Johnny Marr is preparing to send nearly 100 guitars from his personal collection to new homes at a Christie’s auction later this week, including some prized electric guitars from his Smiths years.
But before the Manchester guitarist parts with them, he’s been looking back with Oasis’ guitarist Noel Gallagher on their long history together — including the best guitar-buying advice Gallagher says he’s ever received.
By the time Oasis entered the studio to record their debut album, Definitely Maybe, Marr was already an experienced player and collector, firmly established at the center of British guitar culture. He even loaned Gallagher his beloved 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo for the sessions, and the guitar famously appeared on the cover for the Oasis hit single “Supersonic.”
In addition to that loan, Marr gave Gallagher a piece of advice when the two went guitar shopping together. The encounter took place in Doncaster, a Yorkshire town about 60 miles from Manchester, and was only the second time the pair had hung out. Gallagher recalls trying out a Fender Stratocaster with a mind-boggling nine pickups before Marr offered some advice over a bite to eat.
“This is the best bit of advice I’ve ever been given,” Gallagher says in a Christie’s promotional video. “He buys a sandwich, and he says, ‘I’ve got to go and eat before I think about buying this guitar,’ because you should never buy a guitar with an empty stomach.”
In Marr’s case, the sandwich apparently worked. He ultimately bought the unusual Strat for £900.
“That’s £100 for each pickup,” Marr’s brother quipped when he heard about the purchase.
The guitar certainly isn’t your everyday Strat. Its cockpit-esque array of 18 toggle switches has left plenty of people scratching their heads, but Marr brought it out of hiding for his 2022 music video for “Spirit, Power And Soul.”
The advice, though, is considerably more practical than the guitar itself. Buying instruments rarely comes cheap, and an impulse decision can have expensive consequences. And Marr isn’t the only guitarist with a memorable philosophy on the subject.
Yvette Young, for instance, has warned players against buying a guitar while third-wheeling on a date — a lesson she learned the hard way.
Joe Bonamassa, meanwhile, says there’s only one factor that should really matter when considering another guitar purchase, although the obsessive collector perhaps doesn’t always follow his own advice.
Elsewhere, Jason Isbell has explained why new players should pay a little extra before leaving a store with their first guitar. He believes the right instrument can make a world of difference during those tentative first steps of a beginner’s journey.
Marr, however, hasn’t spent his career simply handing out advice. He’s been on the receiving end of some helpful words, too — most notably from Paul McCartney, who helped him grieve the death of the Smiths.
And the 62-year-old guitarist has even been dubbed “guitar Batman” for helping reunite session player Ella Feingold with her vintage Gretsch after a shipping nightmare.
As Marr prepares to part with some of the guitars that have accompanied him through his remarkable career, it seems there’s very little the Smiths guitarist can’t do — although Gallagher’s sandwich lesson might be the one piece of Marr wisdom every guitarist can afford to follow.
