American Songwriter writes that Fender had to modify their manufacturing process due to some of Marrs changes, but it will still sell for around the same price as other American-made Fenders. On February 25, 2013, Marr released his debut solo album, The Messenger in the UK through Warner Bros. and on 26 February in the US through Sire. The album was preceded by the single Upstarts, released in the UK on February 18, 2013. Marr recorded music for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 with Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams, Michael Einziger and David A. Stewart. His second solo album, entitled Playland, was released on October 6, 2014. He also announced a worldwide tour around the release of the Playland album that commenced in the UK on October 13, 2014. The albums lead single was Easy Money. After the supporting tours, he is planning to work on a new album with Zimmer contributing the arrangements. In October 2014, Marr appeared as a guest musician for Hans Zimmer at his two concerts, Hans Zimmer: Revealed, at Londons Hammersmith Apollo. Marr is also set to feature on one track on the new Noel Gallagher album. READ MORE: johnny-marr/ allmusic/artist/johnny-marr-mn0000202899/biography allmusic/artist/the-smiths-mn0000899530/biography theguardian/music/johnnymarr en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Marr en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths https://facebook/officialjohnnymarr https://facebook/TheSmithsOfficial https://twitter/Johnny_Marr
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 19:59:14 +0000
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