Johnny Marr to auction 80-plus guitars including Smiths classics
Johnny Marr is auctioning more than 80 guitars, including instruments used with the Smiths, at a London sale.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Musician Johnny Marr is to sell more than 80 guitars from his personal collection at an auction in London, including instruments that defined the sound of The Smiths. The sale, announced this week, spans 45 years of his career and features some of the most recognisable guitars in British indie music.
Among the lots is a Rickenbacker 330, the first guitar he bought after making money with The Smiths, and the instrument he used on 'This Charming Man'. He later lent it to Noel Gallagher, and it appeared on the cover of Oasis's 'Supersonic'. Another standout is a 1960 Gibson 355, which Marr played on 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' and which he acquired after a deal with Seymour Stein, then head of Sire Records. The guitar has an estimate of £150,000 and is expected to become the auction's most expensive lot.
Marr also owns an acoustic guitar on which he wrote the music for 'There Is A Light That Never Goes Out'. He said that when he listed all the songs it had been used on, even he was taken aback. The collection includes a custom-made Fender he played on Billie Eilish's James Bond theme, as well as guitars given to him by his wife, Angie, before they married.
Marr said the decision to sell came after he realised the guitars were being stored rather than played. "It just seemed wrong to me," he said. "Once I saw that it wasn't right, I couldn't really unsee that." He acknowledged the emotional difficulty, describing some goodbyes as "a little bit of a gut-wrenching thing", but added: "There's something about leaving the past in the past and moving on."
The auction will take place in London, with proceeds expected to be substantial. Marr said he hoped the instruments would end up with people who appreciate them rather than in bank vaults: "It's pretty indie to me. And I think the people who are interested in my music and what I've done tend to not be the people who have bank vaults."
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC One | Channel 4 |
|---|---|---|
| A 1960 Gibson 355 is expected to be the auction's biggest sale, with an estimate of £150,000. | · | |
| An auction features nearly 100 instruments, including the guitar used to compose 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' and a custom Fender from Billie Eilish's Bond theme. | · | |
| Johnny Marr is selling more than 80 guitars at auction in London. | · | |
| Johnny Marr loaned his Rickenbacker 330 to Oasis; it appears on the cover of 'Supersonic'. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The BBC's report focused on the auction as a cultural event, giving a tour of the collection with its entertainment correspondent. It highlighted specific guitars and their musical history, and included Marr's reflections on letting go. The tone was respectful and nostalgic, with a light weather segue at the end.
- “It's definitely poignant in some cases. Some of them are a little bit of a gut-wrenching thing, but there's something about leaving the past in the past and moving on.”
- “I loaned it to Oasis when they were doing the early stuff, lent it to Noel, and it's on the cover of Supersonic.”
Channel 4 ran a longer, more conversational interview, covering not only the auction but also personal anecdotes, the creative process behind The Smiths, and a political tangent about the Prime Minister's fondness for the band. It gave more space to Marr's own storytelling and added details such as the wife's guitar and the Billie Eilish connection.
- “I think they're all incredibly beautiful and they've got stories behind. Stories of songs and stories of 45 years of my life and everything.”
- “I know it might seem a little cosmic, but I know that certain instruments have music in them.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.