A story about Johnny Marr
By the time I met Johnny, I have must have met a ton of “stars”. Out of every single famous person I have met, Johnny was the coolest.
For all the rumours attached to anyone from The Smiths, the day I met Johnny Marr lessened my interest in the Smiths gossip.
Both before and after the show, Johnny was a pure delight.
One fan had Johnny sign a platinum record for “The Queen is Dead”. He had all three signatures—including Morrissey, and I wonder how he made that happen. All he needed was Johnny’s signature.
Johnny agreed to sign it, joking that he would sign it “Craig Gannon”. (You have to be a Smiths fan to get it.)
For reals, Johnny was a polite man, answering every question—no matter how intrusive it was. And he signed everything the fans put in his face. He was a pure gentleman, and his sense of humor was off the hook.
And as far as how he was dressed, he looked pretty cool for an aging rocker. He could have easily been the Fifth Beatle during Abbey Road.
At the end of the night, he hung around until pretty darn late at night. Everyone that talked to Johnny got more than their money’s worth. He never got tired of taking pictures with the fans.
In the back, my friends and I noticed Billy Duffy from The Cult. Of course, Duffy was the man that taught Johnny his first few chords. We acknowledged him, and was this close to getting Duffy to sign something, but he insisted we let Johnny take all the glory that night. And Duffy vanished before the rest of the fans noticed he was there.
Pretty cool night. It was a Johnny Marr and The Healers show, though. So I’d better not talk about the set. Otherwise it would tarnish the story.
