Guitar Gods in Beds. (Bedfordshire: A Heavenly County). Mike Buchanan
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(Mrs V#1)
John, Laughin’
Justine
Karen (Mrs V#5)
Katherine (Mrs V#2)
Kimberley
Layla
Lilian
Pam (Mrs V#3)
Paul
Rita (Mrs V#4)
Wendy
Verity-Stevenson, Ian
Virgin Studios (New York)
Virginity, the loss of, to the ‘village bike’
Vox (guitars)
Wagstaff, Ian, (‘Waggy’)
Wake Up, Little Suzie
Wakefield
Wales
Waller, Mickey
Walling, Peter Thorburn
Warwickshire
Water butt, a ‘heinous’ crime involving a
Watford
Watkins Rapier style guitar
Watson, Arthel ‘Doc’
Watson, Merle
Wedding, the very downbeat
Weedon, Bert
Weller, Paul
Wellington
Wells
Wells, Tony
WEM ER40 mini-stack solid-state amplifier
Werrington
Wesley, Tim
West End
Westminster Girls’ School
Whale, Len
Whipps Cross Hospital
White Christmas
Whitechapel
Whittington, Dick
Wiggy, the singer with ‘a todger like a West Ham scarf’
Wigmore Hall, the hiring of the, ‘to fulfil a whimsy’
Wilcox, Stuart (‘Donkey Knob’)
Wilde, Martin
Wilfred, the hapless pallbearer
Williams, Bernie
Williams, John
Williamson, Steve
Willis, Brian
Wilson, Sally
Winwood, Steve
Woburn Sands
Woman, ‘a mad argumentative alcoholic’
Women
beautiful bikini-clad, darker skinned, black, Italians, Hispanics, Orientals
Women, occupational hazards for musicians
Wootton
Working men’s clubs
Working men’s clubs, ‘a little prat in’
World War 1
World War 2
Worth Preparatory School
Worth Priory, 30
Worth, Sid
Wrekin College
Wright, Barbara Tremayne
Wright, Cecil
Yamaha (guitars)
Yong Man Lee
Yorkshire
Young, Bill
Zephyr
Zombie
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
My first thanks must go to these eight great guitarists, who were generous with their time and openness, enabling the production of this book with which I am proud to associate my name. They have provided so many of us with countless hours of pleasure over the years, while we nursed our countless pints of beer in public houses in the Bedford area. In my own case, mainly The Ship on St Cuthbert’s Street and The Flowerpot on Tavistock Street. Particular thanks to Paul Bonas for his support of the project, and for the cover concept and design.
My thanks also to my fellow live music fans, who help keep the tradition alive and request All Along the Watchtower from guitarists who would rather plunge their heads into a vat of boiling battery acid than play the number again. But bless them, they do play it again. Well, usually.
My thanks also to the enlightened publicans in all the public houses mentioned in this book. Without them, there would only be a small local live music scene.
Finally, I should like to thank my 80-year-old mother, for proofreading the book and spotting numerous errors. I really must buy her a bottle of Dubonnet for her contribution. Her mental acuity is always a wonder to me, and it doesn’t appear to diminish with age.
INTRODUCTION
Ah, but I was so much older then,
I’m younger than that now.
Bob Dylan: My Back Pages (1964)
I’d give my right arm to play the guitar well. It’s been an iconic instrument for lovers of popular music since the early 1960s. I’ve tried to learn to play it numerous times over the past 40 years, but have never managed to devote enough time and effort to the task. But I applaud those who have, and this book is my way of celebrating their achievements.
The idea of writing the book came to me while I was making plans for my 50th birthday, during the autumn of 2007. I invited a number of well-known guitarists from the Bedford area to perform in a concert to mark my birthday on 8 December 2007, at The Red Lion in Stevington. We called the concert Guitar Gods in Beds. (and a Goddess). The ‘Gods’ were on form, as was the ‘Goddess’, Sizzlin’ Sara Turner, who played tea chest bass. The presence of my daughter Sophie, as well as my good friends Norman Grubb, Rob Shaw, Véronique Robert, Kevin Smith, Andy and Tracey Heslop, helped make it a night to remember. Unfortunately my younger daughter Kate was unwell, and couldn’t be with us. There, that’s all of them in the index.
Why ‘Guitar Gods’? I don’t mean to offend anyone with religious sensibilities – heaven forbid – it’s simply a common term for great guitarists, albeit normally applied to the most famous ones. But some of these guitarists are as good as any you’ll ever see, anywhere.
As I’m sure to be asked, why are there no lady guitarists in the book? I guess touring round pubs and clubs doesn’t suit the ladies, because I didn’t come across a lady guitarist who was widely known on the Bedford music scene. Although the fetching Jess Mason-Wilkes – a former barmaid at The Ship, and currently its executive chef – plays a terrific version of The Cranberries’ Zombie, among other songs. Not to be confused with one of the current barmaids there, the comely Sarah Kemp.
I generally like and admire guitarists – one or two exceptions come to mind, but let’s move on – so I enjoyed the discussions with these eight. I interviewed them in their homes during the period November 2007 to August 2008, with the help of a digital audio recorder. I frequently had to switch the recorder off as either the guitarist or I – sometimes both – were helpless with laughter, as they related some anecdote or other.
I’ve always been fond of the American habit of attaching an epithet to musicians’ names: Ramblin’ Jack Elliott and so on. And at the risk of being called epithetic, I came up with all their names, other than Bob Foley’s:
Finger Pickin’ Good Paul Bonas – Paul