Johnny Marr was devastated when the Smiths acrimoniously collapsed in 1987, five years after he’d co-founded the cult independent rock band.
The guitarist read in the music press that his group were poised to fire him. Suspecting the story had been planted by lead singer Morrissey — as part of their increasingly angry communication breakdown — Marr decided to jump rather than be pushed, and found himself in a personal hell.
Around the same time, he also found himself spending “one long, incredible day with Paul McCartney and his late wife Linda, which provided him with the emotional energy he needed to carry on.
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“Linda was so generous as a person,” Marr told Mojo. “She was asking me all about my life. And [Paul] was sat there, so I just told him about the breakup of the band. I looked to him and waited, and he just said, ‘That’s bands for you.’”
It wasn’t just the words; it was who they’d come from — McCartney had endured the same kind of hell when the Beatles had disintegrated in 1970, but he’d had time learn to live with it and move on.
“It’s such a brilliant answer coming from him,” Marr said. “Over the years I’ve been asked to give advice. There is just a time to say, ‘That’s bands for you.’”
Marr picked up his electric guitar and began to accept invitations to play sessions, where found “sanctuary.”
“I just have to give credit to the people I was working with,” he said. “Matt Johnson [The The] is one of my closest friends to this day. Bernard Sumner and Chrissie Hynde — that collection of people. I get very tight with people.”
He added, “If you’re looking at it like a CV, it seems to be flitting around a lot, but I know when I’ve got a good job — [like] playing with Bryan Ferry and turning up on his records. There’s a time to not look too deeply at stuff.”
