Fifty years on from their first successes, Roger McGuinn, the 12-string architect of THE BYRDS , tells Uncut about their exceptional first 18 months – and his relationship with Gene Clark. As the young group make their jet-powered escape from the folk think tank, we hear about making the scene on the Strip, outraging Iowa and a muted response in the United Kingdom. But ultimately how “Eight Miles High” became the spectacular conclusion of the band’s first era. “I almost left The Byrds entirely to go and be in this space band With Dino Valente,” McGuinn tells John Robinson

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From The Bottom Of An Old Grandfather Clock (reissue, 2004) DEAD OCEANS

The country superstar shares his love for Dumbles, writing riffs on cheap guitars, and the Nocaster once owned by Cinderella’s Tom Keifer that’s “worth every cent”

My Focus – Live Under The Rainbow

Chess sets and backgammon boards are a familiar sight on drawing-room tables, but one expert Highland woodworker is refashioning their forms in beautiful new ways, writes Mary Miers