Live Beer Drinking & Guitar Unboxing - The Friday Beer O'Clock Stream

Added: 2026-05-31

[00:00:12]Heat.

[00:00:17]Heat.

[00:00:23]Heat.

[00:00:39]Heat.

[00:01:06]That took a moment there. Well, well, well. Here. I clicked the button and and it and it didn't happen. Never mind.

[00:01:12]We're here now. Cheers, everyone. It's Friday. It's 5:00. At least it is here.

[00:01:17]That means it's beer o'clock. Cheers everyone.

[00:01:23]Uh for the record, still on the Aldi guzzling beer. Um got to do a resupply in the morning.

[00:01:32]That's uh Saturday morning seems to be my little wander up to Aldi. And uh top of the shopping list is beer as always.

[00:01:41]You know, put the essential stuff at the top of the list then you don't forget it. Anyway, how you doing chaps? Uh nice to see you all here. Uh once again, it's come around quick again. All I say that every week, but every week it seems to just uh you know, it's a blur of activity from Saturday through to Thursday evening and then suddenly you wake up and it's Friday morning and it's oh, it's Friday again today. Uh who was first in today? Well, that honor goes to Rent to Kill. Hot on his heels, we've got Fiend Tunes and David James.

[00:02:13]Gary Goodwin is there as is Dave Fish and Ingrid. Uh Paul Trainer is amongst us. So is Dr. Gomez who says it's his birthday this weekend and he intends to grab this weekend by the you know what and it will get messy.

[00:02:30]Well, you know, no better excuse than a birthday mate.

[00:02:33]if you feel like you need an excuse.

[00:02:35]Personally, you know, it's um I um I work hard and you know, when it comes to uh the Friday night, that's that's when it it tends to get messy for me as well.

[00:02:46]Uh who else have we got? We got Paul Trainer and uh PFY Guitars. Uh Johnny Random is there. So is Vincent Brennan, Steven Hedger. Um yeah, I got to put this one up on screen. Hi all. walked past my local guitar shop today, forgetting I was wearing a Fender t-shirt. Now I know what Gary Glitter felt like when seen outside a sweet shop. Indeed. Don't think it's quite that bad, but I do get the point. Uh, who else we got? We got El Baldo is in. Um, our friend Rob Bald uh, back from Northern Ireland and it seems winter is making uh, a fair fist of a comeback here on the Asia coast.

[00:03:24]Never mind almost be with cold ones stacked in the fridge. Yeah, it's I mean um I want to take issue here with um the weather forecasting industry because you know when it's uh hot and sunny and you know and you know they always say and another day of glorious weather today.

[00:03:43]It's not glorious. It makes me hot and sweaty and scratchy and cranky. Can I have some nice overcast drizzle please?

[00:03:51]That's much more my kind of weather. Um, uh, Terry Day is in. So is Peter Collins and Anton and Regular as Clockwork. A couple of quid in the tip jar from Paul Trainer. Thank you so much, mate. Uh, Auto Getdon one is there. So is Malcolm Spillet. And we got Francis Chambers um who say it's a bit cooler um today in Burton on Trent. Yeah, it's been we only had really a couple of days where it was uncomfortably um oppressively warm. And this room here where I spend, you know, a large amount of time uh during the working week was like a bloody sauna uh on those two days. But, you know, you just crack on and get on with it and just thank yourself. Lucky that this is Britain and it doesn't uh we don't it's subjected to that kind of insane weather uh too often. Uh who else have we got?

[00:04:40]Have I said Francis Chambers? Yes, I just have. Uh, there's Mark Kerno, Amadea, Sylon Hybrid, Frank Bolam, John Ross, Chip Young, and my head of global marketing, Grandpa Joe. It's Friday. If you can't get enough of the channel, uh, and you want advanced content with tons of great learning information, consider John's Patreon. It's loaded with a very useful guitar info. Thank you so much, Joe. Everybody thinks I pay Joe for doing this, but he, you know, he's just um he's just doing it out of the goodness of his heart, and bless him. Uh Pete Axe Shields um is in. So is Peter Hall, Jimmy James and uh Mark FY is there. So is Nathan and uh who else have we got? Colin Falcon, Cal Texa, Steve Nwistle, session guitar legend. That is Gary Shaw is amongst us, ladies and gentlemen. Really tasty player, Gary.

[00:05:29]And uh there's Johnny Day and Peter Williamson. Um oh Gary's going to send me a Markoff story for the viewers tails. Looking forward to that. Uh Austin Barrett is there. So is Rexomatic. Uh good morning from Sholu.

[00:05:45]Not sure what that is. Um John Channing is there. Uh Chris Hotterwell. Robin Forcet. Oh, here's another one from Rex.

[00:05:52]Meant to say good morning from Sholo, Arizona. Preparing the first old guy triathlon of 2026. Then wandering around the western states with some guitar interviews scheduled. Good for you, mate. And uh you know you know a lot of respect for you for getting into all of that uh physical triathlonessiness.

[00:06:12]Yes. Uh I can't even say let alone kind of perform it. Um uh who else have we got? We've got William Forest. We've got Mark Card. Uh oh. Middleton 47 is in. So is Mr. Chris and Silver Smurfer and Bill Mumbo and Peter Collins and Triple Distilled. Uh who else? Anyone else? Uh Chris Otterwell is there. Craig Stamman, my old pal. Um who's he's missed the last few weeks. Uh good to be back and got a beer on this sunny day. Nice to see it, mate. There's Dave Balls and uh Godo Canuk and uh who else? There's Sari. And uh good evening and happy weekend, folks. Well, we'll do our best, mate. Uh Tony is in there. So is the scream and our whitel duderino.

[00:07:05]And who else have we got? We've got Ravensme. We've got uh let's have a we look. Uh uh me, myself, and I. And uh Darren Meyers is in. So is Snackham. And um is that everyone? I think that Oh, Bookingham Bard is in. And um uh Colin Falcon, you're saying uh PRSC24 never arrived. Stuck in the couriers depot in the Midlands. Yes. Well, you know um it's not like you paid anything for it, is it Colin? Colin won one of those uh the uh PRSC 24 standards like what I used to have.

[00:07:44]Um won it in one of those guitar raffles. Uh, and uh, he's um, he's waiting for it like a like an excited young on Christmas Eve and it's stuck in a courier's place somewhere. Um, uh, let's have a look. Uh, anything else? No, I think that's everyone. Um, so here we are again. I've got an unboxing to do tonight. Uh, so I'm going to squeeze that in at some point. And I've got a rather charming uh viewers tail uh to get through which is it's it's not a short one. So I want to um kind of squeeze that one in as well. But before we do any of that, let's tell you what's coming up on the channel this week. Sunday's video is the uh the full review of that rather charming uh Levenson Sept um is it Scepter Arlington? Um that uh lovely Levenson telly style guitar that I did my first impressions of. Oh, I didn't do my first impressions of it yesterday. It went out yesterday. So, that's Sunday's video.

[00:08:44]Monday is um just it's a it's a lead guitar lesson, a lick of the week kind of thing. And it's it's just a kind of a slightly different way of thinking when you're playing lead guitar. It's one of those things where you limit yourself to doing something where you you you close off a lot of options for for playing.

[00:09:03]And in doing so, it it can boost your creativity. um and teach you a lot about intervals and all kinds of juicy good stuff that's useful to know. If you're curious about that, watch Monday's video. Um Tuesday, um is a top five that um I can't believe I've neglected until now. Uh we're talking about um the uh the king. Yes. Um Mr. Presley, uh Elvis the Pelvis. We're talking about my five favorite Elvis tunes. Um, you know, uh, as an El as a one-time huge Elvis fan, I was a big fan of his when he was a when I was a kid because, you know, I was 10 years old when he, uh, when he passed away and, you know, and it just the Elvis industry just went into overdrive and I kind of, you know, I I became a big fan of his music as a as a result of that and, you know, then subsequently um, kind of cooled off a little bit. But there are still five, at least five Elvis tunes that I'm a big fan of. And you'll find out what they are on Tuesday. Wednesday is the theory slot and we're taking a look at seventh chords. If you want to know what makes a major seventh chord different from a seventh chord, because a seventh chord is a major chord, but it's not the same as a major seventh chord and all such things like that, well, watch Wednesday's video and you'll find out.

[00:10:26]And then on Thursday um a really rather blingy jet guitar that I was loaned to um by a good pal of mine to uh to have a little bit of a play of and he said I've got this new jet guitar. Do you want to do you fancy having a loan of it? And I'm always up for um you know getting me hands on on a jet guitar cuz they are fantastic guitars. So I said yes. And that's my first impressions of that guitar. on uh Thursday. Let me just have another little uh lubricant and um wake the old uh lungs up.

[00:11:10]Anyway, uh uh let's have a look. What else have I missed in the uh in the chat while I was reading all that out?

[00:11:20]Um uh uh let's have a look. Um uh uh uh uh uh uh oh, you're just having a nice old little conversation uh amongst yourselves, which I like that. I like that sort of aspect of this live stream, you know. It's it's um it's as much about you lads having a na between yourselves. Uh El Dudarino say I I only puff a little. Um yes, okay, fair enough. if we won't ask what on um Sylon Hybrid Elvis passed away. Uh he drives a bus in Canada. Um I'm not quite sure what where that's going to be honest with you. Uh Maiden Man 74 is just saying uh saying just purchased a Fender Mustang 3 amp for portability and band practice. Amazing Fender tones. Uh but the Marshalls are a little meh. I've heard that I've never played for an extended period of time through any Fender modeling amp, but I've heard that at all levels of Fender modeling um you know uh products that the Fender amp tones are absolutely nailed on perfect, but the Marshall are not quite as convincing. Um I I actually heard somebody say that about the uh you know the big um floor model which is clearly their attempt at like a helix or something. The uh tone master pro. Um I've heard people say that the uh the Marshall tones on that are a little bit sort of uh underwhelming, shall we say?

[00:12:49]Um uh let's have a look. Uh El Dudarino saying, "Wait a minute. Uh major 7th equals 7th." No, it's not a seventh. Uh, that's the point. Um, uh, Mr. Chris is saying, "What's the difference between Fasley and Jet?" Um, at one time, not a lot, because the Fasely Finickers and the Jet JS guitars were basically the same guitars built in the same factory. Um, you know, I I don't think that's the case anymore, though. But, you know, the there was um an overlap uh for quite a while. So, um, Mark V, Elvis ain't dead, son. He's just gone home. Yes, I'll have to watch Men in Black again at some point. That's, uh, Saturday night is becoming me and uh, me and Mrs. Robson's um, kind of movie night. We're currently working our way through the Daniel Craig Bond series. and uh you know uh because there's a what what I failed to remember realize at the time is with those movies there is a like an arc that goes through um the whole kind of Daniel Craig era of Bond and you miss it you lose the thread when you're watching the films like 3 four years apart but if you're watching them a week apart you can kind of um pick up on it a little bit more and it enhances the enjoyment Um, oh, El Dudarino means says exclamation mark equals means not equals. Um, I didn't know that, but then again, I was never very good at maths at school. Um, uh, oh, Steve Cassid's in.

[00:14:33]Where did you sneak in from, mate? Um, nice to see you. Don't forget, straight after this, uh, live stream, go and check out Steve's video. He usually puts one out 6:00 p.m. or UK time on a Friday. So, go and check him out. Um anyway, shall we do the unboxing? Shall we get that out the way? I think we should. Um it's over here. And um it's in one of these uh Chinese polystyrene boxes. And I've already taken the liberty of uh going around the edge with a Stanley knife to slit the tape. But I've not looked inside yet.

[00:15:07]I'm going to I stealed myself. Made sure that I didn't. So, let's uh let's open it up.

[00:15:18]Yes. Um polyyrene dust everywhere. Um here we have it, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

[00:15:31]Covered in polyyrene now. Excuse me. So is the guitar. Um, let's just brush it off. Good little tip. Have one of these. Gets rid of all the, you know, that annoying dust that settles underneath the strings at the bridge and stuff like that.

[00:15:51]I'll have to get the uh the Hoover out in here tomorrow. Um, yes. Might look quite similar to a guitar that I reviewed a little while ago. Um, this is a Glory branded guitar and it doesn't belong to me. Belongs to um a chap who's in the in the in the a chap who's in the chat at the moment.

[00:16:17]Feel free to identify yourself or you know I won't name you in case you want to rem remain anonymous. But yes, he uh he had this guitar customuilt in China from one of those factories that um that builds the um the rather naughty forgery guitars. And um but you know, this is uh it's it's clearly sort of a like a Les Paul double cut kind of thing. And uh he had one before built in the Kathy Jeang factory and it wasn't all that good to be honest with you. It was um it was a little bit underwhelming and um you know uh but this one looks very similar but it looks like the guitar that the first one should have been. This is really nice. So what have we got here? Any kind of No, there's no um push pulls or anything on there. Just straight two humbucker three-way switch. I'm assuming the switch tip is in the uh in the case somewhere. I'll look for that later. Uh, a handsome looking beast, is it not?

[00:17:20]You know, I would uh I would be happy to call this my own. Um, lovely guitar. Uh, nice top fret. Not We've got 21 22 frets. It's not quite um, you know, a breeze to get up to the the right up to the 22nd fret. These feel like stainless steel frets. Um, the chap whose guitar this is did supply me with a full spec, but I've forgotten it. Uh oh. In tune.

[00:17:48]Lovely looking guitar. Thank you so much. You know who you are. This is a beautiful thing. Um I would be I would be happy to call this guitar my own. Um lovely beautiful thing. Uh looking at the bridge here. Tunamatic stop bar.

[00:18:04]Yeah, absolutely gorgeous. Uh thank you for the love of your wonderful guitar, sir. Um and uh uh uh Sylon Hybrid is saying, "John, does it need a setup or fret edges, etc." Well, the fret edges felt absolutely uh um fine when I just felt it there, but you know, it's I I I kind of had me hands on it for, you know, 3 or 4 minutes then. I can't honestly form any any definitive opinions there. But straight out of the box, it feels absolutely um you know, nice low action.

[00:18:38]Um and it's, you know, it's initial signs are good, shall we say. And I see Dr. Gomez has outed himself. Yes, it that guitar belongs to Dr. Gomez. Um and there we go. Yes, I I um some sometimes when people loan me guitars, they do so under conditions of strict anonymity. So I um you know I don't want to be presumptuous and name somebody and then kind of get get a an an irate email later on and uh saying I I didn't want you to name me cuz it it it has happened once when I forgot that somebody had said uh they wish to be um you know an international man of mystery. Uh excuse me while I just top up the lubricant. Uh everybody get ready to type the word flake. I know you want to even though you can't. This is a perfect paw. This is Oh, look at the perfect head on that.

[00:19:32]Oh, you can't, can you? Um, yes, but uh yeah, everybody's typing flake. Uh um uh Steve Cassidy saying, "Love the color."

[00:19:46]Yeah, it is. I'm not usually a fan of sort of um departures from the uh from the traditional, let's face it, Gibson colors. Um, you know, when you see um, you know, a a blue Les Paul or even worse, even worse, a purple Les Paul, you know, it I just think it's um, it it's, you know, like looking at your granny uh, dressed in teenage fashions, you know, it's it's just it it's it's a disconnect. But that color there, I think, is really rather tasteful. Um, so Oh, dear me. That is really rather good.

[00:20:27]Looking forward to uh I'll be recording the um the review of and the first impressions and the review of that guitar this coming week and uh it will be going out on YouTube. Excuse me. I can give you the date cuz I've got the folder in front of me.

[00:20:45]I just need to find the little document that I've got my Where's my video schedule? Um uh there it is. Yes, the uh the review.

[00:20:54]Well, the first impressions of that guitar will be going out on the 9th of July and the full review will be going out on the 12th of July. But look, see, I'm doing I thought I thought this one up all on me own just now. If you want to see it, uh if you want to see the review early, uh check out the uh the tier 2 level of my Patreon membership.

[00:21:16]$6 a month and you get the uh videos hot off the presses. You don't have to wait for them to get to the front of the YouTube queue.

[00:21:25]Um, uh, Mark F saying, "Uh, talking of bad colors on guitars, can any can anyone remember the dog cack brown strats of the '7s?" Oh, yes, indeed. Um, the ' 70s that that was an era when everybody thought that, um, kind of daylow orange and brown were in were the the best colors to have. Um, you know, it's uh the you you you either had if you were a a a cool young dude, you had the uh little uh three-wheeler bright orange bond bug or you had um you know a brown triumphite, you know, and uh you know, orange and brown and you know, kind of if you could make do you remember that um orange and brown self-adhesive wallpaper that everybody used to have in the ' 70s?

[00:22:16]Deary me. Yes. I think we had it once in our kitchen, you know. Um I don't know why they called it wallpaper cuz it patently wasn't made from paper. It was just like um it had about as much paper in it as a as a roll of plastic film, which is essentially what it was. Ray Mondo, you generous saucer. Um uh John, are you too posh to drink from the can? Yes.

[00:22:43]No. No. It's just I find beer too gassy if you drink it from the can. Um and um you know I'm uh it's it's pouring it out decanting it into uh some kind of tanker or glass gets rid of the worst of the gassiness I find. So that's why I drink out of a out of this uh lovely uh Christmas present from my wife Christmas before last. Um, uh, Snackham saying, "770s fablon. Back to those school books." Yes, indeed.

[00:23:20]Uh, Johnny D saying, "Our local music shop has a player one strap pre-owned and it's giving me serious gas. Um, I don't need it, but I walk by it every day. What am I to do?" Well, if the day what the day that you walk past and it's gone, you will regret that it's gone to somebody else, won't you?

[00:23:41]Um, so I think that's what you need to do, mate. I think I think you've answered your own question there.

[00:23:52]Triple distilled. Ooh, one decants one's beer.

[00:24:00]Yes. Yes, I do. Um, yes, I am. Um, I mean, I'm amazed that you're just discovering how posh I am, you know? I mean, I mean, look at me. I'm I'm pretty much I'm pretty much nobility, mate.

[00:24:13]Well, it starts with knob anyway. Um, so uh what else have we got to talk about?

[00:24:19]Um, uh uh uh Jimmy James is saying it's been 2 years since any flake. Wow, time flies.

[00:24:28]Well, yeah. It's been where are we now?

[00:24:30]A year and a half cuz we're sort of um in back end of May now, aren't we? So, we're coming up to the sixth month, sixth uh month of this year. God, the time's flying. Uh but yes, it was uh it was Christmas 2024. My lovely wife got me this chug tankered. Um and um you know, it's it's I don't know, something about the the the steel liner on it just tends to make for a better port as well.

[00:24:58]Uh, let's have a look.

[00:25:01]Sylon Hybrid is saying you drink more out of a glass. Oh, no. There's a challenge. Um, uh, uh, anything else? Uh, I think I've covered all of that.

[00:25:15]Oh, budget pedal chop. I mean, the Doomite even sounds sexy. Must have been fighting them off with a stick and a brown one of those. Yes. Um, yeah. my granny's next door neighbor always had a triumph doomite. Um and um you know he was a wellto-do bloke. He was uh he was the the optician in the local town or optometrist if you prefer in the local town. you know, he was um he was a he was a you know, a well-off chap and uh he always had a Triumph Doomite until one day he came uh back from the the car dealership with one of these things called I always thought it was called an Audi, you know, and uh wasn't until I saw the Volum Durk Technic ads on the telly that I realized it was actually Audi. Um um Dave Balls is saying, "Good tuners for an acoustic steel string. three aside, I think you have to go a damn long way to get anything better than Vansen tuners. Um, you know, the the um I' I've got them on this guitar here, set of Vanson locking tuners. Um, you know, and they do six aside, three aside, they do locking, non-locking, you know, pretty much any kind of tuner that you want that they'll they've got them in the range. And you know what they do?

[00:26:32]they get the guitar in in tune and keep it there. They don't have that sort of gritty um grally feel that a lot of cheap tuners or some increasingly not these days, but you still find some cheap tuners have that sort of feel. Um and that you know you don't need to spend um silly amounts of money on Clue Sun or Hip Shot or anything like that.

[00:26:56]These things do the job and they're about I mean a set of Vansen locking tuners, correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's about 30 quid for the set.

[00:27:05]And um you know it's the only time you really notice the tuners on a guitar is when they're not doing their job. And these things are I think 18 to1 ratio, perfectly smooth feeling, and they just get on with the job that they're designed for and without getting in your way. Um, uh, Johnny Random. What's this? My son's dog is a nightmare. When you take him for a walk, you have to be behind because he won't stop for a dump. Just keeps on walking without a crouch.

[00:27:42]That's That's some kind of achievement that though, isn't it? You know, if you can if you can do that. I I couldn't do that without breaking a stride, I got to tell you. So, you know, that's that's Yeah, they've been dog acts on Britain's Got Talent, haven't they? Maybe.

[00:27:58]Yeah. Anyway, let's not go there. Um, right. Shall we have a look at some viewers guitars? I think it's about that sort of time of the day. So, let's uh go to the uh relevant folder and then viewers guitar picks and bring the first one up. Um, oh, this is a nice looking one. Oh, yes.

[00:28:23]This one, uh, I'm not really into this style of guitar, but this one does look really rather tasty. Um, what am I talking about? I'm talking about this, uh, this belongs to Carl Roberts, and this is his 2002 uh, Fender Transmoto standard Strat. Um, so, you know, this is what like uh the standard series, isn't it? when they were made in Mexico.

[00:28:47]I know there's a new standard series now, but this is um you know the guitar that was the precursor to the uh the player series, the made in Mexico ones as they are now. And um I don't know is is it just the tortois shell pick guard that's doing it for me? Because as you know I am a sucker for those kind of things. Uh that's a really pretty looking guitar. I think uh congratulations mate. That's a lovely looking thing. Uh then we've got uh well we've got a couple of guitars from Gary.

[00:29:17]Gary is the absolute hero who s who sent me an absolute ton of pictures uh of his guitars uh when I put out an SOS cuz I was running out. And this is um his Harley Benon HBO-850.

[00:29:38]Harley Benson model names really trip off the tongue, don't they? clearly an Ovation uh kind of thing. And um yes, I I'll be honest with you. I don't know if this is sacrilege, but I've played some Ovation guitars, like genuine like proper expensive Ovation guitars over the years, and I've always been a bit underwhelmed, not just by the the plasticky sound, but by the the uh the high action and the um and playability issues on them. Maybe I've just played Baddens, but um you know, Harley Benton are making this copy of it. So, you know, hopefully that's a nice guitar.

[00:30:13]Gary uh uh super shallow ball back. Yes, I wanted to try the Ovation thing. Um so, there you go. Um it's if I was in the market for that kind of guitar, which I'm not, but if I was, that would be the one I would probably get. Um and another one from Gary. Dear me, the the science of geometry never evolved far enough to come up with a name for the shape of this guitar. It's like um you know it's like an an explorer designed by somebody who's um who's had you know one too many downwind of one too a few too many. Uh this is an Ibanz XPTt700.

[00:30:51]Is that pronounced? Zifos.

[00:30:56]um uh blue chameleon uh blue and sort of light green flip-flop. So, it's one of those kind of two-tone things that changes however the light hits it from about 2007 to 2008 and it's a neck through guitar. Yeah. You're not going to turn up with that to your local jazz night, are you? Yes. Um you know, you you you turn up for an audition with a country band and you you bring that out the case and uh the the first thing they say is next. Um yeah, it is very much a guitar that is uh aimed at a certain demographic of player, isn't it? Um and here we have uh some guitars from the wonderful Mr. Gus Slinger. We've got this lovely Shector here. Um yes, I am.

[00:31:39]Ever since in the 80s, Destraits were playing uh Shector guitars and uh what's his name? Uh uh Andy Taylor out of uh Juran Giran. He played Shector's as well. I've always had a bit of a soft spot for them and I've never owned one.

[00:31:56]Uh we've got an Epohone. Um what's what's that? Is that the Ebo one? Um like the Epohone base basically. Um with the uh uh people call this the Mud Booker, don't they? At the um in the neck position. Then we have a strap which well a Glenn Strat copy that if I just kind of do this and move that up there that looks identical to a Strat that I had um for a few years back in I guess the early to to mid 2000s before I sort of went off strats. But the one which is really kind of getting my juices flowing is this lovely uh P90 Strat here. This is a parts cer that uh Gus um entered into that parts cer contest that I did um oh ages ago now.

[00:32:45]And I remember looking at it then and kind of having a rather lustful feelings towards it. Um what we've got here is Len Macyver's uh epohone something or other. Um it's uh I'm a honky tonkan epohone sometimes in open g. I met a Jins Suk bar room queen in Memphis and later Ron Ros's grew on me all together now she's uh yes all everybody all together for the chorus. Um as I said to Len when he sent me this uh picture I said all you need really now is a is a Stson and a horse called Trigger.

[00:33:22]It's got that kind of vibe about it, hasn't it? Uh what have we got here?

[00:33:26]We've got Pete's second Gretch. Pete is a very very talented chap who we're going to be hearing from later in the viewers tales section and he um you know he's a massively talented uh artist as well. He he's the chap that does the caricature that appears in all of my thumbnails and what a lovely looking guitar. Yes. Um I love the idea of these guitars but I've never really got on with playing one. Um, you know, I I grew up idolizing Brian Sets, so I've always had a bit of a soft spot for Gretches, but I've never really got on with playing one. But there you go. Um, and uh, this is Sam's uh, 75th anniversary PBase. Bought this from my local guitar shop. Uh, it was with a matching Strat and they look fantastic side by side.

[00:34:14]The Strat sold straight away, but this hung around for ages before I finally caved in on Christmas, even got a really good Merry Christmas. The diamond anniversary metallic finish sounds a bit Liberace, but it really pops on stage.

[00:34:26]It's a typical nononsense Mexican Fender. Really good. Yeah, good workhorse base that mate by the sounds of it. Um uh Steve is another chap that um that sent me an absolute ton of pictures when I sent out the SOS. And this is his uh clown guitar. Um looks like it's No, it's not an Ibanz. Looks like it started off as some kind of Ibanz copy. You can tell from the headstock that's not an Ibanz headstock shape. And he's got uh a fabric front uh and back with a wild look. Yeah, Mile House. Uh M Mr. Mile House Paul. He's um a big fan of uh that sort of fabric kind of finish, isn't he? Can't say it does it for me, but um you know, I can see how that that appeals to the um the psychedelic uh fans amongst us. And what have we got here? Last one of the evening. Uh uh Rob Bald. Um he is currently playing bass in a band and he's on a bit of a bass shopping spree. I don't know whether he's trying to find the perfect one, but um he keeps getting them. So what have we got? A pair of sireers uh by the looks of it, which is you know the Sia guitars are all um S Larry Carlton and the bases are Sia Marcus Miller. I do like this one quite a bit. That's sort of uh well, they both are a little bit, aren't they? Both sort of bit Musicmanish. Uh but this this one here with a natural finish floats my boat out the most out of the two of them. And there you go, chaps. That is uh this week's uh little selection from the gallery. Uh let me just go and clear the cash so I don't inadvertently uh end up showing the same pictures next week. It has happened before. Um, El Baldo saying, "I grew up idolizing Brit Ecklund, but Set's mate Jim Slim Jim won the prize." He did. I forgot about that. Yes, the uh the drummer out, the Stray Catch was married to Brit Ecklund. Um, those of us who are of an old enough vintage to remember um Britckland in the Michael Kaine uh Get Carter movie. Oh, deary me. Yes. Yes, I can understand the um the fixation with Brit Ecklund. If you've never seen that movie, by the way, don't ignore the late '9s remake with Sylvester Stallone. But yeah, go and check out the um the Michael Kane Get Carter movie.

[00:36:50]Absolutely fantastic. It's sort of like a precursor to all of that sort of genre that came out with like Locktock and and all those kind of things of the British gangster movie. You know, this was like early '7s fantastic film with a real real twist in the in the tail. Um, brilliant ending or not, but an unexpected ending. Yeah, get Cart to check it out.

[00:37:16]And what else do we need to talk about in the chat?

[00:37:21]Um, uh, El Baldo is saying, uh, Susan George in Straw Dogs. Um, yes.

[00:37:32]The scream is saying, "Best ever Elvis song, return to Fender." Talking about Elvis, I don't want to get into the whole Fender thing. There's enough noise about that. Anyway, but I will give a shout out to um Danny Sapco, who did the best video um on the whole thing ever.

[00:37:49]And I like the way that he uh he not only satizes Fender, but he satizes to a certain extent the uh the the amount of bandwagon jumpers who are, you know, making content about it. Um but you know, yeah, I I've only recently discovered Danny Sapco. It's like where's he been all my life? Um Vincent Brennan saying get Carters add for the beer, John. I'd not noticed that, but yeah, this is Carter's beer.

[00:38:21]Uh, which I've always thought is um supposedly a knockoff of Carling beer, but with the mountains, I'm start on the top, I'm starting to think maybe it's more of a a Kers clone. I don't care.

[00:38:34]It's 3 12% perfectly palatable guzzling lagger, and that's all I ask. I'm a lad of I'm a simple lad with simple tastes.

[00:38:42]Um uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh Mark Fearing. Oh, we're all talking about uh female movie stars that had a big impact on us when we were in our formative years. I see. Mark Fear, Kelly Brookke, was it Weird Science? Um I I that was an 80s film and I didn't really kind of because I was living in a um I was a kind of skint student in the 80s you know and I didn't I couldn't afford to go to the cinema but I you know so there's loads of films that are like like iconic from that time that I never got to see. I think the only films I watched from the 80s were um The Color of Money and Crocodile Dund Day D and trying to think if there's anything else I went to the cinema in the 80s to watch. Uh I'm struggling to think of any others. There probably were, but those are the two that stick in my mind. Um uh uh uh uh uh uh uh oh, a lot of people agreeing with me about Oh, the Wicker Man. Um a lot of people agreeing with me um with the uh the Get Carter movie.

[00:40:01]Yes, um like everything that Hollywood does a remake of, they they ruined it with the uh Sylvester Stallone remake.

[00:40:09]Um, you know, uh, the Michael Kane version is the definitive one. Um, uh, uh, anyway, uh, let's, uh, shall we, shall we have a viewer's tale? I think we should. Let's have a viewers's tail.

[00:40:24]This one, there's some pictures to go along with this, which I'll show at the end. Um, it's uh, well, we know uh, 40 minutes in, and this one does go on a bit, but it's a lovely story. This one comes from uh Pete, who as I said is the very talented chap who does the who did the caricature of me uh for my um for my thumbnails. Um anyway, he says, "Hi, John. Hope you're all having a great bank holiday weekend." We were last weekend. Um I thought I would do my best to tell you my story about my connection with the legendary basist Danny Thompson. RIP who has played with just about everyone including Paul Weller, Richard Thompson, David Sylvian, Kate Bush, Everything But the Girl amongst many others, but is perhaps best known for his work with Pentangle and the best and the brilliant John Martin. Also, RIP.

[00:41:13]Danny passed away recently and he will be sadly missed by all who knew him and especially those who worked with him. I became good friends with him via a remarkable story. I was scouring YouTube looking for some new music, or at least new to me, when I stumbled upon a brilliant Scottish singer songwriter called Ross Wilson, aka Blue Rose Code.

[00:41:34]The first video I found, he was filmed live on a cross ferry boat somewhere up in the Scottish Highlands with an acoustic guitar, and I was blown away and wondered how his talents had escaped me. I liked his appearance, so I sketched a wee caricature of him whilst listening to this song. I then searched for more of his work and found him on Band Camp. I listened to his debut album while continuing the sketch. When track two started, I immediately recognized the inimitable Danny Thompson was playing bass.

[00:42:02]I finished the caricature, found Ross on Facebook, and sent him sent it to him via Messenger telling him I just discovered his music and I loved it. I was surprised when he came back to me immediately and saying how much he loved the sketch and he asked me if I might be able to do one of the fellow who played bass on his album as he was unwell in hospital and Ross thought a caricature would cheer him up. So how much would it cost? I said if you're talking about Danny Thompson then yes, no problem and no charge. Ross asked how I knew it was Danny on bass as he hadn't put the credits up on Band Camp yet. I told him I was a huge John Martin fan and Danny was a massive inspiration to my younger brother David, a bass player who took up the upright bass because of his love for Danny's playing. So we would rec we would recognize his sound anyway. I drew the caricature. Ross loved it and sent it straight off to Danny. The next day I received a lovely email from Danny thanking me for the caricature from his hospital bed. This sparked off a few years of constant correspondence via emails, Facebook Messenger, and the odd phone call. Turns out we had a lot in common. I'd always assumed, like many folk do, that Danny was a cocknney lad because of his accent and him being a huge Chelsea football supporter.

[00:43:15]However, Danny was actually born in Seam, which is up on the northeast coast, a little bit further north than than where I am now, but moved down to the south coast as his dad was in the armed forces. His dad died when Danny was just a young boy and I assume he must have been without his mother as he moved to London to live with his grandparents who brought him up throughout the rest of his childhood.

[00:43:35]Anyway, Danny said he loved my leather pork pie hat on my profile picture on Facebook and asked who made it. I told him it was made by my lovely friend Jill Corbett, who was originally from Newcastle but lived and worked from her attic studio in Brighton. She called her business premises the hatic. Danny laughed at the name and said, "Another coincidence, eh? We both love hats and and bolo ties. Uh something we found uh we had in common with it was the fact that we were both originally from the northeast. I said I do not believe in coincidences but ra rather I think of them as connections. Danny said you must have heard my latest album then. I said I didn't know he even had any solo work.

[00:44:16]I only knew him from his session work with lots of artists. He said he would send me a copy. I messaged Jill Corbett after sneakily getting into getting Danny to tell me his hat size and asked if he if she could make another leather pork pie hat. When I said I wanted it uh in a size 59 cm cm, she said, "Has your head shrunk, Pete? My hats are all double XXL 61.5." And I explained it was for my friend bass player Danny Thompson. Jill immediately said, "Not Danny Thompson who played with John Martin." I said, "The very same man."

[00:44:49]She was amazed as she was a huge fan and Solid Air John Martin album was her all-time favorite album. Another coincidence or connection, she insisted she made it for free. I received the signed copy in the post a few days later and and I understand why Danny thought I must have heard it. The album is called Connected and the first track on is called Hatmosphere about his love of hats. Synchronicity or what? But it gets stranger.

[00:45:19]Screw scrolling down, excuse me. I told you this one goes on a bit. I then got a call from uh Ross Wilson, Blue Rose Court, saying he was playing a wee gig upstairs in a pub in Matlock Bath and asked the uh fish uh called the fish pond and uh asked did I know it. It was and it was fairly close to me. I said I knew it very well and I'd been there loads of times and my older brother Phil had a coffee shop there about 100 yards away from the fish pond. So Ross said he would put me on the guest list and it would be love love lovely to say hello in person. On the night of the gig, I arrived early and asked the staff at the bar if I was okay to go up to the function room. They said yeah, no problem. As the bar was just being opened up, I went straight up and asked the barman if I was okay to get a drink yet. He said yes and proceeded to pour my pint. I noticed two people were sitting at the table near the bay window, the only other people in the room. And I recognized one of them immediately as Ren Blue Rose Cord's backing vocalist. She saw me and came over. Are you the Pete who drew the caricature of Ross? I said, "Yeah, that's me." So, she asked me if I wanted to sit with her and the lad who was uh and the lad with her who turned out to be the guitar and keyboard player. They said Ross was in the back sorting out the set list so I would catch him after the show. Ren asked me if we were anywhere near Shybrook. I said, "Not too far. It's only 4 miles away from where I live, north of Mansfield." She said, "I only asked because the bloke producing my new album is originally from Shia Brook and now lives and works in London." I said, "Would that be the Paul Stathithm by any chance?" She replied, "Yeah, how did you know that? How do you know Paul?" I said, "You could say. So, we go back a long time. He's a friend of mine." She was amazed. She got So, she got the phone out and called him up, keeping the loudspeaker on. Hi, Ren. How are you? I could hear Paul say, "I'm doing the Blue Rose Code gig and in the in Matlock bath. I'm sat um with someone who says he knows you and you're a friend of his in Matlock. Who is that then? He asked. Pete Shields, she replied. Stat Paul's nickname since childhood given to him by myself and a lad called Martin Baldwin burst out laughing and said, "Bloody hell. Shields gets everywhere. Put him on." Ren handed her phone to me and still on loudspeaker. Stith, I said, uh I said stat replied Shields. He's a friend of mine. Are we no longer best pals? Uh, I said, "Nah, you mix with folk far above my pay grade grade uh these days, you yepy." Everyone was laughing and Ren said, "I can't believe this. What a coincidence." I said, "Nah, Ren." Ask Ross about it. It's now to do with coincidence. It's all to do with connections. The gig was great and Ross really uh Ross was really lovely and we had a big hug after the show. And the next correspondence from him was a blue rose cord CD he sent me from uh them playing Celtic connections uh live with a note saying simply said with note which simply said connections Pete Celtic connections and a big smiley face. Celtic connections is a festival isn't it. I've attached a few photos uh one of Ross and Danny in his leather pork pie hat and a couple of Danny signing 50 copies of the caricature of for me which were advertised in bass guitar magazine. a portrait I did for Danny and one I sent him of his b best pal John Martin uh and one of the CD connected he sent me all the best John.

[00:48:35]What a lovely story. Sorry that went on a little bit but um it's uh we needed to uh get through it um you know in its entirety. Let's uh just take a quick little look at the pictures that um that Pete sent me. And you'll you'll recognize Pete's um caricature style, I'm absolutely sure. So, here we go.

[00:48:58]Let's load these up. There's just a few of these. Uh here we go. So, um where are we? Share screen. Here it goes. And uh there it is. Right. So that is uh Pete's fantastic portrait of of Danny Thompson, a legendary bass player. Uh and there's John Martin. Pete is a really talented artist, is he not? Um there's uh the legend himself in person, Danny Thompson. And uh then we've got uh Danny signing the caricaturures that Pete, very very uh very talented guy, did for him. And then there's the CD and um there's uh there's the uh there's there's Danny signing the caricatures again. So, what a lovely story. Thank you so much for um for sending that in, Pete. Anything if you've got doesn't have to be as long as that. It doesn't have to be like, you know, a magnum opus like that, but um you know what? If you've got some kind of story interesting, amusing, or just heartwarming in some small way, then please send them in. I need a beer after all of that. Excuse me.

[00:50:19]Um, yes. Uh, 10 minutes left. Will I get through the third beer in that time?

[00:50:27]Probably not. Um, doesn't mean I won't try though. Um, and uh, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. And have we got time for an on this day? Uh, we'll have a a little uh, look at the chat first and then we'll decide.

[00:50:48]Um, the screen is saying step to I used to love that. Show me. Um uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh where are we? What we're talking about? Uh Bella Emberg.

[00:51:08]Yes. Uh I think not. Um yeah. Uh female female actresses who um had a big impact on us when we were young. Bella Emberg.

[00:51:19]Yes. Wasn't she on on Russ Abbott's show? Um anyway, yeah, we're going to do on this day for which I need my on this day glasses. Uh my soldering glasses cuz Oh, is the light Oh, it's I put the light on. How do I turn the light off on these? Um there it is. There we go.

[00:51:37]Right. Dear me, I look like Joe 90. Um yeah, of all of the um 70s superheroes have never brought back Joe 90. Uh anyway, on this day, 29th of May, um in 1978, The Cars released the single Just What I Needed. And on this day, 29th of May in 1969, the Crosby Stills and Nash album was released. Um 1973, uh The Birds officially disbanded as Roger McGuin embarks on a solo career, closing the book on one of the most in influential folk rock bands of the 60s.

[00:52:17]Despite their legacy, legal battles over the bird's name follow with multiple reunions and attempts to revive the band. In 1989, Mcguin, Chris Hillman, and David Crosby briefly reunite to establish ownership of the name and fend off un fend off unauthorized versions of the band. May the 29th, 1977, before they were joy division, they were Warsaw.

[00:52:39]and on this day take the stage for the first time in Manchester supporting the Buzzcocks, Penetration, and John Cooper Clark. It's the beginning of a brief but monumental journey. Within 2 years, they changed their name, redefined post punk, and leave behind a legacy that far outlives them. Okay, fair enough. Not my cup of tea, but I suppose, yeah. Uh, on this day, 1983, uh, Kiss play their final show in makeup, at least for a while. The band embraces a new bare-faced era with Lick It Up, aiming for a fresh start in the MTV age. However, nostalgia proves irresistible. In 1996, the original members reunite, replying their iconic face paint and stepping back into the legendary roles. On this day 1992, a New Jersey middle school bands uh Queens We Are the Champions from an eighth grade graduation, fearing the song's association with Freddy Mercury, who' recently died of AIDS. Uh the decision ignites controversy with Queen fans rallying behind the song. As a result, radio uh request surge and Queen re-releases the single, proving that music transfer transcends prejudice. On this day 1999, after four years of mystery, the body of iron butterfly basist Philip Kramer is discovered at the bottom of Malibu's Deca Canyon. He had vanished in 1995 under bizarre circumstances. Uh last seen making frantic phone calls about secret government technology. Though the authorities rule his death a suicide, conspiracy theories abound, ranging from CIA involvement to alien abduction. On this day 2012, uh Alan, sorry, Aaron Freeman, I beg you, pardon, announces that he is retiring his Gene Wan persona, signaling the end of Wen after nearly two decades of genre defining music. Uh though it seems to be the final chapter, The Break doesn't last forever. In 2015, WIN reunites and proving that their weird wonderful legacy isn't over yet. Never heard of them, got to tell you. Um, born on this day in 1945, Gary Brooker, vocalist for Prohar. Born on this day 1949, Francis Rossy, guitarist with status quo. Born on this day 1955, Mike Picaro, basist for Totto. And Born on this day 1976, uh Dave Buckner, drummer for Papa Roach.

[00:55:05]And once again, no significant rock uh obituaries for this day, uh 29th of May.

[00:55:12]No rock stars have ever died on May the 29th according to this book. And there you go. That is this week's on this day.

[00:55:19]Excuse me. I want to get me uh There we Oh, that's better. That's better.

[00:55:25]So, thank you once again to the very generous Mark card who sent me that lovely rock and roll almanac. And um thank you to everybody who took part in the poll last week. Um you know, kind of um insisting that we continue with on this day. um by some decisive margin as well. Let's have a little bit more of a look in the chat in the last 5 minutes or so. Um Sylon Hybrid, what you saying, mate? Uh John, have got air. Uh John have got air conditioning. Uh is tough for us at night. I've used the cord to tie the loft hatch open a few inches and with all the insulation, the heat stain loft cooling. That's a good tip. Yeah, if you've got an insulated loft that I just um you know, I was reading an article in the paper today and um you know, it was um how to get a good night's sleep on these hot on these hot sweaty nights.

[00:56:25]And I just I couldn't resist it cuz I read the paper on me phone. I went to the comment section. I just said I just typed drink beer and um and it got a surprising number of likes. Um uh uh uh uh uh uh uh uh Johnny D saying, "Hated Kiss. Sorry to fans, but um GS got right up my snout." Uh Jean Simmons. I got to tell you, I'm I was I somehow missed Kiss. Um you know, they were never like a big singles act in the UK in the 70s. Um, and you know, I just and when I first heard about them and you know, heard like the controversy cuz weren't they kind of uh accused of uh like mimming or lip-syncing on stage at various times and I just thought, yeah, it's and I don't dislike them, but they're not a band that have ever really kind of crossed my radar in a big way. Uh, Anton is saying, "Don't forget to check out Steve Cassid's favorite alternate tuning of all time video after John's live stream." Oh, that's what he's on about this week. Um, yeah, Johnny D. Hatty Jakes. Now you're pushing it a bit there, mate. Um, yes. All of these all of these kind of obscure British actresses from the 70s, all of our international brethren are going, "Who the hell are they talking about?" Um, oh god, is is this still going on? Peggy Mount Irene handle Patricia Hayes Margaret Rutherford for says Bill Mumbo.

[00:58:06]Um um uh what you saying there Whiz Cat. I'm going to die by the way fellas and you are going to die. Status quote. You're in the army now. Beers uh to the end of the uh okay mate. Um not quite sure what you're talking about there but uh you seem happy enough with yourself. Um um uh anything else that is of import um uh Pete is saying I'll just give this a shout out. Thanks for all the lovely messages about Danny everyone. He was a really lovely down to earth and hilarious hilariously funny man. I, you know, I mean, I don't claim to be as much of a Danny Thompson afficionado as Pete, but um, you know, I remember reading an interview with him in the early '9s in Guitarist magazine, and I was struck by his humor and his humility, and then that it it mentioned in the interview the roster of people that he played with. And I was familiar with the John Martin Solid Air album and and like you know I I listened to I went out and listened to a few of the albums and and artists that he played with and you can definitely hear um a distinct style of bass playing there. Um you know and he played you know as you probably saw in in those pictures he predominantly played I don't know if you ever played a like an electric bass but he predominantly played you know a big old kind of bass fiddle. Um, so you know, uh, how often do you There's there's a topic for there's a topic for a top five. Uh, favorite, uh, double bass players. Yes, I might have to do that cuz it does give a distinctive sound, especially with that kind of slappy kind of rockabilly thing, doesn't it? Um, anyway, chaps, we're 59 minutes in. 59 minutes, almost 60. So, I'm going to wrap it up there. Thank you once again for turning up and watching a fat bald northern lad talk absolute cobblers for an hour. It's been a blast and I'll keep on doing it till you're sick of me. But for now, time, gentlemen, please.