Oasis star Noel Gallagher remarked that The Smiths musician Johnny Marr has "always been a bit gung-ho" with his instruments as the pair browsed Marr's collection currently on display in London. Marr, 62, is auctioning off a large portion of the guitars that featured across his award-winning career. Having risen to fame in the 1980s with rock band The Smiths, he subsequently joined The The, formed his own group, and built a successful solo career.
The sale forms part of “Marr’s Guitars: The Johnny Marr Collection”, set to take place at Christie’s in London on September 17. The event includes 111 lots with valuations reaching up to £150,000. In a video released by Christie’s on Saturday, Gallagher joined the fellow musician to look over the items going under the hammer while sharing memories attached to the instruments.
The two Manchester-born artists inspected a 1982 black Rickenbacker 330 Semi-Hollow Electric Guitar, which Marr originally used to compose hit singles “This Charming Man” and “What Difference Does It Make”. "You’ve always been a bit gung-ho with your guitars," Gallagher remarked, recalling how he borrowed the instrument for the sleeve of Oasis's 1994 debut single Supersonic. Gallagher added: "I remember the day when Oasis was recording Definitely Maybe for the first time and you sent down some guitars, because we had one guitar each!
"Someone took it out and just put it on the floor so it would look like we were a working band. It’s on the cover of Supersonic. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial.
This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. "I remember looking at it on the floor going, ‘that can not be The Smiths’ guitar, there’s no way he’s sent that down here to a load of geezers from Longsight!’ "I was like ‘you better take that back, mate!’ – what if someone stands on it!" Expected to bring up to £80,000, the instrument will go under the hammer alongside a red Gibson ES-355TDSV electric guitar estimated between £100,000 and £150,000. That guitar was originally purchased for Marr by Sire Records founder Seymour Stein to persuade The Smiths to sign to his label.
Inspecting it, Marr noted: "So many people associate me over the years with the (Rickenbacker)." Marr suggested that most people connect Gallagher with a red Gibson, to which Gallagher answered: "I got mine because of seeing you on Top of the Pops! Those, to me, are the best guitars ever made." Additional lots include a 1971 D-28 acoustic guitar, estimated at up to £50,000, and Marr’s composite solid-body Fender Stratocaster electric guitar, expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000. Roughly 80 guitars will be auctioned, with Marr donating 100 per cent of the hammer price from 31 lots to benefit The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and The National Autistic Society.
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