Ahead of Johnny Marr's 55th birthday, we present you with the most stylish images of the legendary guitarist over the years, including his time in The Smiths. Take note



Many moons ago in Manchester, a teenage Johnny Marr rapped on the door of one Steven Patrick Morrissey. The two music-obsessed Irish kids had yet to conquer England — or even their sleepy hometown, for that matter — but, by the time Johnny had left the latter’s bedroom, he knew their luck was about to change. Although weaned on acts such as T Rex and the New York Dolls, Morrissey and Marr wanted to ditch the ethos of Seventies rock'n'roll in its entirety, from the onanistic guitar solos to the patent leather and braggadocio. And so, settling on the purposefully dull-sounding "Smiths" as a name, Van Halen’s worst nightmare was born.



Unlike their name, however, The Smiths’ music and aesthetic were anything but dull. Decked in blue jeans and bling, sporting pompadours, shades and hearing aids, and tossing about gladioli like it was nobody’s business, the lads looked and sounded unlike anything British audiences had ever beheld. In the unstoppable Morrissey-Marr duo, the wit of Wilde, the swagger of James Dean and Keith Richards and an otherworldly jangle combined for what many on this side of the pond would deem the musical event of the Eighties. Here are the most stylish images of Johnny Marr and The Smiths.