Johnny Marr obituary

The famous Mancunian guitarist Johnny Marr has died at the age of
51 at his home in Oregon. The guitar maestro, who was a member
of The Smiths for their very short and chaotic existence, before
eventually becoming a solo artist in the latter stages of his career,
died of a heart attack in the early hours of yesterday morning. His
other extensive list of collaborations include Electronic, The The, The
Cribs, Modest Mouse, and for the album Heathen Chemistry, Oasis.
He was a respected and well-liked member of the music industry
and was one of the last guitar style icons of his generation.
Not only remembered for his guitar skills, Marr was of a charismatic
and kind nature, which has prompted a great shock amongst his
peers in the music industry. Not only a musician, Marr was a friend,
a husband and a father; he leaves behind his wife Angie and sons,
Sonny and Nile.
1982, Manchester, Marr and local poet and musician Morrissey were
writing music that would change the course of modern music
forever. By 1984, The Smiths debut album had reached second spot
in the UK charts and the rest is history; Marr and Morrissey achieved
three-second places in the charts and managed to clinch the top
spot in between with 1985 album, Meat Is Murder. The Manchester
band decided to part company in 1987 on bad terms and despite
the rumorus, have never reformed in the thirty years that followed.
Carrying on from past success, Marr emulated the chart positions
with his new band, Electronic. All their albums in the eleven years
they were active achieved top 10 finishes, the best of which was
1991s self-titled debut album.
A brief spell with The The between 1988 and 1994 brought the best
selling albums for the band; Mind bomb and Dusk both finishing in
the top five spots in the charts. Despite his most well known role
been behind him, Marr was still discovering himself as a musician,
furthering his understanding of different genres in the process.
Spells with Modest Mouse and The Cribs in 2007 and 2012
respectively brought him even more commercial success for both
him and the band; Modest Mouses album We Were Dead Before
The Ship Even Sank topped the US Billboard charts, while Ignore
The Ignorant reached the top 10 in the 2009 UK charts.
His redefining element perhaps though came post-collaboration
phase. His decision to be a solo artist in 2012 was followed by two
top ten finishes for his debut album The Messenger and the followup, Playland. In 2013, NME awarded Marr the Godlike Genuis
award, stating that Marr was: Not content with rewriting the history
of music with one of the world's greatest ever bands, the Smiths,

he's continued to push boundaries and evolve throughout his

career. Marr, along with his 80s band The Smiths have also been
branded the most influential artist ever in the same publication;
the 2002 poll put them top of acts such as Led Zepplin, The Rolling
stones and The Beatles.
During his lifetime, Johnny Marr has made many firm friendships,
with many near and dear to him, I can guarantee, will have fond
memories of the mancunian guitarist; the man who changed
modern music forever and will be missed throughout the music
industry.
John Martin Maher (Johnny Marr) singer, songwriter and multiple
instrumentalist, born 31 October 1963; died 24 November 2014