Johnny Marr

For a while, he tried to play like his idols, Nile Rodgers of Chic and The Pretenders’ James Honeyman-Scott, before he finally came up with a style all his own. It made him one of the biggest guitarists of our times. “A fucking wizard” is what his great fan and mentee Noel Gallagher called him. And he knew what he was talking about: he’d had an opportunity to see Marr at work on Oasis albums and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds. The guitarist and songwriter has also worked with Talking Heads, Beck, Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Hans Zimmer, and Billie Eilish. But enough about the side projects. If it weren’t for Johnny Marr, we wouldn’t have had the “Beatles of the ‘80s” – The Smiths – and Morrissey wouldn’t have been their lead singer. We wouldn’t have their inimitable sound and the records that would one day inspire the likes of Blur, Suede, Arctic Monkeys and Radiohead. After The Smiths broke up, Johnny Marr went on to play with The Healers, The The, Modest Mouse, and The Cribs, and released four solo albums that proved not only that he’s a guitar genius, but that he has a knack for writing catchy songs. And in 2026, the legendary Johnny Marr is going to perform them at the OFF Festival!