{"id":851325,"date":"2026-09-17T20:30:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T20:30:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/851325\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T20:30:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T20:30:12","slug":"when-i-pressed-record-the-two-of-us-breathed-in-and-then-when-i-finished-we-breathed-out-thats-what-it-felt-like-johnny-marr-recalls-the-intimate-and-ma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/851325\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWhen I pressed \u2018record\u2019 the two of us breathed in, and then when I finished we breathed out. That\u2019s what it felt like\u201d: Johnny Marr recalls the intimate and magical experience of writing songs with Morrissey for The Smiths"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guitarist Johnny Marr still cherishes the memories he has of The Smiths\u2019 glory days in the \u201980s, when he wrote the music and singer Morrissey wrote the lyrics to a host of classic songs.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Channel 4 News<\/a>, Marr talks to presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy about the guitars featured in this week\u2019s auction at Christie\u2019s<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Marr also sheds light on the creative process that he and Morrissey enjoyed before The Smiths split in 1987.<\/p>\n

Latest Videos FromMusicRadar<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very excited about about us being a guitar band,\u201d Marr says, before explaining how he developed a signature sound via prominent use of acoustic guitars and then layering.<\/p>\n

He recalls: \u201cOn a lot of Smiths records, say Big Mouth Strikes Again and Half A Person, the acoustics are really loud on them, and that\u2019s deliberate.\u201d<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

The Smiths – Bigmouth Strikes Again (Official Audio) – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

He cites two key influences from his childhood. Eddie Cochran \u2013 specifically his 1958 hit C\u2019mon Everybody \u2013 and The Everly Brothers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was very much a deliberate agenda,\u201d Marr says, \u201cbringing acoustics back on the radio, loud acoustics, because quite often the way acoustics are \u2013 say, on a Simon & Garfunkel record, even \u2013 they\u2019re very polite and in the background. But I was like, \u2018Turn the acoustics up.\u2019 So the acoustics are quite loud on those songs.<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd before the band formed I\u2019d got into layering. There\u2019s a tape machine that actually we put in the auction. It\u2019s a little cassette machine that all the early Smiths songs were done on. But before the band was even a thing, I was experimenting with layering these guitars.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marr recalls how the Manchester music scene was dominated in the \u201980s by Factory Records, famous as the home to New Order, and before that, Joy Division. Factory\u2019s owner Tony Wilson stated his regret that he had not signed The Smiths, who opted to go with rival independent label Rough Trade.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was working in a clothes shop when the band was formed,\u201d Marr says, \u201cand other Mancunian musicians used to come into the shop, and most of them were on Factory Records. So because of the shop, I knew everyone on Factory, and it was the obvious thing to do to sign to Factory. And that became a narrative. Tony Wilson was like, \u2018I wish I\u2019d signed The Smiths.\u2019 But I was never going to sign Factory. Personally I would never let that happen because it was just too obvious, and it wasn\u2019t that kind of music either.<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

New Order – The Perfect Kiss (Official Music Video) [HD Remaster] – YouTube
\n\"New<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cSo the Factory bands were my mates, but they weren\u2019t guitar bands per se. They were doing other things with funk and keyboards… different, almost like non-guitar bands. So it was very deliberate that that we were going to be a guitar band, and that was my role in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marr also tells Guru-Murthy about how he and Morrissey wrote songs together.<\/p>\n

He says of the early days of their writing: \u201cWe\u2019d get together face to face, and I\u2019d go, \u2018I\u2019ve got this.\u2019 And then I\u2019d record it on the tape machine and he\u2019d take the cassette away. And then when I\u2019d made a few hundred quid to buy what was called a Portastudio \u2013 which were brilliant and are quite collectible now \u2013 I would make these slightly more elaborate demos with a little drum machine and and about three or four guitars on top, and then I\u2019d get on my motorbike and ride round because he lived around the corner 10 minutes [away], and I\u2019d drop it through his letterbox.\u201d<\/p>\n

What Marr remembers most fondly is the creation of The Smiths\u2019 third album, The Queen Is Dead, released in 1986.<\/p>\n

The Smiths – The Boy With The Thorn In His Side (Official Music Video) – YouTube
\n\"The<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

He recalls how he and Morrissey would sit just a few feet apart with a Walkman cassette player between them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amazing,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was magic. I\u2019d literally have the guitar and I\u2019d have the cassette machine between my knees and I\u2019d go, \u2018I\u2019ve got this one.\u2019 And I\u2019d press record.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think when I pressed \u2018record\u2019 the two of us breathed in, and then when I finished we then breathed out. That\u2019s what it felt like.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marr says of the creative process: \u201cAny songwriter will tell you it\u2019s the best feeling in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

He says he liked to write songs in batches of three and loved to hear how each song would then be enhanced by the other members of the band \u2013 first Morrissey and then bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the greatest,\u201d Marr says. \u201cWe\u2019ve got three new Smith songs. I can\u2019t wait to hear what the words are. I can\u2019t wait to hear what the vocals are, what the bass is, what Andy does, and what Mike does.\u201d<\/p>\n

He ends with a smile: \u201cMan, it was magic!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Guitarist Johnny Marr still cherishes the memories he has of The Smiths\u2019 glory days in the \u201980s, when…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":851326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[88,216],"class_list":["post-851325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=851325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/851325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/851326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=851325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=851325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=851325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}