Johnny Marr

Johnny Marr shaped indie rock's sonic identity through his role as guitarist and co-songwriter in the Smiths during the 1980s and afterward. Rooted in British guitar pop traditions yet steering clear of stock moves, his layered and resonant playing supplied the engine for the band's output. Once the Smiths ended, his reputation as a versatile player led to steady session and side-project work. Right after the breakup he appeared with the Pretenders, The The, and Talking Heads, then began a sustained partnership with New Order's Bernard Sumner in Electronic. Throughout the 1990s he kept moving among different lineups before launching Johnny Marr and the Healers in 2000. That outfit proved short-lived; in 2006 he joined Modest Mouse for several years and simultaneously played with the Cribs. His first proper solo release, The Messenger, arrived in 2013, after which he maintained a steady schedule of touring and recording that included the socially engaged Call the Comet in 2018 and the multi-stage Fever Dreams project, completed as a double album in 2022.

He entered the world as John Maher in Manchester, England, on October 31, 1963, and performed in obscure outfits such as Sister Ray and Freaky Party before co-founding the Smiths with vocalist Morrissey in 1982. The pair guided one of Britain's biggest acts until Marr ended the group in 1987 after the Strangeways, Here We Come sessions, citing creative stagnation.

In the immediate aftermath he contributed to recordings by Talking Heads and Kirsty MacColl, then became a full member of Matt Johnson's The The for the 1989 album Mind Bomb. He also formed Electronic with Bernard Sumner and Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, achieving success with the single "Getting Away with It." Guest spots aside, his visibility remained modest through the decade, highlighted by contributions to The The's Dusk in 1993 and Electronic's Raise the Pressure in 1996.

He resurfaced with Electronic on the 1999 album Twisted Tenderness, issued in the United States the following autumn, and began performing with his new band the Healers across England. The early 2000s brought further change: he finalized the Healers lineup with former Kula Shaker bassist Alonza Bevan and Zak Starkey, Ringo Starr's son, securing a deal with Artist Direct's iMusic by year's end. The resulting album Boomslang, released in early 2003, marked his first recorded lead vocals. In 2007 he joined Modest Mouse for We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank and toured as a band member.

Marr remained with Modest Mouse through 2008 before aligning with the British group the Cribs, expanding an initial writing collaboration into full membership on the 2009 album Ignore the Ignorant. After one record he again moved on, this time to a solo endeavor. Returning to Manchester with his family, he completed The Messenger, issued to strong notices in February 2013. A follow-up, Playland, appeared in autumn 2014, followed by the live set Adrenalin Baby in 2015. After publishing the memoir Set the Boy Free he prepared a third solo album, Call the Comet, released in June 2018.

He joined BMG in August 2021 to issue Fever Dreams as a sequence of EPs. Fever Dreams, Pt. 1 emerged that October and Pt. 2 in December; the complete double album Fever Dreams, Pts. 1-4 arrived in February 2022.