Marr acquired a 1963 Gibson SG Standard sometime in the late 90s when he started recording with The Healers.
It was a good guitar to front a band with. A Les Paul would have given me too much to take care of down there. The SG sat better on me, a little bit higher, so I didn’t feel like I was looking down—I was able to sing.
I always preferred the ’63 Standard, with the stock trem. It ticked so many boxes for me, and I really bonded with that guitar. It sounded dark, but not quite as dark as a Les Paul, this dark kind of sexy blues sound to it.
Johnny Marr on the Most Important Guitars of His Career | Interview
SG Stolen
Unfortunately, the guitar was stolen after a gig at the Scala nightclub in London on September 6, 2000. Because of this, it’s possible that it didn’t feature on much of The Healers’ material. The band’s only album, Boomslang, was released in February 2003, but it’s unclear when all the recording took place. Based on some sources, most of the material was recorded in 2000. If you happen to have any concrete info on this, please be sure to post a comment below.
Shortly after the guitar was stolen, Marr went out and bought another one. This was also a 1963 model, made within a few months of the first one. Since the original was stolen in 2000, this second guitar is the one that Marr can be seen playing at all of The Healers’ gigs in 2003.
SG Recovered
In 2010, while Johnny was playing with The Cribs in Toronto, his manager called with unexpected news. A newly assigned policeman, who happened to be a fan, wanted to reopen the case and try to locate Johnny’s Gibson SG.
Within a month, the guitar was found—the thief still had it after all those years. It came back in rough shape, but Johnny was, of course, grateful to have it back. The thief was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and said he was “disgusted” with himself for taking the guitar. He admitted it was a “spur-of-the-moment decision”; he had walked out through a fire escape and took the guitar home in a taxi. [He’s not miserable now… Johnny Marr’s stolen guitar returned 10 years on]
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