Everyone at Guitarist was deeply saddened to learn the news that Steve Clarke, the vintage guitar expert who authored the Famous Frets books, died recently after a short illness.
Though not someone who often stepped into the spotlight – at least not without a guitar in his hands – Steve inspected and authenticated some of the most famous guitars in the world, including Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Stratocaster and dozens more in the course of his work with renowned auction house Bonhams and for his reference books.
Like the best experts, Steve’s enthusiasm for his subject went well beyond a mere ‘job’. If it were possible to ‘hear’ the twinkle in someone’s eye over the phone, you could surely do so Steve’s when he called Guitarist and said: “Hiya, Jamie, are you sitting down? I think I’ve got something you might be very interested in…”
Though always the soul of discretion when working on high-profile instruments, Steve relished sharing detailed insights on the historic instruments that passed through his workshop whenever he was able to. And, indeed, the list of guitars he worked on over the years was like a roll call of legends: Peter Green’s 1931 National Duolian, Rory Gallagher’s 1961 Stratocaster, Paul Kossoff’s ‘Stripped ’Burst’ 1959 Les Paul Standard, Gary Moore’s ‘Red Strat’ and many more.
Born in Wythenshawe, Manchester, on 12 March 1955 (in a strange coincidence his two siblings were also both born on 12 March), Steve first fell in love with guitar watching Hank Marvin playing a Strat with The Shadows on Sunday Night At The London Palladium.
“He was about nine, maybe 10,” Steve’s wife, Anni Clarke, recalls. “And after he saw that, he actually made a cardboard guitar and drew frets and pickups on it, cut it out in the shape of a Strat with strings on it, and he tried to copy where they placed their fingers. His dad eventually got so sick of hearing Steve try to make guitar noises with his mouth, he said, ‘Do you think you’d take it up if we bought you one?’”
Steve never looked back. After cutting his teeth playing guitar in cabaret acts in working men’s clubs in the North of England and touring further afield in Europe, he became a pro guitarist just as punk was at its vitriolic height. He played with Manchester band The Drones, who were signed to Quarry management (who also looked after Status Quo) and toured extensively.
But while Steve loved the energy of the punk scene, it was not without its perils, Anni Clarke recalls: “I can remember once there was a student union club in Manchester called the Phoenix at the time, and he came off stage after a fantastic show and he actually had to stand under the shower with his clothes on, even his shoes, because he’d been spat at that many times. It was a really exciting time for Steve, but that was a side effect of punk that he wasn’t particularly keen on [laughs].”
Deepening his connection with guitar to include restoration and teching in the years that followed, Steve was prompted to become an author on guitars after writing to Guitar & Bass magazine urging them to give more comprehensive details of the famous instruments they covered.
To his credit, then-editor John Callaghan invited Steve to provide that very service to the magazine himself. And thus a new career was born as a scrupulously accurate and insightful writer on historic instruments, the highlight of which was the two-volume Famous Frets book series, which offered readers unprecedented detail on guitars belonging to Jan Akkerman, Marc Bolan and many other legendary players.
To this magazine’s great benefit, Steve also worked closely with Guitarist in later years, becoming a go-to expert on iconic guitars that came his way for authentication via Bonhams – most notably Rory Gallagher’s aforementioned ’61 Strat.
“I remember the day I told Steve I needed him to pop down to London to look at something special,” recalls Claire Tole‑Moir, head of Popular Culture at Bonhams. “I kept him guessing for a few days, before finally revealing it was Rory’s guitar – and he cleared his diary immediately. As with every guitar, he approached it with care and professionalism while taking a closer look at it.
“It was only at the end of the day when he was heading home, he rang me on the train and freaked out – just a little – that he had had Rory’s Strat in his hands that day. Like so many guitarists, for him, Rory was it. It was a humbling moment, and a day I know he treasured.
He loved understanding the history of a guitar, where it was used, by who, how the guitarist played and how all of those factors contribute to a guitar’s make-up.
Claire Tole‑Moir
“Steve’s encyclopaedic knowledge about all vintage guitars was incredible,” Claire reflects. “But so was his passion for them – he loved understanding the history of a guitar, where it was used, by who, how the guitarist played and how all of those factors contribute to a guitar’s make-up. Not only was he a master guitar technician, he was also an undercover detective – and he loved the search.”
Anni Clarke agrees but says Steve’s scrupulous honesty about the guitars he inspected was what kept people coming back for his services as a restorer and authenticator, although Steve modestly referred to himself simply as ‘The anorak in the North’.
“He always said, ‘Tell them if it’s right, tell them if it’s wrong,’” Anni recalls, a personal maxim that is a fitting testament to the expertise, honesty and touch of humour that Steve brought to all his work, which was also his lifelong passion. He will be much missed.
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