The Day Johnny Marr Was The Head of the Class

10/19/2011
. (Gibson) On this day in 2007, Johnny Marr was made a visiting professor of music at the University of Salford in Manchester. The former Smiths guitarist was set to deliver a series of workshops and masterclasses to students on the BA Popular Music and Recording degree. Gibson takes a look back:

It's not often in rock and roll that super-street-cred rock icons get to turn themselves into university professors, even temporarily. On this day in 2007, Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr was made a visiting professor of music at the University of Salford with the idea of having the "Panic" and "Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now" guitar stylist deliver a series of educational workshops to undergraduate students.

Salford University's John Sweeney told Musicradar.com, that Marr was "a revered guitarist and composer" who was held "in the highest esteem by many of his fellow performers."

The University of Salford runs a popular and successful undergraduate course, the BA Popular Music and Recording degree. Salford is a borough of Manchester, the city where The Smiths formed in 1982. Both Marr and Morrissey had several ties to Salford and the whole band were pictured in front of the Salford Lads Club on the record sleeve for their seminal 1986 album, The Queen is Dead. more on this story

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