Marr first had the idea to auction off some of his guitars back in 2023 when he was working on his book Marr’s Guitars, which listed, celebrated, and told the story behind the impressive collection of instruments he gathered across his long career.
Speaking to BBC News, Marr said that while the book gave him “an excuse to take all the guitars out”, he found “the idea of them all just going back into storage” to be “very weird”. He added that he couldn’t help but imagine how much other people would “love and cherish” the guitars if they were to get their hands on them.(NME reports)
“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,” he continued.
Now, nearly 100 guitars from his collection are going to auction, including the 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo, which he used on iconic Smiths songs including ‘This Charming Man’ and ‘What Difference Does It Make’. The guitar was also lent by Marr to Noel Gallagher for Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’ recording sessions, and appears on the cover of the Britpop giant’s debut single, ‘Supersonic’.
Also on offer will be a 1984 Green Burst Telecaster, which was used when The Smiths appeared on Top Of The Pops that year, and one of the custom 2017 Fender Johnny Marr Signature Jaguars, which Marr used on his 2018 tour and also used when recording the Billie Eilish Bond theme, ‘No Time To Die‘.
Other standout guitars going to auction include the 12-string Martin D-28 from 1971 which he used on Smiths tracks ‘There Is a Light That Never Goes Out’, ‘Well I Wonder’ and ‘Cemetery Gates’, as well as the iconic 1984 Cherry Gibson Les Paul Standard.
The latter was used on The Smith’s ‘Meat Is Murder’ album and also used when Marr featured on Gorillaz’s latest album ‘The Mountain’. That Les Paul was also lent to New Order’s Bernard Sumner and features on the song ‘Regret’.
