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Lot Essay
Inspired by Mick Taylor and Pete Townshend, Johnny Marr first acquired a 1964 Cherry Red Gibson SG when he formed The Healers in 1999. Interviewed by guitar historian Tony Bacon in 2022, Marr explained his obsession with the SG at that time: I began to get into the sound of John Mayall’s records, but not with Eric Clapton – I liked Mick Taylor on records like ‘Bare Wires’. Also, I got into what Pete Townshend was doing on ‘Who’s Next’ and his live stuff around then, like the Isle of Wight concert. At the time, I just thought it was the best guitar playing that I was hearing – and Mick Taylor and Townshend were both playing SGs… It sounded dark, but not quite as dark as a Les Paul, this dark kind of sexy blues sound to it. Marr went on to reveal why the SG model served him so well as he stepped into the role of frontman for the first time: It was a good guitar to front a band with. A Les Paul would have given me too much to take care of down there. The SG sat better on me, a little bit higher, so I didn’t feel like I was looking down – I was able to sing. Some guitars just aren’t frontman-friendly. And with the SG, I could play these big kind of clanging rhythms, and then switch to lead lines, which is what I needed in The Healers.
Having fallen in love with his Cherry Red SG, Marr decided he would like a non-figured blonde maple version. Alan Rogan asked Pat Foley of the Gibson Custom Shop if they could make one for Marr, copying the exact specifications of his 1964 guitar. To save time and avoid Marr having to give up his vintage SG for too long or send it to the Custom Shop in America to be copied, Foley subcontracted Gordon Wells of Knight Guitars to make an exact clone copy of the body and neck in solid maple, which Wells then fitted with Gibson hardware and electronics, before being delivered to Marr in a Gibson Artist Series case. The timing of this commission was fortuitous as it occurred just prior to The Healers' fateful final night of their tour in September 2000, at the Scala in London, where Marr's beloved Cherry Red SG was stolen.
Marr played the blonde SG just over two weeks later when he performed on the John Lennon tribute show Shine On for Channel 4’s John Lennon Night to mark the 60th anniversary of Lennon’s birth, which was recorded at Air Studios in London on 22 September for broadcast on 30 September 2000. Marr performed ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ with Noel Gallagher, Gem and Cornershop, before closing the show with ‘All You Need Is Love’ as part of an ensemble that included Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Stereophonics’ frontman Kelly Jones, and Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy. By the time Marr performed at Neil Finn’s 7 World’s Collide shows in Auckland in April 2001, he had acquired another Cherry Red SG, which became his main guitar with The Healers.
Having fallen in love with his Cherry Red SG, Marr decided he would like a non-figured blonde maple version. Alan Rogan asked Pat Foley of the Gibson Custom Shop if they could make one for Marr, copying the exact specifications of his 1964 guitar. To save time and avoid Marr having to give up his vintage SG for too long or send it to the Custom Shop in America to be copied, Foley subcontracted Gordon Wells of Knight Guitars to make an exact clone copy of the body and neck in solid maple, which Wells then fitted with Gibson hardware and electronics, before being delivered to Marr in a Gibson Artist Series case. The timing of this commission was fortuitous as it occurred just prior to The Healers' fateful final night of their tour in September 2000, at the Scala in London, where Marr's beloved Cherry Red SG was stolen.
Marr played the blonde SG just over two weeks later when he performed on the John Lennon tribute show Shine On for Channel 4’s John Lennon Night to mark the 60th anniversary of Lennon’s birth, which was recorded at Air Studios in London on 22 September for broadcast on 30 September 2000. Marr performed ‘Tomorrow Never Knows’ with Noel Gallagher, Gem and Cornershop, before closing the show with ‘All You Need Is Love’ as part of an ensemble that included Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Stereophonics’ frontman Kelly Jones, and Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy. By the time Marr performed at Neil Finn’s 7 World’s Collide shows in Auckland in April 2001, he had acquired another Cherry Red SG, which became his main guitar with The Healers.