Johnny Marr was interviewed by BBC 6 Music's Matt Everitt about his forthcoming biography. Marr's made mention of the biography in interviews over the years, but now that he's actually begun writing it in earnest he had more to share about what to expect. Stream the three minute interview here for two weeks, and read the transcript of the interview below:
Johnny Marr: "I've done quite a bit of it, yeah. I've done a few chapters, I think there's got to be--I've done probably about a third of it, and I've enjoyed it. I mean, it's a lot of work. You have to watch that you don't get so daunted that you freeze up and don't have your own voice. I want it to be really good. I want it to be my own voice, so I'm writing it, you know, I'm not using a ghostwriter or journalist or anything like that, and I'm just relying on a very, very good memory, you know.
I'm enjoying it, it's a different thing, you know, it's a different thing. I've got an idea for a screenplay as well that I was kicking around with somebody that may come to fruition, so I want to get the book done, I want to get the screenplay done, and then, and then another record, and I'm doing a movie as well, so I've got a lot going on."
Matt Everitt: What do you think is going to surprise people about the book?
Marr: "What's going to shock people is that the Smiths really liked each other. (Everitt laughs heartily) A couple of them, anyway. What I want to do, to be honest, without pre-empting anything, but I want for people to, who like what I do, to like from a lifestory to match up with the music, you know and what they think I'm about, to kind of confirm it, for better or worse, really. I want it to be really authentic.
My life story has been sort of unusual. A few of us, Paul Weller, could maybe say the same thing: coming from a working class family, to you know, staying up late with Keith Richards and playing with the Wailers, and Sly and Robbie as the rhythm section, how the hell did that happen? And also you know, I got known for what I do by the time I was 19, 20, you know. And there's a lot of life after the Smiths, you know? Obviously I want remember the Smiths and I want to honor the Smiths, and I want to be honest about the Smiths, but there's been a lot of living in between then and now too, so I want to balance it. It's not all going to be super early 80's, you know.
I just want to have this sense of journey, really. A certain kind of bewildering journey, I think, because it feels bewildering to me. That's what i want to get across."
No release date for the memoir has been announced as of yet.
Marr releases his cover of the Depeche Mode classic "I Feel You" on April 18th. The official video for the release is posted below:
Published April 1st, 2015 @ 7:41 PM