Johnny Marr

Vegan musicians don’t get much more legendary than Johnny Marr, the guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths. During The Smith’s five-year lifespan, from 1982 to 1987, the band released four studio albums, including Meat is Murder in 1985.

After The Smiths broke up in 1987 due to differences between Marr and Morrissey, Marr joined the line-up of a number of bands including the Pretenders, The The, Electronic, Modest Mouse, and the Cribs. He has also been a session musician for a number of artists.

Why Johnny Marr is vegan

Johnny Marr is vegan for the animals and for health.

Marr became vegetarian in 1985 after the band made Meat is Murder as he didn’t want to be hypocritical. He told The Guardian that from the minute the band made Meat is Murder he never ate meat again.¹Hind, J. 2016. Johnny Marr: ‘When the Smiths went to No 1, we were surviving off crisps, chocolate and Coca-Cola’. The Guardian. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/nov/20/life-on-a-plate-johnny-marr-the-smiths [Accessed 27 May 2026]. He said it was no great sacrifice because nutrition “meant nothing” to him.

In the mid nineties, Marr stopped conforming to the rock’n’roll stereotype of alcohol and cigarettes, ditching both and becoming more health conscious.²Lane, E. 2014. How to press rewind on your liver, by Johnny Marr. Men’s Health. Available: https://www.menshealth.com/uk/health/a750037/johnny-marr-healthy-lifestyle-running-habit/ [Accessed 19 March 2021]. As part of this personal growth, he also became vegan in 2006 when he moved to Portland, Oregon.³Fletcher, T. 2025. Johnny Marr: “I will never eat meat and I will never drink alcohol.” Available: https://tonyfletcher.substack.com/p/johnny-marr-youre-from-manchester [Accessed 27 May 2026]. He also nurtured a love for running and runs up to 50 miles a week.

“Making a record called Meat Is Murder, that was nearly twenty five years ago. It wouldn’t have been right for me to play that song and not be vegetarian. The funny thing is that up until then my only interaction with animals had been ‘I hope this dog doesn’t bite me’, because I grew up on a council estate in England, but when I stopped eating animals I actually started feeling more empathy towards them.”⁴Wallis, L. 2011. Johnny Marr Interview. Available: https://www.louisewallis.net/johnny-marr-interview/ [Accessed 19 March 2021].