New book Marr's Guitars to honour Johnny Marr's life and career

Johnny Marr is slated to show off his guitars in new book Marr's Guitars, which will use his distinguished collection to chronicle to the award-winning guitarist's life and career.

"It’s been a long time coming and a labour of love," Marr said of the project, which has taken over two years to produce.

Marr's Guitars will pair over a hundred of the 59-year-old's guitars with different eras of his life, covering everything from Marr's time with The Smiths, to The Pretenders and Modest Mouse. 

“Guitars have been the obsession of my life…they’ve been a mission and sometimes a lifeline,” Marr said in a statement. “So I’m delighted to have made Marr’s Guitars. It’s very different to other guitar books and is more of an art book, with stories of songs and sounds."

I’m very pleased to announce the publication of Marr’s Guitars. It has been a labour of love over the last two years. The book is a collection of photographs taken by @pat_graham and documents my life and career through over 100 guitars. Preorder here: https://t.co/nTzfxv2EGJ pic.twitter.com/VY0DYT94rB

— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) April 18, 2023

Guitars featured in the forthcoming book include Marr's Signature Fender Jaguar, his Gibson ES-355 and the Rickenbacker 330, which the performer notably played during the early days of the Smiths.

Marr's Guitars will also feature instruments gifted to Marr, including a Stratocaster from record producer Nile Rodgers, a Hargstrom from singer Bryan Ferry, and an acoustic from the late Bert Jansch.

The Stratocaster Noel Gallagher used on Oasis’ 'Wonderwall' and the Gibson Les Paul that Ed O’Brien used on Radiohead’s In Rainbows will also be featured in the book– gifts from Marr to the aforementioned artists.

Marr's Guitars was photographed by Marr's long time collaborator Pat Graham, and will be published Harper Design. UK-based publishing company Thames and Hudson has also signed the book.

“The book screams authenticity," said Thames and Hudson Creative Director Tristan de Lancey. "Well-known, well-worn guitars, accompanied by personal commentaries, shed new light on recordings and performances. Johnny’s own studio provides the natural backdrop to all of the bespoke photography. Even the contextual images of performances and behind-the-scenes captures have been painstakingly sourced and selected by Johnny. Publication day cannot come soon enough!”

Marr's Guitars will be released October 17, 2023.