Bought & Sold
The Pretenders guitarist recalls leaving a precious acoustic in the back of a taxi and how 60s SG Juniors rock his world…
What was the first serious guitar that you bought with your own money?
“It was a Guild D-25 that I bought from Andy’s guitar shop [at number 27] on Denmark’s Street. I think it was £400 at the time. I learned quite a bit on that guitar – just acoustic, you know. I was very much into bluegrass and stuff back then, so I’d play a lot of that on that guitar. But I eventually lost it a few years later. We were playing in New York and I left it in the back of a taxicab. It was the start of a tour – I was only about 20 or something and I remember feeling unwell and so I took Night Nurse in the middle of the day. Played the gig and left it in the back of a cab never to be seen again.”
What was the most recent guitar you bought?
“I bought two guitars off Fender recently: a Tele and a Strat. Chrissie [Hynde] gave me a 50s Strat and I’d been using that for a long time. But I just got to the point where I thought if I lost that on the road, I just couldn’t deal with it. It became a thing that I was petrified about losing, you know? So I thought, ‘I’m gonna go to Fender and see if they’ve got anything…’ I bought a blue Strat and a yellow Tele – 60s reissues. They’re great. I mean, I have to say, nothing compares to that 50s Strat. It’s a beaten up old Strat, it’s beautiful.”
What’s the most incredible find or bargain you’ve had when buying gear?
“I would say it’s my ’63 SG Junior that I got from my friend Andy Hackett’s shop in Denmark Street [Angel Music], where I used to work. He had about four of them in the rack – this was probably in 2009 – and it was about two grand or two and a half grand and now they’re five or something. The reason why it was the best find is that it’s my main guitar; it’s my number one. I play it all the time on loads of sessions from Jerry Lee Lewis to The Pretenders. And with my band, His Lordship, I just play this one guitar; it’s my main axe. I feel very fortunate to have found it because I bought another 60s SG recently and I thought it was kind of the same, but then it’s really not. So I consider myself lucky to be in possession of that one.”
