While I was at Middle School I got my first electric guitar. It was quite a spontaneous act. I was 12 and on holiday with my parents in Bournemouth and was passing a music shop. I originally went in to buy some sheet music, but on the wall was a Tele-type Japanese copy in glorious sunburst. It played like a dream. It was new and cost £23. This was 1972. A great guitar, but one slight problem... I didn't have an amplifier! The solution was a 15watt, second hand, valve amp with tremolo. It was very portable and had an integrated 10" speaker. So for just under £50, I had a fairly decent electric guitar and amplifier. The guitar survived until the early 1990's when it was sold at a car boot sale. The amp was given away to a friend when I purchased a Yamaha JX40 amp in the early 1980's - a decision I have resented ever since. It had an amazing tone. I really didn't appreciate how lucky I was.
It was at this point I realised that you could also make up songs. Ok, I know that this seems a little obvious, but up to then I played the songs that I had heard on Top of the Pops or the Old Grey Whistle Test. So, with a guitar, pen and paper I started scribbling tunes and words down. The main problem was a lack of musical knowledge (I had played recorder for a few years so could read music, a little). I could string three or four chords together, but didn't realise why a certain chord went with another. The theory would have to wait. I was going to High School.
But soon I would form a band...
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