It's been an unusual year, trying to mark fifty years of Fylde Guitars in various ways, keeping up with the orders and at the same time, prepare for Ullapool. We aren't going to have as many guitars there as we sometimes manage, but  we will have some rather fine "50th Anniversary " instruments. all with the appropriate celebratory label.

Don't they look good!

There will be more details in due course, and there will be a few more guitars.

Get your tickets now while you still can. We will have a very important guest with us. You don't know him but he's very special to me. Clue, he's almost as old as I am. 

Ullapool's website

A deliberate attempt to make a guitar with special timbers in aid of a special weekend. A "special" guitar for a special event, sale proceeds will go the Ullapool Festival. Ideally, I'd like to sell it to a regular Festival goer, but I think most of them already have a Fylde. Nothing wrong with buying another one!

The back and sides are made from Satinwood, the wood that your grandparent’s bedroom furniture was made from. Similar in density to Mahogany, strong and stiff and very delicately figured. Just what is required for a guitar.

The top is Yellow Cedar from Alaska, a lovely piece just big enough for an Ariel.

The neck is African Mahogany, quite common for Classical guitars but less so for steel strings, simply because the modern steel string guitar's history has been in the USA. It's laminated with ebony to match the bindings and fingerboard.

I'm hoping to get somebody to record a video of this guitar soon. The sound is "big", lively, impressive.

I'm not overcharging for this, it needs to go to the right person, not the richest person.

For Sale at £3,600 - SOLD

Don’t forget - it's for a very good cause.

I'm sure someone will tell me if I have used this before. I probably have but I don't have time to check, and I don't care. Nic was known for playing unexpected and unusual tunes, probably to lighten the mood in amongst all those murder ballads and songs about hunting Whales.

Nic's website

"Topsy". Something that has grown quickly without being noticed. Not quite fair I suppose, because we've certainly noticed.

In addition to the videos mentioned last month, we now have contributions from Martin. Simpson, Richard Hawley, Clive Carroll, Will McNicol, John Smith and Troy Donockley.

The individual efforts to make this happen have been extraordinary, it's been very hard indeed but also massive fun for everybody. We've even had a kiddies party along the way.

It's not over yet. There are four more video sessions planned with ten more artists plus a lot of external contributions. It's a massive blow that we can't get to everybody who wanted to take part, that's mostly down to my arrogant assumption that train and plane timetables, tour schedules and family life would all bend and move to suit me. To a large extent they have, I'm incredibly pleased and grateful. And tired. Drinks will be bought. Some already have.

From David Mead’s phone interview with me a few weeks ago. My part was transcribed by one of these new BOT things, hilarious if it wasn't so important, but we did check everything and it worked out fine. Thank you, David.

I'm rather worried that the next world war will be started by a spellcheck error. Buy your Fylde Guitar now before it's too late.

Guitarist Magazine Facebook Page

Tony Husband's impression of what I told him- I'm sure every guitar maker gets comments like this.   

As fate would have it, this guitar has come back to me, fifty years after I made it in the basement of a Gents Outfitters in St Annes in 1973. I met up with Gordon Giltrap to deliver it to Bert at a drinking club in London, and of course, the story didn't stop there.

I don't think Bert ever played it much, the story I have is that he passed it to his roadie, who then sold it on to its long-term loving owner who recently passed away.

I’ve been asked to help find it a good home.

It was very delicately built, it's had some repairs, and it shows its age, so one question is whether I should rebuild it, or leave it as it is. I've discussed it with many of Bert's friends and fans and they have given me some ideas, but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to mail me, I'll do my best to respond but no promises.

John Smith and Clive Carroll are particular fans of Bert's (and John Renbourn's) music, in fact they have been known to perform as "I'm Bert. He's John."

While Sam English was filming for the 50-year project, they managed to get video of Clive and John each playing this guitar. Both times were rather special for me. And for them!

Will McNicol recorded a track as well. We are keeping that, and Clive's track for a future project. There will be more. Be excited.

John Smith has posted his venture on his Patreon Site. We might show it here one day, but not yet- join up with John in the meantime, it's well worth it.

John Smith's Patreon Site

Clive is touring his John Renbourn project, with Dariush Kanani, starting very soon.          

Clive's Website

One of Will's study pieces for his " College". Lots of connections between different styles here. Will came to visit recently, and we had a very deep, meaningful conversation about something. I've forgotten what it was.  Will?

Will's Website

Remi is due next week to record his contribution to "the Project", can't wait.

And you MUST get to see his Peter Green tour.

Remi's Website

I've heard from the man that bought Peter Green's Fylde at the recent Bonhams auction. He was a friend of Peter, and once took him to watch Antonio Forcione, causing Peter to contemplate a change of career! 

I've told Antonio who is suitably flattered and amused. It's wonderful to be able to pass these stories around.

Antonio's Website

Remi Harris with Peter Green's Fylde.

Ben plays several of Richard Thompson's songs. His Oberon is sounding good and it's a lovely arrangement. 

Ben's Website

Sent to me by a very regular customer, who has two more Fyldes which are not shown here.

This isn't all that unusual. I know one guy and his nephew who own more Fyldes than this.

Ritchie Blackmore, Eric Bibb, Gordon Giltrap, John Smith and probably lots of other artists are all "contenders " for the MFO badge. Martin Simpson and Richard Hawley together must come close as well. For some of them just one more would be all that's needed to win the coveted prize. Massive hint.

I've just had a T shirt idea.

From 2004, but  only published a few weeks ago. This must have been the first instrument Ritchie bought from me, the first of many. I remember a series of frantic phone calls in an attempt to get it delivered overnight to somewhere in Germany. 

I've seen "The Boys" play these tunes a number of times, each time with a different story. 

Chris Leslie's tune was originally named Roger Bucknall's Fancy, and I had to point out that I'm not.  

Peggy's story about having some "some stuff on me” from our days in Birmingham is not true. None of it. Not even a little bit. Honestly.

Where shall I send this free bouzouki Peggy?

I will have one of this model of guitars on show at Ullapool. Biréli seems to use his for many different style of music, I would have expected him to use a Selmer/ Maccaferri style guitar in this situation, but perhaps he is trying to find a distinctive voice. 

This is the way all interviews should be done in Nashville, holding a Fylde guitar throughout. 

Robin's Website

The Current Website

I chose this clip partly because of the story of the guitar, but also because of the very familiar Dad (and Mom) dancing. Punk isn’t dead, but it is receiving it's pension.

You can't see it properly here, but Ed's Olivia guitar must be the most beaten up and repaired guitar on the planet. The whole story of the rebuild is in "The Book”. 

https://www.fyldeguitars.com/book.html

Or for a couple of pictures of the guitar when it came to me, and a picture of me in 1973!

https://www.fyldeguitars.com/news_archive-2014.html

I’m trying to think of a way of telling this story without having to name names. There's nothing nasty in that, no bad behaviour etc, just a massive coincidence.

Within two or three days, I had separate enquiries from two people with exactly the same name, each asking about the same instrument. The names are very distinctive, which makes it even more intriguing and the two have no connection other than being the same nationality. It has caused a certain amount of confusion, I didn't realise they were two different people for a while, sort of a Two Ronnies sketch “answering the wrong question" I now have to mark them as xxx 1 and xxx 2 in my emails.

What an interesting life we lead. Complicated, but definitely interesting.

Many years ago, Keith Beardmore and I had a project. We would take a tour of interesting pubs. Keith would take lots of pictures, I would write the stories with hardly any exaggeration, we would publish a very successful coffee table book, and become slightly rich.

Four of the pubs we knew best have now disappeared. The Crooked House was almost my local for a time, a place where you really should not get drunk, it was difficult enough to stay upright even when sober. A lot of people are rather angry about what has happened.

I'm looking for Shakespearean quotes about leaving things too late, not having enough time, or just couldn’t be bothered.

I love pubs, even if I'm not drinking.