Johnny Marr helps Salford 12-year-old achieve his dream

Music legend Johnny Marr has helped a 12-year-old boy from Salford to achieve his dream of following in his footsteps after he won The Salford Foundation Trust Johnny Marr award.

John Denton, 12, began his music career busking on the rainy streets of Manchester city centre and became quite a sensation on social media through videos of him performing on Market Street.

The ambitious lad has already held a gig at the iconic Salford Lads Club — where The Smiths posed outside for an album cover photo in 1985.

With a little help from the guitar hero, John is hoping to make it in music as the next Marr. He he told the Manchester Evening News: “I’d love to be the next Johnny Marr and just keep going to see where music can take me.

“It all started when my dad took me to a birthday party for one of his friends, and there was a karaoke machine. People were singing Highway to Hell by AC/DC.”

“I went home and just listened to them over and over and it all came from there. I started singing, took guitar lessons and then did my first gig at a coffee shop in Eccles when I was nine, where I also sang two of my own songs,” he added.

Now the former member of The Smiths is helping young John to kick start his career. John was selected for funding by the charity The Salford Foundation Trust, which operates the Johnny Marr Award to support talented youngsters in the city. He has been awarded £1,000 funding to pay for extra singing and guitar lessons to help him perfect his performances.

John and Johnny have already met once before – when John chatted to him at a record signing event at Manchester’s Piccadilly Records for the release of Johnny’s new album ‘Fever Dreams Pts 1-4’, where he asked him for advice about forming a band.

John has since gone on to form his own group called ‘The Height’ – named after Irlams o’ th’ Height, an area in Salford near where he lives – and the group released their first single just before Christmas.

He was selected for the award by a panel at the Salford Foundation Trust, a local charity which supports talented young people in the city. The Johnny Marr Award will run for three years, selecting another young musician from Salford each year for financial assistance.

His dad Phil said: “John’s ambition is to have a career in music. He will be using the funding to have music lessons to help both his guitar playing and his singing. In these tough times it’s a massive help and means that he can progress in his passion.”

“Music is not a hobby for John but just who he is and a creative outlet he hopes to enjoy for the rest of his life. He is incredibly grateful to Johnny and the Salford Foundation Trust who have provided this opportunity. It is a real privilege to get this award and he is determined to make the very most of the opportunity he has been given,” he added.

Johnny said: “It’s a pleasure and privilege to give some assistance to a young musician especially when they’re as dedicated as John. Well done brother.”

Peter Collins CBE, from The Salford Foundation Trust, said: “There couldn’t be a more worthy recipient of the Johnny Marr Award. Even though John is only 12 he’s already proven he’s committed to making a future in music and we’re delighted the Trust can give him a helping hand on this journey.”