Latest news with #Marr
Irish Daily Mirror
17 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Johnny Marr: 'There was a purity about Rory Gallagher'
JOHNNY Marr has a new addition to his studio. 'I'm looking at a poster of him now that I got from Jill Furmanovsky about three weeks ago,' he says. 'I had it framed and put up in the studio. Rainbow Theatre, March, 1973. It's a sweet picture.' The him is Rory Gallagher. Blues virtuoso, check shirt wizard, prodigal son of Cork and Donegal, Ireland's first rock star and guitar hero to many around the world, including Smiths legend Marr. 'There was a purity about him without him being puritanical,' says Marr. 'There was more to him than just showbusiness. It was almost something religious. You knew there was a vocation there. 'People who were moved by his records or shows never really lose their affection for him. 'It's not about nostalgia, it's something to do with his integrity.' Gallagher died 30 years ago this month in London aged just 47. It's impossible to overstate his importance to Irish music. With Taste he lit the flame for every Irish band that followed. As a solo artist, he sold millions of albums, was labelled the best guitarist in the world and was courted by The Rolling Stones. Born in Ballyshannon and reared in Cork, Gallagher illuminated the North in the darkest days of the Troubles and had a huge following across Europe. There's a street near Paris named in his honour. But he was a reluctant superstar, adopting the romantic image of a lonesome gunslinger in washed-out denims, something that would eventually be part of his undoing. 'Live by the guitar die by the guitar sort of philosophy, which turned out to be quite prophetic,' says Marr. 'I was such a big fan of him as a teenager. Not only did I enjoy his music and loved his shows, but I kinda clocked him in a way of carrying yourself as a musician… 'To walk on stage and with no pretensions just blow the roof off the place. 'It's all very well doing that with lasers and banks of keyboards, but when you're doing it with a really beat-up old guitar and beat-up amps in jeans and sneakers, without all the bells and whistles, it's pretty powerful. 'The message he seemed to send out was, 'All you need in life is your guitar and maybe an amp and everything's alright'. 'As a young idealistic musician that was really alluring.' Marr himself has long been regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of his or any generation. Manchester-born to parents from Athy in Co Kildare, he is revered for his music with The Smiths, Electronic, The The, Modest Mouse, The Cribs, The Healers and Hans Zimmer, amongst others, as well as a hugely successful solo career. But it all began with Rory. 'My bedroom was a shrine to Rory at one time,' he says. 'When you're lucky enough to have those figures who influence you, people who make an impact on your life, they do tend to become part of your life story. 'Even my family were touched by it. My family, they knew his stuff because I used to play it so much as a kid. 'As a parent myself I know what that's like. It becomes a touchstone for your family.' Gallagher was famed for his raw energy shows in the 1970s. Marr was a dedicated disciple. As a teenager, he slept in train stations after going to see Gallagher play and walked home from Manchester city centre to the suburbs of Wythenshawe. 'And it being Manchester it was raining,' he laughs. 'But that was because I wanted to stay back and get an autograph after the show and he gave me a guitar pick.' Between 1971 and 1979 Gallagher released eight studio albums with a mixture of powerhouse and acoustic blues in a period of ferocious creativity. The music is hard-wired into Marr's soul. 'What you pick up in your formative years stays with you,' he says. 'I didn't quite realise it in the '80s because my head was on new agendas, but as you get older you identify things. 'I think What Difference Does It Make sounds like Secret Agent. Had I not learned how to play Secret Agent… The way it's played, it's a similar kind of thing. 'Also, Daughter of the Everglades, you can hear his influence on me. And Rory did have a song on his first album called There Is A Light.' On stage is where Gallagher came alive and his albums Live In Europe and Irish Tour '74 captured him at his most forceful with bassist Gerry McAvoy by his side. But his output and success declined in the 1980s and 1990s. Alcohol and prescription medication impacted his health and he was hospitalised in March 1995 for a liver transplant. He died three months later on June 14, 1995 after contracting an infection in hospital. 'He was living around the corner from me at that time,' says Marr. 'We'd kinda gotten to know each other a little bit before he passed away. 'I bumped into him a couple of times and he called me on the phone a couple of times. 'I was working on a The The session when I heard. It was just really sad.' Gary Moore, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Ronnie Drew and John Sheahan were among the mourners at the funeral in Cork. A telegram from Bob Dylan which arrived too late was read out in the church: 'Get well quick, with God's speed, and keep playing.' In a 1976 interview for the Irish Times, Gallagher told Joe Breen he wanted to write film scores, screenplays and a concept album in the future. 'Most of all, I would like to envisage myself at 60 years of age like Muddy [Waters]…' he said. 'If I can affect people like he affects me at that age, I'll be happy.' Sadly it wasn't to be. 'I think had he got through the difficult period in music near the end of his life, I think he would've enjoyed a new chapter,' says Marr. 'You could imagine him being on the Jools Holland show every couple of years, playing at the Albert Hall. You could imagine him having the same kind of career as Bonnie Raitt. Or Nick Lowe. 'Someone who could've comfortably got into his vintage years, but there was just a weird curve that happened in the '80s and '90s that made him estranged from popular music. 'I think that's what happened. It sort of rocked him a bit. Had he got round that corner who knows what might've happened.' But the music lives on. Last weekend the annual Rory Gallagher Festival took place in Ballyshannon and blues great Joe Bonamassa will play Gallagher's music for three nights in Cork next month. A new statue of Gallagher was unveiled outside the Ulster Hall in Belfast earlier this year and a road will soon be named in his honour in Cork. His faithful Fender Stratocaster was also donated to the National Museum of Ireland after being sold at auction for more than €1million. It will go on display at Collins Barracks in September. Marr has played the signature Strat a number of times, including one memorable night at Shepherd's Bush Empire in London. 'It caused quite a stir with the band and crew, it was like Excalibur had arrived,' he laughs. He owns another of his hero's old guitars – a bronze Silvertone 1415 which Gallagher used on A Million Miles Away. 'One of my prized possessions.' Over the years he's introduced the likes of Noel Gallagher and Bernard Butler to the Ballyshannon bluesman's music. Marr and his wife Angie have two grown-up children, Sonny and Nile, and Rory is part of their lives too. When Marr played in Athy, Limerick and Donegal last year it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a Johnny Marr Irish Tour '24 album. 'Why didn't I think of that?' he says, laughing. 'I might have to do some shows for that – Irish Tour '26!' Make it happen, Johnny. All you need is a guitar and maybe an amp. They might even let you borrow the one in Collins Barracks again.
Eyewitness News
a day ago
- Eyewitness News
Vrygrond ward councillor says gun violence has reached crisis point in the area
CAPE TOWN - A ward councillor in Vrygrond near Muizenberg, in Cape Town, says gun violence in the area has reached a crisis point. On Thursday, councillor Mandy Marr addressed a crime Imbizo in Vrygrond, a suburb gripped by deadly gun violence in recent weeks The imbizo is aimed at building trust and strengthening partnerships between the community and the police, thereby combatting crime. Western Cape police top brass is visiting Vrygrond to hear directly from community members how gun violence has turned their lives upside down. ALSO READ: Some CT communities described as war zones following spike in gun violence The community and police engagement in Vrygrond on Thursday comes just days after a police officer was shot and killed outside his home in broad daylight. The surge in violence has been attributed to an extortion related war between local taxi associations and the Junky Funky Kids Gang operating in the area. Marr says the violence is out of control and has called for more help from the police. 'We want to know what SAPS [South African Police Service] is doing in our gang-ravaged community at the moment, where extortion has never been like this before in Vrygrond, it's never been like this before.' Police officers attached to Operation Shanela have been deployed to the area to clamp down on crime.
The Courier
3 days ago
- Business
- The Courier
EXCLUSIVE: Dundee pub in line for 6-figure transformation after roof blown off during storm
A Dundee pub is in line for a six-figure transformation after its roof was blown off during a storm. The Charleston Bar has been closed since sustaining severe damage during Storm Arwen in 2021. Plans are now being put in place to bring the once-popular Charleston Drive pub – known locally as the Charlie Bar – back to life. City Centre Pubs Dundee, run by the Marr family, has taken over the bar and hopes to have it open next year, subject to planning approval. Director Peter Marr Jr has revealed artist's impressions of how the building could look. He told The Courier: 'We're really looking forward to bringing this community pub back to life. 'Unfortunately, over the last few years, the building has fallen into a state of disrepair following the storm. 'We have some concept designs we're working on before going to planning. 'In the next couple of weeks, the plan is to make the building wind and water-tight for the time being. 'We need to work with architects to finalise our designs and assess the building as a whole. 'By the time we get planning, licensing and a building warrant, it will be next year before we can get to work on it. 'The hope would be to start working on it in January and have it open by the middle of next year.' Peter added: 'This will be a six-figure investment, creating 15 to 20 jobs. 'We're looking forward to working with the local community and hope the regeneration will benefit the whole area. 'As part of the new design, we're also exploring the potential for multi-purpose use at the site.' The Courier has taken a look at seven other Dundee pub sites that could be given a new lease of life, including Clancy's Irish Bar, which is owned by the Marrs.
Boston Globe
30-05-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
With the NHL Draft approaching, director Dan Marr outlines how the Central Scouting Bureau works for all 32 teams
After some thought, he changed his mind. 'So, I said I would if they gave me a three-year contract and a great pay raise,' Marr said. 'So, they did.' Marr rose through the ranks quickly as he coordinated Toronto's scouting departments and training camps. His reputation grew quickly, too. Advertisement 'Atlanta offered me the head scout's job when it came into the league [in 1998],' said Marr, who stayed with the Thrashers until they moved to Winnipeg. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In 2011, Marr succeeded E.J. McGuire as director of the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau. 'Hockey moves in mysterious ways,' said Marr, reflecting on his journey. The CSB is a service for all 32 teams, supplementing the clubs' scouting departments. The Bureau provides critical logistical information, amateur player reports and rankings, and facilitates next month's combine in Buffalo. Every team has access to the CSB website, which provides updates and information for Bureau and team scouts as they set their itineraries. 'The information pertains to schedules, tournaments, and the status of players,' said Marr. 'We send out alerts to the clubs on player injuries, player suspensions, any changes to the players, any changes to game times, start times, and/or game cancellations.' Advertisement All league personnel get CSB updates. 'So, if we get notified in the morning that a kid in Red Deer [Alberta] broke his ankle last night and then he's going to be out for 4-6 weeks, we can send an alert out within minutes alerting them,' Marr said. 'And there could be a couple of scouts that flew into Calgary and their plan was to go to Red Deer that night and see this kid play. Well, now they don't show up at the rink and find out he is hurt and waste their day. Now they know in advance so they can change their schedule, maybe go to a game in Calgary or Lethbridge or Medicine Hat ... Instead of having wasted the night, they can now go somewhere else and knock a couple of other players off their lists. So, it's quite a cost savings to the teams.' Related : Marr oversees an army of scouts across North America and the CSB's European arm, which is led by J.P. Vuorinen. In all, the scouts will see about 3,000 games as they prepare their rankings in anticipation of the NHL Draft. When Marr joined the CSB, he instituted a grading scale of A (first-round candidate), B (second and third), and C (fourth and beyond). 'We do our comprehensive rankings in midseason, which is Rounds 1-7, and then a final rankings,' said Marr. 'And we have our own philosophy with putting a list together. Whereas teams may have more in-depth philosophy with their drafting [lists], ours, we simplify it, we just take what the player does well on the ice. It's all on-ice. We don't do interviews; we don't do parents. We don't worry about if the player's got a bit of a history. That's for the teams to decide. Ours is just basically what he does on the ice.' Advertisement Marr will get calls from teams inquiring why a player has moved up or down the rankings and why the CSB lists might differ from the club's list. Communication is key when it comes to putting rankings together. CSB scouts check in with Marr often. Before the final North American lists come out (skaters and goaltenders) the scouts gather in Toronto for lively debate, discussions, and several rounds of voting to come up with a finished project. Vuorinen conducts a similar process to compile the European lists. 'It's a process that works. The scouts have to be very respectful of each other's opinion because there's a lot of give and take when you put a big list together like that,' said Marr. 'And our guys are very respectful of each other's opinion and each other's experience. And everyone always agrees and says the same thing, that we all have an individual list going into the meetings, but the best list coming out of the meetings is the group list.' Marr said the league likes to have the final rankings out before the draft lottery. Once complete, his team's focus turns to the combine, which runs June 1-7. 'There's a lot of moving parts when it comes to the combine because it entails a medical evaluation of the player, setting up interviews with the 32 teams for the players, and organizing the fitness testing with the strength coaches and the test vendors,' said Marr. 'So, it's quite a project, but we've got it down to a system to where the teams are happy with it and everything flows.' Advertisement Once the draft ends — Marr noted that 85 percent of players ranked by the CSB get drafted — the cycle begins a week later when summer camps begin. Marr said the CSB takes being a 'service department' for teams very seriously and is constantly looking for input on ways to improve. 'Anything we do, we survey the clubs just to find out, 'Would you like us to pursue doing this or doing that?' So, I think we're at a pretty good stage right now where the compliments outnumber the complaints, put it that way,' he said. Jim McBride can be reached at
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Washburn graduate etches memory of lost fraternity house on campus with new monument
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A recent graduate from Washburn University is leaving behind a parting gift honoring his fraternity that will be enjoyed by new members for years to come. Joseph Marr recently graduated from Washburn with a bachelor's degree, majoring in actuarial science with a minor in business. He spent his years on campus with the Gamma-Nu chapter of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. While he has graduated from the university and is leaving town to pursue a career in Minnesota, Marr is making sure the legacy of his fraternity is etched in stone. Marr spent the last year of his degree program collaborating with the university, current and former fraternity members and Hutton Monuments to install a special tribute to the Gamma-Nu chapter that can be enjoyed for years to come. The project consists of installing a new monument in the area where the fraternity's old chapter house used to sit after it was demolished in 2015. 'When I joined Kappa Sigma and Washburn University in 2020, we didn't have the house but everyone was asking about the house,' Marr said. 'A lot of our alumni have shared stories about the house.' Big changes coming to Topeka's airports The Gamma-Nu house was built in 1927 and remained in service for decades at 1820 Southwest Mulvane Street. Marr said the structure was designed by architect Thomas Williamson who also sketched out the plans for Topeka High School and the Brown v. Board of Education Historic Site building. Members of Gamma-Nu have since conducted their meetings at different places on campus with little left to remind them of the old house that they used to gather at. Marr, serving as the chapter's historian, came up with the idea to memorialize the legacy of the Gamma-Nu chapter by erecting the new monument. To raise funds for the project, Marr reached out to alumni and put together a donor list to add onto the stone. 'I've been working from scratch for the last year,' Marr said. 'About two months ago I put out the idea of having a donor's list attached to the monument and raised a little under $16,000.' Artist Anita Shikles came up with the designs for the stone with Hutton Monuments supplying the raw material. She said it was somewhat challenging to reconstruct the house in her sketches for the new monument but pieced it together using the original blueprint and some old photos. 'They sent me an original blueprint of the house,' Shikles said. 'I was able to take a few photographs and piece the drawing together.' New $60 million Topeka apartment community set to open in 2027 Shikles also created the designs for a series of veteran memorials that stand on campus. She said she has been doing this type of work for about 25 years now, but also works with granite and painting. 'I like to help tell people's stories on stone because it'll be there forever,' Shikles said. 'It was kind of fun because you can feel the memories when you're working on it.' Missouri company ready to make new home in Topeka Marr said the monument is special for many reasons. Chiefly, it will let others on campus and new fraternity members learn about the history of the chapter and give a space for alumni to remember their time on campus. 'This monument has meaning as a place for a lot of the Kappa Sigma alumni to have that space on campus that was taken away,' Marr said. 'The monument is a nod to the house and collective effort shown to local alumni.' The monument itself will feature the more than 60 names which make up the donor list, a sketch of the old chapter house, crest of the fraternity and will be topped by an owl that used to adorn the home. Marr said many alumni members who contributed to the project did so on behalf of those who passed away years prior, securing their names on the stone. New $60 million Topeka apartment community set to open in 2027 'Joseph has been so passionate about this,' Shikles said. 'It's been just kind of one that I'm really looking forward to coming together.' Shikles said she is waiting for a delivery of the stone from Hutton Monuments before the project can move forward. The new monument is slated to be installed sometime in the spring of 2026. You can find the spot where the monument will be installed a short distance to the southwest of the Phi Delta Theta chapter house and east of the Petro Allied Health Center. You can also meet Shikles in person at the upcoming Mulvane Art Show on Saturday, June 7 where she will be showing off some of her artwork. She will also be handing out books informing people about how to get a headstone after a loved one passes away. Marr said that while he is focused on starting his career now that he has graduated, he will be helping to organize a grand opening ceremony once the new monument is completed. He said those who have helped support the fraternity and alumni members will be invited to attend. New roundabout coming west of Topeka For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
