Johny Marr – Former Smith from another lifetime ago.

Over to the Strawberry Music Festival in Dongguan, China this year for a set by Johnny Marr – recorded on July 1, 2026.

During his time in the Smiths, Johnny Marr often tuned his guitar up a full step to F♯ to accommodate Morrissey’s vocal range, and also used open tunings. He is known for creating arpeggio melodies and (sometimes) unusual chord progressions, and makes wide use of open strings while chording to create chiming. When performing with the Smiths, he wanted to play music which was pop. “100% of my focus was on providing interesting guitar hooks and putting some kind of space-age twist on the guitarist’s role. The pop guitarist crossed with the mad professor. That’s how I thought of myself.” In a 2007 interview for the BBC, Johnny Marr said that his goal with the Smiths was to “pare down” his style and avoid rock guitar clichés.

Citing producer Phil Spector as an influence, Marr said, “I like the idea of records, even those with plenty of space, that sound ‘symphonic’. I like the idea of all the players merging into one atmosphere”. Marr was also influenced by Rory Gallagher, Pete Townshend of the Who, Jimi Hendrix, John McGeoch of Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees, and John McLaughlin, who he called “the greatest guitar player that’s ever lived”. When forming the Smiths, the Velvet Underground was a key influence, along with Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones. Marc Bolan of T. Rex also had a strong impact on him because of the groove and the sound that put the listener in a daze. He explained, “I try to think about the guitar along the spectrum of James Williamson, who was in the Stooges during the Raw Power era, on the one hand to John McLaughlin and his solo record, My Goal’s Beyond. I like all the spectrum in between, and that might be – and is – Richard Lloyd of Television, John McGeoch from Siouxsie and the Banshees, Nile Rodgers. To me these people are magicians and artists.”

When Marr started to sing as a solo artist in 2012, he said, “[The frontpersons] I related to were Peter Perrett, Colin Newman, Pete Shelley, Siouxsie Sioux. They were singing from the mind and had integrity.” He added, “I’m absolutely not interested in being the frontman in a band that bares my soul or feelings in song. Siouxsie Sioux, or Ray Davies, or Howard Devoto don’t sing from some weird, shlocky, sentimental place. What’s wrong with singing from the brain?”.

There you go – and Wikipedia told you – all you have to do is grab lunch, sit down and dive into the next hour (or 58 minutes to be exact).