Back in the 1960's, when I was a young teenager, I used to spend a lot of my time, with my friends, in the local coffee bars listening to the various records that were available in the juke box.
Of course you had to pay for this entertainment, and as money was a bit scarce we would all take it in turns to put our coins into the juke box and let everyone know what artists we were fans of.
I used to spend a few hours in the coffee bar (I dread to think how much coffee I drank) and then I would make my way home and straightaway tune in to Radio Luxemburg.
Do any of you remember Radio Luxemburg? It was quite a special radio station.
We were lucky in so far as having quite a number of radio stations beaming their programs to us night and day, and many of these radio stations being found on ships which lay somewhere offshore. I just can't remember any of their names so if anyone can help me with this it would be appreciated.
I also cannot recall now whether Radio Luxemburg was a ship, or whether it was based on land, in Luxemburg. Again, if anybody can enlighten me it would be appreciated.
Well, it was while I was tuned in to these various stations that I first got a taste for the guitar. Somehow it seemed to resonate with my soul and I just loved listening to any record which had a guitar solo in it.
However it was not until something unusual happened that I thought about learning to play for myself.
If you are at all familiar with driving in the UK you will have noticed that we have an abundance of roundabouts, literally a large circle in the middle of the road, sometimes with grass on it. The road experts tell us that they aid the flow of traffic, but I am not so sure.
This curious event happened when I was passing one of these roundabouts, one day. I discovered an old friend of mine sitting in the middle of this roundabout, happily strumming away on his guitar.
Every motorist that went round the roundabout could not help but see my friend. He had created a sort of stage on the roundabout effect.
I went over and joined him on his 'stage', and quietly wished that I had a guitar to play.
But I decided there and then that listening just was not good enough, and I determined to do all I could to get my own guitar.
Over the years I have played in many bands, and have made music all around the world, but I have never forgotten that roundabout experience.
Now I spend my time teaching others how to play the guitar, and how to find their own roundabout to sit on.
Of course you had to pay for this entertainment, and as money was a bit scarce we would all take it in turns to put our coins into the juke box and let everyone know what artists we were fans of.
I used to spend a few hours in the coffee bar (I dread to think how much coffee I drank) and then I would make my way home and straightaway tune in to Radio Luxemburg.
Do any of you remember Radio Luxemburg? It was quite a special radio station.
We were lucky in so far as having quite a number of radio stations beaming their programs to us night and day, and many of these radio stations being found on ships which lay somewhere offshore. I just can't remember any of their names so if anyone can help me with this it would be appreciated.
I also cannot recall now whether Radio Luxemburg was a ship, or whether it was based on land, in Luxemburg. Again, if anybody can enlighten me it would be appreciated.
Well, it was while I was tuned in to these various stations that I first got a taste for the guitar. Somehow it seemed to resonate with my soul and I just loved listening to any record which had a guitar solo in it.
However it was not until something unusual happened that I thought about learning to play for myself.
If you are at all familiar with driving in the UK you will have noticed that we have an abundance of roundabouts, literally a large circle in the middle of the road, sometimes with grass on it. The road experts tell us that they aid the flow of traffic, but I am not so sure.
This curious event happened when I was passing one of these roundabouts, one day. I discovered an old friend of mine sitting in the middle of this roundabout, happily strumming away on his guitar.
Every motorist that went round the roundabout could not help but see my friend. He had created a sort of stage on the roundabout effect.
I went over and joined him on his 'stage', and quietly wished that I had a guitar to play.
But I decided there and then that listening just was not good enough, and I determined to do all I could to get my own guitar.
Over the years I have played in many bands, and have made music all around the world, but I have never forgotten that roundabout experience.
Now I spend my time teaching others how to play the guitar, and how to find their own roundabout to sit on.
