Johnny Marr Shares Origin Story of The Smiths and Advice from Paul McCartney

Any time a big-name band breaks up, it sparks speculation about what caused tension among its members. As the founder of The Smiths — widely considered one of the most influential British alternative rock bands of all time — Johnny Marr knows this all too well.

Now, Marr is setting the record straight with the release of his autobiography, “Set the Boy Free.” He joined Nik Carter and Lori Majewski on VOLUME’s morning show, “Feedback,” to discuss the book and more.

“When I wrote the book, I was very conscious that I wanted to put the love back in the band, but in a really natural way,” Marr said.

The Smiths formed in 1982 and enjoyed a successful run before breaking up in 1987. With Morrissey as frontman, the band built a devoted following. Marr shared the story of how he first recruited Morrissey to join the group.

“The day it all started with The Smiths was when I went back to my old neighborhood, where a couple of guys I knew had heard of Steven Morrissey. He was four or five years older than me, and I really wanted to form this group. I had been asking around town for a while, and I finally got his address,” Marr recalled.

“There’s a moment I wrote about in the book — it was great to revisit — when this older guy gave me Morrissey’s address. I stood in the sunshine at about 11 a.m., in this blazing, white-hot sun, looking at this piece of paper, and I thought, ‘This is a moment. Looking at this address, something great is gonna come out of this.’”

Incredibly, Morrissey wasn’t taken aback when a stranger showed up at his doorstep asking him to join a band.

“I got on the bus and went to the address, found the house, knocked on Morrissey’s door, and he came down,” Marr said. “Amazingly, considering it was this hyperactive little guy standing there saying, ‘I’m going to form a band — do you want to be in it? Sorry about just turning up unannounced.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, sure, come in.’”

For Marr, it was important to tell the story of The Smiths from his own perspective — especially the genuine connection he felt during the band’s time together. Over the years, many have tried to explain what led to their breakup, but Marr made it clear that only those who lived it truly know.

“Over the years, there have been many, many accounts from different people with different agendas — there are a couple of books that come to mind that tell that story,” Marr said. “Well, those guys weren’t there. I was there, I did it. So I was really happy to fill in the blanks and share the details of what actually happened.”

Marr also reflected on advice he received from Paul McCartney following the band’s breakup.

“It was Linda [McCartney] who asked me how I was getting on with the breakup, and I was honest — I said it was tough,” he said. “Telling Paul McCartney this, he just said to me, ‘Well, that’s bands for you,’ which I thought was genius.”