The Smiths have been widely influential. Ian Youngs of BBC News has described them as "the band that inspired deeper devotion than any British group since the Beatles". Marr's guitar playing "was a huge building block for more Manchester legends that followed the Smiths", including the Stone Roses, whose guitarist John Squire has said Marr was an influence. Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher also cites the Smiths as an influence, especially Marr. Gallagher has said that "When the Jam split, the Smiths started, and I totally went for them." Singer Davey Havok of the band AFI cites the Smiths as an influence.