Johnny Marr announces photo book all about his guitars
Johnny Marr has announced an upcoming photo book, “a labour of love” that celebrates his important guitars.
Set for release on October 17, Marr’s Guitars will pay homage to over 100 of the guitars that he has had throughout his 40 year career and include anecdotes about the milestones he faced during this time.
“Guitars have been the obsession of my life – they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline,” the former Smiths guitarist turned solo star and composer 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 is a labour of love.”
The project was made in collaboration with photographer Pat Graham, and will trace Marr’s career from his teenage years and time with The Smiths, to his most recent work with Hans Zimmer on the Bond soundtrack, No Time to Die.
Marr’s Guitars will also take a look into the history of how he got his instruments – which include his Gibson ES-355, Rickenbacker 330 and iconic Signature Fender Jaguar.
Some of his models were given to him by music heavyweights including Nile Rodgers, Bert Jansch and Bryan Ferry. Other models, however, were later passed down to different artists. These include a Stratocaster, which was famously given to Noel Gallagher and later used to write Oasis‘s ‘Wonderwall’, and a Gibson Les Paul that Ed O’Brien would later use on Radiohead’s ‘In Rainbows’ album.
Announcing the forthcoming release on Instagram, Marr explained to fans that the project has taken two years to complete. “I’m very pleased to announce the publication of my book Marr’s Guitars which as a project has been a labour of love over the last two years,” he wrote.
“The book is a collection of amazing photographs taken by my friend [Pat Graham] in his own unique style and documents my life and career through the stories of over a hundred of my guitars. I think a lot of people will love it.”
Beyond his work with The Smiths and as a solo artist and composer, Marr has also played with the likes of The Cribs, Modest Mouse, The The, The Pretenders and Electronic with New Order‘s Bernard Sumner.
Marr’s Guitars will be published worldwide on October 17 via Thames & Hudson. Pre-order it here.
Meanwhile, last month it was announced that Marr will be performing at a co-headline show with The Charlatans later this year. The two indie acts will hit the stage at The Piece Hall in Halifax on August 26 as part of the historic venue’s 2023 summer concert series. Visit here for tickets and more information.
Marr’s last album was the acclaimed 2022 album ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’, which NME hailed as “the work of a man with no time for big cash reunions or the squabbling that prevents them. Instead, he has turned in a record fuelled by soul and new ideas”.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
