“HE’S A TRUE HERO”
By JOHNNY MARR
KEITH was a total hero to me as a kid. I loved his guitar-playing, but it was more his ideology, really. I just saw him as someone with ultimate integrity. He was a massive influence on me for his philosophy more than anything. When I was in The Smiths, I felt like I was in my own Rolling Stones. We had a very interesting, idiosyncratic front man and I was able to take care of just the music, taking the Keith Richards philosophy of being behind the scenes, but also being the engine of the band.