The collection spans his work across The Smiths, multiple collaborations, and film scoring – with highlights including the guitars behind "This Charming Man" and "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out".
Christie’s is auctioning roughly 80 guitars from Johnny Marr’s collection this September, spanning his work with The Smiths, The Pretenders, Modest Mouse, Gorillaz and other collaborations across four decades.
Catch up on all the latest news here.
Highlights include the 1982 Rickenbacker 330 heard on “This Charming Man” and “What Difference Does It Make?”. The guitar also appears on Oasis’ Definitely Maybe cover after Marr lent it to Noel Gallagher during recording sessions.
The 1971 Martin D-28 12-string acoustic is where Marr wrote classics like “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out”, “Well I Wonder” and “Cemetery Gates”. A 1960 Gibson ES-355 was used to write “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now”, while a one-of-a-kind Roger Giffin Custom Telecaster was played on Top of the Pops in May 1984.
The 1984 Gibson Les Paul Standard was the last guitar Marr played with The Smiths. Bernard Sumner later borrowed it to record New Order’s “Regret”, and it’s appeared more recently on Gorillaz’ The Mountain.
Among more recent additions is the 2018 Fender Johnny Marr Signature Jaguar (a model Marr designed in 2012). He used it to record Hans Zimmer’s James Bond theme for No Time To Die, as well as the Oscar-winning Billie Eilish version of the theme song.
The auction also includes amps and other equipment. Christie’s runs the sale in September.
