Shiny dime

From his early days in the repair shop to heading up one of the world’s leading pickup brands, the master pickup maker tells us how his problem-solving mindset led to him working with some of the biggest names in the biz, and why he humbly still seems himself as “crew”

When the Irish band were a folksy blues three-piece, it was Eric Bell who defined Thin Lizzy on their 1971 self-titled debut and early 70s follow-ups, Shades Of A Blue Orphanage and Vagabonds Of The Western World

THE HAMMER INTERVIEW

From Ken Kesey’s Acid Tests to extended residencies at Las Vegas’s hi-tech phenomenon the Sphere – and, soon, the storied stage of the Royal Albert Hall – it’s been a long, strange trip for BOBBY WEIR . But the guardian of the GRATEFUL DEAD ’ s legacy still has further to go. “Am I still on the bus now? Yeah, I am,” he tells Nick Hasted

With a two-guitar line-up instead of the usual trio, and on their own label after the split from Bronze, the Orgasmatron album signalled a decibel-driven new start for Motörhead . We turn back the clock to 1986 with this classic interview.

FOR A HALF-CENTURY AND COUNTING, THE THIN LIZZY SOUND HAS BEEN FORGED AND RECAST BY SCOTT GORHAM AND THE GREATS WHO PARTNERED HIM ON DUELLING LES PAULS, INCLUDING THE LATE JOHN SYKES. GORHAM LOOKS BACK ON THE HIGHS, LOWS, JOY AND PAIN OF HIS CLASSIC PARTNERSHIPS