Johnny Marr to Auction 95 Guitars at Christie's, With Estimates Up to £150,000

Q: Why is the legendary guitarist selling the very instruments that defined his sound and The Smiths' legacy?

Johnny Marr is selling the instruments not because he is disowning his past, but because he believes they should keep being played rather than sit in storage as relics. Marr has said his collection, built over five decades, had become too large and that he did not want his studio to turn into a “museum.” Revisiting the guitars while making his 2023 book, *Marr’s Guitars*, was, by his own account, a poignant and cathartic process. After bringing the instruments together and reflecting on the songs, tours and memories attached to them, he decided it felt wrong for them to simply go back into storage. He has framed the sale as a way of giving the guitars a next life. His stated hope is that they go to new owners who will love them, use them and draw fresh inspiration from them, rather than keeping them behind glass. That fits Marr’s long-standing view of instruments as working tools as much as treasured objects; he has even recalled lending gear to a young Noel Gallagher because he wanted to help another musician in need. There is also a practical and philanthropic element. The auction trims a “bloated” collection and, by Marr’s own joking admission, may create room for new guitars. At the same time, the full hammer price from 10 lots will go to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the National Autistic Society. So the sale is best understood as part decluttering, part charity, and part an effort to keep historically important instruments alive in music-making.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 22

95 lots tied to The Smiths and Billie Eilish's "No Time To Die" will be auctioned by Christie's in London on Sept. 17, after summer displays in New York and London.
£1,000-to-£150,000 estimates span standout instruments including Marr's 1982 Rickenbacker from "This Charming Man," a 1971 Martin D-28 and a Fender Jaguar used on the Bond theme.
10 lots' hammer prices will go to Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and the National Autistic Society.
Marr said he decided to sell after working on his 2023 book "Marr's Guitars," saying he did not want his studio to become a museum and preferred the instruments to inspire new owners.
The sale arrives as Marr remains active beyond The Smiths—fresh from a Gorillaz guest appearance and ahead of his fifth solo album, "The Age Of Everything."