Editing Johnny Marr (section)

==Early life==
Marr was born on 31 October 1963 in [[Saint Mary's Hospital, Manchester|Saint Mary's Hospital]] in [[Manchester]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Carman|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gya3DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|title=Johnny Marr − The Smiths & the Art of Gunslinging|date=2015-11-05|publisher=Music Press Books|page=13|isbn=978-1-78418-930-3|language=en}}</ref> son of John Joseph Maher and Frances Patricia Doyle, Irish emigrants to England from [[County Kildare]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sturges |first=Fiona |date=10 January 2003 |title=Johnny Marr: Marr's attacks |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/johnny-marr-marrs-attacks-601125.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090331165419/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/johnny-marr-marrs-attacks-601125.html |archive-date=31 March 2009 |access-date=27 March 2010 |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |location=London, UK}}</ref> The family lived in [[Ardwick|Ardwick Green]]{{sfn|Marr|2016|p=3}} and moved to [[Wythenshawe]] in 1972.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Waite |first=Richard |date=2015-04-14 |title=Johnny Marr: 'Most of the new houses I've seen look shit' |url=http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/practice/culture/johnny-marr-most-of-the-new-houses-ive-seen-look-shit |access-date=2022-03-31 |website=The Architects’ Journal |language=en}}</ref> Marr attended St Aloysius Primary School in Ardwick before moving to Sacred Heart Primary School.{{sfn|Marr|2016|pp=11,23}} From 1975, he attended St Augustine's Catholic Grammar School, which in 1977 merged with other schools to form [[St Paul's Catholic High School|St John Plessington High School]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Smiths|url=http://www.staugs.org|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911204250/http://www.staugs.org/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=11 September 2012|work=St Augustine's Grammar School Old Boys|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Brief History of St Augustine's Grammar School|url=http://www.staugs.org/history.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415224459/http://www.staugs.org/history.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 April 2013|website=Staugs.org/history.htm|access-date=11 April 2011}}</ref> Marr had aspirations to be a professional football player. He was approached by [[Nottingham Forest F.C.|Nottingham Forest]] and had trials with [[Manchester City F.C.|Manchester City's]] youth team.<ref>{{cite book |last=Middles |first=Mick |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W4OiNwAACAAJ |title=Factory: The Story of the Record Label |publisher=Virgin Books |year=2009 |edition= |location=London |page=42|isbn=978-0-7535-1825-0 }}</ref>{{sfn|Marr|2016|p=69}}

Marr's said his family's move to Wythenshawe was "like we'd moved to Beverly Hills", and that the move led to him meeting "a bunch of guitar players" which "changed his life".{{sfn|Marr|2016|p=21}}<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl80Wj3ncEI Johnny Marr w/Billy Duffy], telling the audience how far back their relationship goes (live@The Fillmore, SF - 13 April 2013, posted to YouTube on 4/15/2013)</ref> Guitarist [[Billy Duffy]], later a member of [[the Cult]], was in a high school band that practised across the street from Marr's new house, and Marr would hang out listening to them rehearsing.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tItYAZSDhd8 |title=BOSS YourTone Artists — Billy Duffy Interview |date=2012-11-16 |last=rolandmedia |access-date=2024-08-14 |via=YouTube}}</ref> He learned to play the guitar with LP vinyl records and a guitar chords dictionary without a teacher.<ref name="Holé2012">{{cite magazine |last=Holé |first=Mélanie |date=2012 |title=Johnny Marr: L'élégance à l'anglaise |trans-title=Johnny Marr: English elegance |magazine=Guitarist & Bass Magazine |language=fr |location=[[Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis]] |publisher=Duchâteau-Voisin |issue=255 |page=39 |oclc=644431866}}</ref> Marr formed his first band, the Paris Valentinos, at the age of 13, with [[Andy Rourke]] (who had gone to the same high school as Duffy) and Kevin Williams (later an actor, known as [[Kevin Kennedy (actor)|Kevin Kennedy]]), performing for the first time at a [[Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II|Jubilee]] party in [[Benchill]] in June 1977, playing [[Rolling Stones]] and [[Thin Lizzy]] covers.{{sfn|Rogan|1994|pp=22–23}}

In 1979, he played a single gig at Wythenshawe Forum with a band called Sister Ray and re-united with Rourke in a band called White Dice. White Dice entered a demo-tape competition organised by ''[[NME]]'' and won an audition for [[F-Beat Records]], which they attended in April 1980 but were not signed.{{sfn|Rogan|1994|pp=29–31}} Around the age of 14, he began spelling his name "Marr" to simplify the pronunciation for those who had difficulty with his birth name "Maher", and to avoid confusion with [[Buzzcocks]] drummer [[John Maher (Buzzcocks drummer)|John Maher]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Former Smiths guitarist releases debut album 'The Messenger' in February 2013|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/johnny-marr-73-1260850 |magazine=NME|access-date=8 March 2018|date=2012-11-19 }}</ref>

In October 1980, Marr enrolled at [[The Manchester College|Wythenshawe College]], and was President of their [[Students' union|Student Union]].{{sfn|Rogan|1994|p=31}} White Dice dissolved in 1981. Marr and Rourke then formed a [[funk]] band, Freak Party, with [[Simon Wolstencroft]] on drums. Around this time, Marr first met [[Matt Johnson (singer)|Matt Johnson]], with whom he later collaborated.{{sfn|Rogan|1994|pp=32–33}}