Johnny Marr is preparing to auction off about 80 of his guitars, including the Rickenbacker heard on the Smiths' classic This Charming Man. The auction, in partnership with Christie's, will take place on 17 September in London, with the collection—including amps and other equipment—available for public viewing in London and New York prior to the sale.
Key Lots and Estimates
The star lots include a 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo, with a top estimate price of £80,000. This guitar can be heard on This Charming Man, What Difference Does It Make?, Still Ill, and Accept Yourself. It was also lent to Noel Gallagher and appears on the cover of Oasis's debut single Supersonic. Notably, the distinctive opening riff of This Charming Man was played on a 1950s Telecaster, not this Rickenbacker.
The acoustic guitar heard on the timeless Smiths ballad There Is a Light That Never Goes Out is also up for sale: a 1971 Martin D-28 (estimate: £30,000-50,000), which can also be heard on Cemetry Gates.
The highest top estimate price is £150,000 for a 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355. This guitar was bought for Marr by music industry legend Seymour Stein after Marr joked that the Smiths would sign to Stein's Sire Records if he got a new guitar. It became a signature guitar for Marr, who played it on Top of the Pops.
Other Notable Guitars
A Telecaster-style instrument created by British luthier Roger Giffin, seen on Top of the Pops during the May 1984 performance of Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now, has a top estimate of £30,000.
A 1984 Gibson Les Paul Standard became one of Marr's go-to instruments. It was played on the final song of the Smiths' last live performance in December 1986 and later used in Marr's post-Smiths career on songs by Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, the The, the Cribs, and Gorillaz's latest album, as well as New Order's hit Regret after Bernard Sumner briefly borrowed it.
A “Comet Sparkle” edition of Marr's own signature Fender Jaguar, played on the score for James Bond film No Time to Die, is also up for sale.
Charity and Personal Reflections
Proceeds from 10 of the lots will be given in full to two charities: the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the National Autistic Society.
Marr lovingly documented his collection in a 2023 coffee table book, Marr's Guitars. In a Guardian interview alongside its publication, he said bringing the book together was a poignant experience. “I think there’s something about how important the guitars are to me, and remembering how I felt the day I recorded Nowhere Fast, say, and thinking about who I was at that time. It’s a good feeling, absolutely, but with a certain poignancy. I’m at a point in my life and time has passed.”
He also looked back on his generosity in lending guitars to Noel Gallagher on more than one occasion: “He was just a kid from Burnage. I had no idea Oasis were going to go on to such big things. I did it because he was in need, because I was lucky and had lots of guitars, and because I wished someone had done it for me.”
Marr’s latest solo album, The Age of Everything, is due for release on 2 October.
