Since then, Marr has been a member of the Pretenders, the The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs, and he has become a prolific session musician, working with names such as Kirsty MacColl, Pet Shop Boys, Talking Heads, Bryan Ferry and Hans Zimmer.

[5] Marr was born on 31 October 1963 in Saint Mary's Hospital in Manchester,[6] son of John Joseph Maher and Frances Patricia Doyle, Irish emigrants to England from County Kildare.

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.

By February 1984, the Smiths' fanbase was sufficiently large to launch the band's long-awaited debut album to number two in the UK chart.

A legal dispute with Rough Trade had delayed the album by almost seven months (it had been completed in November 1985), and Marr was beginning to feel the stress of the band's exhausting touring and recording schedule.

Referring to the songs recorded in the band's last session together (B-sides for the "Girlfriend in a Coma" single, which preceded the album's release), Marr said "I wrote 'I Keep Mine Hidden', but 'Work Is a Four-Letter Word' I hated.

"[27] In 1989, in an interview with young fan Tim Samuels, later a BBC journalist, Morrissey said the lack of a managerial figure and business problems were to blame for the band's eventual split.

[29] In 1996, Smiths' drummer Mike Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court, arguing that he had not received his fair share of recording and performance royalties.

Morrissey and Marr said the other two members of the band had always agreed to that split of the royalties, but the court found in favour of Joyce and ordered that he be paid over £1 million in back pay and receive 25% thenceforth.

[35] In an October 2007 interview on BBC Radio 5 Live, Marr hinted at a potential reformation in the future, saying that "stranger things have happened so, you know, who knows?"

Marr did not publicly comment, but had recently posted a picture of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage to rebuke calls to reunite in the aftermath of Oasis's reunion.

Marr previously said in 2016 that Morrissey's politics aligned with Farage's, joking that any potential Smiths reunion would feature the politician as their replacement guitarist.

[47] In 1992 Marr and Billy Duffy recorded a cover version of Ennio Morricone's The Good, the Bad and the Ugly for the NME compilation album Ruby Trax.

[48][49] Marr has worked as a session musician and writing collaborator for artists including Pet Shop Boys, Bryan Ferry, Billy Bragg, Kirsty MacColl, Black Grape, Jane Birkin, Talking Heads,[44] and Beck.

[51] Marr played guitar on several Pet Shop Boys songs; he continues to have guest appearances on their albums, with his most significant contribution on Release (2002).

The only remix that Marr has ever done was for Pet Shop Boys—it was a mix of his favourite track from their 1987 album, Actually, called "I Want to Wake Up", and was released as the b-side to 1993's "Can You Forgive Her?".

[54] A second set of concerts took place in December 2008/January 2009, and an album of new studio material titled The Sun Came Out was released in August 2009 to raise money for Oxfam.

In 2006, he began work with Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock on songs that eventually were featured on the band's 2007 release, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

[63] Marr, who had been understood to officially leave the band in January, released a statement in which he affirmed that he would be working on solo material "over the next year or so".

[72] In January 2016, Marr announced new and rescheduled dates as part of his West Coast 'California Jam' tour, which took place in the US throughout February and March 2016.

[73] Marr features on "Ballad of the Mighty I", the second single from Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' Chasing Yesterday, playing lead guitar, and joined the band for this song at a concert in Manchester.

The Los Angeles tour date saw the Killers and Marr also performing on stage with former Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

[86] An accompanying UK tour was also announced, with gigs played in Newcastle, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Wolverhampton, Cardiff, Bristol, London, Brighton and Nottingham during April 2024.

[99] He explained, "I try to think about the guitar along the spectrum of James Williamson, who was in the Stooges during the Raw Power era, on the one hand to John McLaughlin and his solo record, My Goal's Beyond.

"[100] When Marr started to sing as a solo artist in 2012, he said, "[The frontpersons] I related to were Peter Perrett, Colin Newman, Pete Shelley, Siouxsie Sioux.

[116] On 19 July 2012, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Salford for "outstanding achievements" and "changing the face of British guitar music".

The magazine stated, "Not content with rewriting the history of music with one of the world's greatest-ever bands, the Smiths, he's continued to push boundaries and evolve throughout his career, working with some of the best and most exciting artists on the planet.

[120] On 19 January 2021, Marr received the Boss Lifetime Achievement Award as part of the NAMM music industry trade show.

"[126] After meeting American rap group Naughty by Nature, he was inspired by their philosophy of strength through health, and soon after quit drinking and smoking, and converted to veganism.

In the 2000s, he played on albums by bands such as Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Pearl Jam, Jane Birkin, Lisa Germano and Crowded House.