Stephen Bishop, the prolific songwriter who penned the 1976 soft rock hit On and On, and who infamously had a guitar smashed over his head in Animal House, is back on the road after a brief retirement.

He’s 74, but his approach hasn’t changed. “I've always preferred to keep things simple,” he tells Guitar World. “Give me a good guitar, a microphone, and a great song, and I’m happy.”

Bishop wasn’t thinking about music during his downtime, but now he’s thrilled to be marking the 50th anniversary of his beloved debut record, 1976’s Careless. “I'm excited to get back out there, celebrate these songs, and thank the fans who’ve been with me all these years one final time,” he says.

“Careless represents a very specific moment in my life. I was a young songwriter trying to prove that I could stand alongside the established writers. I was hungry. I wanted people to see that my songs could compete. Deep down, I believed the songs were incredible – thankfully, audiences did too.”

He adds: “To think these songs started as rough drafts in notebooks on my kitchen table, and that I still have those notebooks today, is pretty remarkable. An album that once existed only in my imagination ended up becoming part of so many people's lives. That’s a really good feeling.”

What prompted you to come out of retirement?

I thought I was retired for good. I was looking forward to spending more time with my family, especially my son, who just turned 2 and is the joy of my life. But after I announced my retirement, my agent told me the demand for shows had gone through the roof. Funny how that works!

How are you getting back up to playing speed?

I’ll admit I was rusty. It had been almost a year since I’d even picked up a guitar. But now I have a great vocal coach, a guitar coach, and even a stage coach. It’s become like a real job – which is funny because I’ve never really had one before.

I’m putting in the work because the fans deserve the very best version of me. That means practicing every day, exercising regularly, eating right, and making sure I’m prepared mentally and physically for life on the road.

What gear did you use while recording Careless?

I used my 1969 Martin D-28, which I still have and still love. Back then, my gear setup was pretty simple because I was a broke songwriter trying to make a living. It was my first album and my first real adventure into recording.

Making an album isn’t easy, especially when you’ve never done it before. Having musicians like Eric Clapton, Art Garfunkel, and Chaka Khan involved was incredible. But honestly, a lot of it was luck.

How so?

Except for Eric, Art, and Chaka, many of the session players weren't household names, but some of them went on to become even more successful than I was.

What was Clapton like?

When my manager at the time, Bob Ellis, was at Shangri-La Studios visiting Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones, another of his artists, Eric happened to be there. Bob told him, “You should meet this young artist I'm working with named Stephen Bishop. He's a funny guy – I think you’d like him.”

Eric came by the studio with his guitar, and thankfully Bob was right; we hit it off immediately. I played Eric some of the songs I was working on, and to my relief, he really liked them. He performed the guitar solo on Save It for a Rainy Day and added his beautiful slide guitar work to Sinking in an Ocean of Tears.

As a 16-year-old kid I’d seen Cream perform, so having Eric playing on my debut album was pretty surreal. He was exactly like what you’d imagine a rock star should look like; he had this effortless charisma about him.

What means the most to me, though, is that all these years later we're still friends and still keep in touch. As important as Eric was to Careless, the album would probably never have happened without my lifelong friend, Art Garfunkel.

Art was the one who discovered you, right?

My dear friend Leah Kunkel, who sadly passed away last year, gave Art a cassette of my songs. Art liked what he heard and recorded two of them for his Breakaway album in 1975, including Same Old Tears on a New Background, which I later recorded for Careless.

Art’s support helped open doors that ultimately led to my record deal. He also sang background vocals on several songs on Careless, and I returned the favor by singing background vocals on Breakaway. That's how our friendship began, and it's lasted for more than 50 years.

On and On was a significant chart hit.

It started long before we ever got into A&M Studios. In the mid-1970s I was living in Laurel Canyon – the traffic was terrible, dogs were always knocking over trash cans, and I was just another songwriter trying to make it. I had a little recording setup in a closet.

I invited a couple of friends over to help me record a demo of On and On. Mike [Staton] played Hawaiian steel guitar, Jeff played bass, and I played guitar. The Hawaiian steel gave the song a sound that immediately stood out.

When it came time to record the song at A&M Studios, I wanted to recreate the magic of that demo. I brought Mike into the session. He played a few takes and then suddenly announced he had to leave. I said, “What do you mean? We’re making a record here!”

I called his brother and complained that Mike had walked out on the session. Fortunately, he came back and ended up playing some of the most memorable parts on the record. Those Hawaiian steel lines became one of the signature sounds of On and On.

Did you have a feeling you were on to something with the song straight away?

On and On started with a chord progression I couldn’t stop playing. I’d sit there for hours playing it over and over. I like to joke that people came from miles around just to hear that one chord. I wasn’t eating, I wasn’t sleeping – I was just playing it endlessly until I finally realized I should write a song around it.

Back then, I liked writing lyrics about little details that made the songs feel more real. But I never thought On and On would become a hit. It was simply a song I loved and believed in.

You toured with Fleetwood Mac at their height of craziness on and off stage.

I hate to disappoint anyone looking for wild stories, but honestly, nothing particularly crazy happened while I was touring with Fleetwood Mac! At least not around me. What I remember most is how talented and professional they were.

I was friendly with Stevie Nicks. She was always incredibly kind, warm, and supportive. One memory that stands out happened around Christmas. I performed The Christmas Song, and afterward, Stevie came over and hugged me because she really liked it. That meant a lot coming from someone with such a unique voice and artistic presence.

What did you think of Lindsey Buckingham?

I’ve always thought he’s a remarkable musician. His guitar playing was inventive, distinctive, and unlike anyone else’s. He had a way of making complex parts sound effortless, and his contributions were a huge part of what made Fleetwood Mac so special.

But if you want a strange Fleetwood Mac-related story, I do have one! When I was making my second album, Bish, in 1978, I wanted the cover to have a romantic feel. I decided to interview about 40 different models for the cover photo.

I eventually chose a young woman named Sara. Years later, she became the inspiration for Stevie Nicks' Fleetwood Mac song Sara. I’ve always thought that was one of the stranger coincidences in my career! She married Mick Fleetwood. Sometimes the music business is a very small world.

Tell us about your infamous Animal House acoustic scene, where you cameo as the folkie who gets his guitar smashed.

This is probably the question I get asked most. People want to know if that was really me and whether John Belushi actually smashed the guitar. The answer is yes to both! I still have the smashed guitar – I even have the back piece that flew off. It’s in my living room, and the entire cast signed it!

When John smashed that guitar above my head, I knew it was coming because we’d talked about it beforehand. But it was terrifying nonetheless. We did the scene in only two takes.

Was it scripted?

No. We used the song I Gave My Love a Cherry – also known as The Riddle Song – because it’s a 15th-century English folk song. It was in the public domain so there were no licensing fees. I also wrote and sang the theme for Animal House and another song called Dream Girl.

So it really is me in the scene, although I don’t look much like myself. At the time I was touring with Linda Ronstadt and had long hair and a beard. For the movie they wanted me to fit the period, so I had to shave off my beard. Deborah Landis, John Landis' wife, pinned my hair back to make it appear much shorter.

Judy Belushi is sitting right behind me in the scene. John was a good friend and incredibly talented. He had that rare ability to walk into a room and immediately make people laugh. Sometimes the most talented ones just don't make it. I’m grateful I got to know him. I still stay in touch with several members of the cast.

You also appeared in Michael Jackson’s Thriller music video.

I’m the guy in the yellow shirt in the movie theater scene. While they were filming, I spent a lot of time wandering around the set, taking photographs and soaking it all in. None of us knew we were witnessing one of the most iconic music videos ever made.

One of my favorite memories from that experience was talking with Michael. He told me the first record he ever bought was On and On! Years later, Janet Jackson confirmed the same story. That really blew my mind – one of the biggest entertainers in history telling me he bought one of my records!

Is it bittersweet to be on your farewell tour?

Not really. I’m doing this for the fans. They’ve supported me and my music for nearly 50 years, and I wanted to thank them in person one last time. The hardest part isn’t the thought of saying goodbye; it’s the preparation. Fortunately, I have some help.

I also bring along a very special guitar: my 1984 Ferrington Stephen Bishop model. It’s bright blue, impossible to miss, and I’ve had it for a very long time. It’s been with me through a lot of chapters in my career; it’s always nice having it along for the ride. The truth is, I don’t need much. I don’t use an iPad on stage. I don’t rely on a lot of electronics or technology.

What are you proudest of?

Since I was 15 I’ve lived by a quote: “In my life I will lose good friends, girlfriends, and faith in some people, but I will always have my songs.” Through all the changes, successes, disappointments, and surprises, the one constant has been songwriting. It’s given me experiences I never could have imagined as a kid growing up in San Diego.

Do you have any regrets?

Honestly, not many. I’ve lived the life I wanted to live; not everyone gets to say that. Of course, there are things I might have done differently along the way, but I wouldn’t change the overall story.

The one exception might be that I never got to write a song with The Beatles. I’ve been a Beatles fanatic my entire life. Like most songwriters, they changed my music forever. If I have one remaining item on my bucket list, it would be to write a song with Paul McCartney or Ringo Starr. Then again, there's still time – Paul, Ringo, give me a call!

• Bishop will announce details of his 2027 farewell tour via his website.

By his own admission, Mike Vernon was no more than a competent guitarist (“I didn’t play anything particularly well”). And while his eponymous Mighty Combo of later years certainly lived up to the billing, it could only ever be an addendum to Vernon’s wider contribution to the British blues scene and, in particular, his showcasing of the great players during the ’60s boom.

As producer of Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton, and such Peter Green-era Fleetwood Mac masterpieces as Albatross and Black Magic Woman – among countless others – there’s an argument that nobody ever caught better electric guitar tone in the bottle.

Born in November 1944, Vernon’s youth echoes many of that era’s rock galacticos: a childhood in Surrey, an early shift in the school choir, the epiphany of imported American rhythm and blues, then a shift to the big city with his studies at Croydon Art College.

It was here that Vernon began following the bands of homegrown movers ’n’ shakers Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies – and soon the younger man proved equally influential, co-founding the tastemaker fanzine R&B Monthly with his brother Richard, widely read across the London scene.

After blanket-bombing the capital’s record labels with job applications – and landing an A&R assistant post at Decca in 1962 – Vernon pitched himself as producer for John Mayall’s so-called ‘Beano’ album of 1966.

The material and personnel were solid gold, with the wily bandleader recruiting the unfeasibly talented former Yardbird Eric Clapton and setting him loose on standards like Freddie King’s Hide Away and Memphis Slim’s Steppin’ Out. But a vital element, too, was Vernon’s production, which caught all the fit-to-burst intensity of Clapton’s Les Paul and Marshall combo.

“Nobody had ever made that kind of noise on record before,” he told this writer. “It was such a huge noise. Eric put the cornerstone down. There it was. Y’know, ‘That’s how it’s supposed to be.’ And everyone just followed him.”

When ‘Beano’ unexpectedly hit UK No 6, making a star of Clapton, Vernon’s career was off to the races, too. And as the Bluesbreakers line-up evolved – with first Peter Green, then Mick Taylor, taking the spot of the Cream-bound Clapton – the producer showed a sharp ear for the sonic landscape each player needed to shine.

Alongside his own hugely respected Blue Horizon record label – co-founded in 1965 with Neil Slaven – Vernon was drafted to work on Green’s post-Bluesbreakers project, Fleetwood Mac.

“I barely knew Peter when I made the Bluesbreakers’ A Hard Road album. He wasn’t as assertive during the course of that album as he became once he had his own band. Peter, of course, was outrageous, just the most wonderful player. He was special. There’s no doubt about that.”

Vernon went on to produce British stalwarts like Savoy Brown, Ten Years After and Chicken Shack, while Blue Horizon gave a valuable platform to such seminal-but-fading US blues titans as Otis Spann, Bukka White and Lightnin’ Slim.

“In those days, Freddie King never really made the same sound in the studio as he did live,” he remembered. “So when I had the opportunity of working with him, we made sure the sound got bigger.”

Even after moving to Spain in the post-millennium, Vernon could occasionally be tempted back into the fray when he recognised a stellar talent, manning the desk for Oli Brown’s Heads I Win Tails You Lose (2010), Dani’s Wilde’s Shine (2011) and Laurence Jones’s Take Me High (2016). “Everyone does the copy-and-paste thing now,” said the latter. “But I don’t think anyone else can make an old-school record.”

Looking back in an interview that same year, the only job Vernon squirmed over was the 1967 debut by a then-unknown David Bowie. “I hate talking about it and, to be really truthful, when it was all done and dusted, I was rather glad it was over. It just didn’t do anything for me. I just wanted to get to my next blues session.”

Mike Vernon was a joy to interview – friendly, funny and wearing his fathoms-deep knowledge lightly. But make no mistake: this was one of the chief architects of perhaps the most compelling British guitar movement in history, and it simply wouldn’t have sounded as urgent or exciting without him.

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Dave Mason, the English singer-guitar icon who co-founded Traffic and sessioned with some of the biggest artists of all time, has died at the age of 79.

The news was confirmed in a statement issued by Mason’s publicist on Wednesday (April 22) morning, which read, “On behalf of his family, it is with deep and profound sadness that we share the news of the passing of Dave Mason.

“On Sunday, April 19, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, celebrated songwriter, musician, singer, and author passed away peacefully at his home in Gardnerville, NV. Dave Mason lived a remarkable life devoted to the music and the people he loved.”

Last year, Mason was forced to cancel all of his scheduled tour dates amid ongoing health issues, after it was announced he’d been battling a serious heart condition. The condition was discovered in 2024, though Mason later contracted an infection during recovery in March 2025.

Not long after, Mason announced his retirement from touring, closing the curtains on 60 remarkable years of rock ‘n’ roll and marking the end of a significant and storied era in music history.

Mason leaves behind a tremendous legacy in the world of rock music, having penned some bona fide classics both as a founder of Traffic, and as a successful solo and session artist.

Born in May 1946, Mason co-founded Traffic as a youngster alongside Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, and Chris Wood, and in 1967, they released their debut single, Hole in My Shoe. Penned and sung by Mason, the single shot up to the Number 2 spot in the UK charts and was an early indicator of the guitarist’s psychedelic influences.

The single was followed by the band’s first two records, Mr Fantasy (1967) and Traffic (1968). Mason, despite leaving the band between the two albums, featured on both, writing and singing on other core Traffic standards such as Feelin’ Alright and You Can All Join.

Those records highlighted Mason’s robust guitar style, typified by its utilitarian emphasis on melody and ‘serving the song’. It served him well when he left Traffic and pursued a career in session and solo work.

Indeed, Mason’s post-Traffic days were defined by a series of high-profile collaborations with some of the biggest names in guitar music. He recorded and toured with the likes of George Harrison, the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac and Michael Jackson.

He also famously played on Jimi Hendrix’s cover of All Along the Watchtower, playing the acoustic guitar, and served as Harrison’s guitar player during the Beatle’s All Things Must Pass project.

Speaking to Guitar World in 2014, Mason discussed how he ended up working with Hendrix, recalling, “I was aware of Jimi when he first came to London, even before he had ever made a record.

“I met Jimi at a late-night club one night and just started talking to him. He was a Traffic fan and I remember he got up and played with the band that was there that night and I just said, "Wow!" [laughs].

“One night, Jimi and I were at a party listening to John Wesley Harding [Bob Dylan’s latest album at the time] when Jimi got it into his head that he wanted to do All Along the Watchtower. I remember he said to me, ‘That’s the coolest song! I’m gonna go and record it! You want to come and do it with me?’ That's basically how it started. He was just amazing.”

As for his collaboration with Harrison, Mason told Guitar World in a separate interview that his work on All Things Must Past stemmed from a social bond he had with the Beatle.

“I was just one of a lot of people there; if you ask me which tunes I played on it, I can’t remember,” he noted. “I just played some acoustic rhythm guitar on a couple of them, and I think I played electric guitar on one, but I’m not sure. I was one of a number of musicians that were invited.

“I knew George more from the Beatles and from hanging out with him, as I sort of knew a little more of him socially than I did musically. He gave me my first sitar; he also played me Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band before it came out.”

Other major moments in Mason’s storied career also include a stint in Eric Clapton’s Derek and The Dominos, as well as a brief period as a member of Fleetwood Mac, with whom he recorded 1995’s Time.

Despite having contributed to the fabric of English rock music across his career, Mason remained humble, and in a reflective interview with Guitar World he looked back on the music he made.

“I knew they were great tracks that created attention, but it's hard to say what people would really think because at the time, I was living it,” he said of his work. “Looking back now, I was very fortunate to have ended up playing with so many great artists, even just for a moment.

“To me, I’m just another guy who picked up the guitar and went out to make music. Fortunately, I started writing things that resonated with people.”

Mason is survived by his wife and partner, Winifred Wilson, and his daughter, Danielle.

Lindsey Buckingham's alleged stalker has been charged after the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist was attacked with an unknown substance by the assailant in Santa Monica on March 25.

The perpetrator, Michelle Dick, an individual whom Buckingham filed a restraining order against in late 2024, also claims to be his daughter. Now, she faces seven criminal charges in Los Angeles County.

According to the court documents obtained by Fox News Digital and Rolling Stone, prosecutors allege Dick stalked Buckingham between 2021 and March 25, 2026.

She has since been charged with two counts of stalking, two counts of threats to commit a crime with intent to terrorize, assault with a deadly weapon, vandalism, and battery. A warrant has been issued for Dick's arrest, and a judge has set bail at $300,000, but she has yet to be detained.

According to court records, Dick was reportedly spotted outside Buckingham's Brentwood residence multiple times over the years and allegedly harassed his family. Dick allegedly targeted the guitarist's wife, Kristen Messner, with phone calls that included threats to her life, while his children were also targeted via phone and social media.

Buckingham said the alleged harassment started with phone calls and “long drawn-out messages that included the claim she was my child and threats to kill me and my family.”

Dick also accused him of the “facial deformities she suffered as a child and demanded money.”

Dick also told KTLA reporter Sandra Mitchell that the reported sightings at Buckingham's residence were, “One time – that was last year. But I didn’t know I had a restraining order on me. He wasn’t a father to me, but he’s my birth father.”

Dick also told KTLA that she is currently living in her car. The LAPD is currently the lead agency in the investigation, as Dick is linked to other incidents in Los Angeles.

In more recent news, the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist fueled a rumor that the Buckingham-Nicks creative partnership might be rekindling, at least in some form.

The rumored reunion between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks has quickly gathered steam after a social media clip that seems to hint at the two rekindling their creative partnership, at least in some form.

“I think 2026 is going to be a very interesting – and despite what’s going on in Washington – I think it’s going to be a very good year,” Buckingham says in a video posted to his Instagram. “Or maybe because of what’s going on in Washington. But I’m still very grounded in my creative life.”

The multi-hyphenate artist also reveals that he's been working on a solo album for the past couple of years, which is “one song away from being finished.” More plans include a Fleetwood Mac documentary, directed by Academy Award nominee Frank Marshall – “two very specific things that are waiting in the wings for this year.”

But perhaps the most intriguing development of 2026 comes as the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist draws renewed attention to Buckingham Nicks, the 1973 album he recorded with Stevie Nicks prior to joining – and achieving mainstream success with – Fleetwood Mac, and which was reissued last year.

According to Buckingham, this renewed interest has reopened lines of communication between the two former collaborators.

“Just the energy in terms of what Buckingham Nicks did, to sort of create a resurgence of connection between Stevie and myself on a larger scale – that seems to be something that’s in the air,” he teases.

“What that translates to specifically, I wouldn’t want to speculate yet, but I believe with all my heart that it will translate to something good and something wonderful and something needed and something extremely appropriate.”

The relationship between the two has been particularly turbulent over the decades, with the two publicly falling out in 2018 and Buckingham splitting from Fleetwood Mac for the second time after disagreements escalated after a MusiCares event.

He was subsequently replaced by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn.

The record-breaking sales of Jim Irsay’s most notorious electric guitars have understandably grabbed the headlines after last week’s auction, but there were some notable developments with regard to his bass guitars, too.

The billionaire businessman passed away aged 65 last year, leaving behind the world’s most ridiculous collection of guitars and music memorabilia, and while David Gilmour’s Strat sold for a mind-boggling $14.5 million, a number of Irsay’s most historically significant four-strings also racked up impressive sales figures during the New York auction.

Take John McVie’s custom Alembic bass, for instance. It was used to record Fleetwood Mac's timeless classic – and Formula 1 anthem – The Chain for 1977's mega-selling album, Rumours.

That prestige saw it shatter its estimated price of up to $100,000, selling for $177,800. McVie's part is widely considered one of the most iconic basslines of all time, and it's easy to see why, with the bass also taken on the preceding tour.

It features a solidbody and through-neck construction that unites laminated birds-eye maple, koa, walnut, cocobolo, and ash, a fretless fingerboard, and active electronics. It can also be heard on another Rumours cut, Gold Dust Woman, and the B-side, Silver Springs.

While the 2021 auction of one of Paul McCartney's Yamaha BB-1200 basses still holds the record for most expensive low-end weapon, the former Beatle's appeal was clear to see during last week's auction. Another of his BB-1200s, which McCartney used in the studio and on the stage between 1979 and 1984, has sold for $228,600.

It was soft-launched by Wings' disco and flamenco-flecked standalone single, Goodnight Tonight. Later, it became his principal instrument on the Back to the Egg tour. The pair of Yamahas is a rare example of instruments from McCartney's personal collection leaving his possession.

For lovers of slightly more ridiculous instruments, Dusty Hill's sheepskin-covered bass, which features a striking ZZ Top inlay and starred in the music video for Legs, fell just short of six figures.

The Explorer-style Dean sold for $95,250, having been a prominent part of ZZ Top's chart-bothering Eliminator era, which was famous for some truly bonkers instruments. Beneath the shag of its fluffy headstock, gold-plated Schaller tuners can be found. It also sports a single double-coil pickup and a black-and-gold-plated Badass tailpiece and bridge.

“One night, I received a 3 am phone call, it's Gibbons,” Dean Zelinsky recalls of the build. “He was on tour in the UK and had the guys from Def Leppard with him. He wanted to hook them up with some Dean Guitars.

“At the very end of the conversation, Billy drops the line, ‘I'm sending you some sheepskins I purchased while in Scotland, I want you to put them on some guitars.’

“I cleared a path down the center with electric horse shears to accept the pickups, tailpiece, and strings. And I remember we were still gluing the fur on the tuning keys when the FedEx driver showed up to pick up the guitars.”

Legs went on to win the inaugural MTV Video Music Award for Best Group Video.

Meanwhile, Jerry Garcia’s Tiger, which sold for $12 million at the Jim Irsay auction, has already been played on stage, thanks to its generous new owner.

When Peter Green left Fleetwood Mac in 1970 and disappeared into obscurity, many guitarists – including Snowy White – felt his recording days were over. However, White, best known for his work with Thin Lizzy and Pink Floyd, eventually played a key role in bringing the blues rock electric guitar hero out from the dark.

In a new interview with Guitar World, White discusses how their surprise guitar tandem came about on Green’s comeback album, In the Skies. At the time, it was Green’s first record in eight years and one that lifted him out of obscurity and back into the limelight.

White says work began in 1977, two years prior to the album’s release, with White fresh off the Animals sessions with Pink Floyd. The record may not have been possible without him.

“Peter rang me one day and said, ‘I'm doing an album for a small record company that my brother is involved in, can I use you and your band?’ So, we went into a studio and basically just jammed.”

Green founded Fleetwood Mac in 1967, and his slick, timeless, blues-y playing is evident in their earliest releases, including tracks such as Oh Well and the seductive Albatross.

But his exit wasn’t all that amicable and in 1970, against a backdrop of drug use and mental health issues, Green left the group. Almost a decade later, he would re-emerge professionally, with his passion for jams and connecting with other musicians returning.

“Peter was in a good mood and it was a fun session,” White continues. “He started playing rhythm stuff and asked me to play lead. I said, ‘Pete, it’s your album, you play some lead.’ In the end, we both did a bit of each.”

Despite his deep-rooted connection to the Les Paul, Green wielded an unassuming 1965 Fender Duo-Sonic on In The Skies, which was the sound of Green finding himself again. It had been a turbulent period, and Snowy White was there to help him find his musical feet again.

“Of course, I was very happy to be recording with Peter,” White reflects. “I’d known him for a few years and didn’t think he would ever record again. Then he took away the tracks and worked on them, put some lyrics on.”

Green and White returned to the studio, setting up at The Who’s Battersea, London, location. The album would prove a success, but White does have one niggling regret about the experience.

“Unfortunately, I’d put in some of my ideas but in the end, I wasn’t credited with any songwriting,” he explains. “That was a pity but I didn’t make a fuss about it, as I figured that Peter was still pretty fragile and unsure about dealing with the business side of things, so I let it pass.”

Elsewhere in his Guitar World interview, White reveals how both Moore and David Gilmour would come to feature on his 1994 solo album, Highway to the Sun.

Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood have rekindled their relationship and are back in the studio, seven years after the guitarist was dismissed from Fleetwood Mac.

That saw Buckingham, who spent 34 years in the band across two stints, watching from the sidelines as the band played their final shows a year later. But it appears any animosity has fizzled out, with Buckingham offering to play guitar and sing on Fleetwood’s in-progress solo album.

The reunion was revealed by Swedish songwriter and producer Carl Falk, who is currently overseeing work with Fleetwood on the record. Images shared on Threads show the pair locked together in conversation.

Having worked with and written for the likes of Madonna, Ariana Grande, and One Direction, Falk is no stranger to rubbing shoulders with big-name pop stars. Still, having the two Fleetwood Mac heavyweights before his eyes left him a little starstruck.

“Slightly unreal moment to sit with Lindsey Buckingham and Mick Fleetwood to play Lindsey the album we have been working on,” he wrote on Threads last month.

“And to see his genuine happiness for Mick to finally do his own album and offering to play guitar and to sing on it. Can’t wait to finish this one.”

Falk has since posted more snippets, including a video of himself playing a guitar, while Buckingham strums on an acoustic. There’s also a cameo from War on Drugs singer/guitarist Adam Granduciel, prompting rumors of his involvement on the record.

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When Buckingham was fired from the band in 2018, disagreements around touring appeared to have been the trigger. However, the guitarist’s apparent poor attitude towards vocalist and ex-partner, Stevie Nicks, added further complications to Buckingham’s involvement.

It seemingly took two guitarists to replace him, with Crowded House’s Neil Finn and former Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell both stepping in for the final tour.

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Finn has since reflected that, “I don't think he was very happy about the situation,” but hoped that at some point Buckingham “might have thought, ‘Oh, well, at least somebody that can write a good song has taken my part,’” while Campbell focused on “doing the songs justice.”

It felt like the split was inevitable – the definitive 2018 parting coming after years of tensions and disagreements. After all, his complex relationship with Nicks had already spelled the end of his first Fleetwood Mac tenure in 1987.

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The band has, against the odds, made disharmony work in their favor: 1977’s mega-selling Rumours hinges on tumult, written on the foundation of Nicks and Buckingham’s souring relationship, and the divorce of Christine and John McVie.

Buckingham rejoined in 1997, and his second departure can be traced back to the 2018 MusiCares concert, when, in a rare interview with Rolling Stone last year, Nicks said, “I dealt with Lindsey for as long as I could. You could not say that I did not give him more than 300 million chances.”

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Fleetwood, however, has held a desire to reunite with Buckingham in the intervening years, in spite of the guitarist’s actions. Speaking to the US Weekly in February, he said, “I always have a fantasy that [Stevie] and Lindsay would pal up a bit more and just say everything’s OK for them both.

“I miss playing as much as we used to. I’m hoping next year, one way or another, some band somewhere will say, come and play with drums or something. So I always love to do whatever I can do working on an album that next year we may tour with it. I don’t know, [but] not Fleetwood Mac.”

Whether the Buckingham-Nicks relationship is repairable or not, it’s clear there is the drummer and guitarist remain on fine terms. For Fleetwood Mac fans, seeing the pair in the studio together can only be a good thing.

In recent Fleetwood Mac news, Mike Campbell opened up to Guitar World about his experience touring the world with the legendary band for two years.

Mike Campbell was Tom Petty’s right-hand man throughout his career. They started playing together as teenagers in Mudcrutch, moved to Los Angeles together and honed their music together, along with keyboardist Benmont Tench, the other band member who was there from Petty’s beginning.

Campbell wasn’t only the Heartbreakers’ lead guitarist; he was the only band member Petty regularly co-wrote with, and that includes landmark songs like Refugee, Here Comes My Girl and Running Down a Dream. Campbell also co-produced many of the band’s albums and did some landmark work with others.

He wrote and played on Don Henley’s The Boys of Summer and Stevie Nicks’ Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around and worked with a range of other artists, from Bob Dylan to Aretha Franklin.

When Petty died in 2017, Campbell replaced Lindsey Buckingham in Fleetwood Mac and stayed put for a two-year world tour before turning to the Dirty Knobs, the group he had formed in 2000 as a live outlet during Petty’s touring breaks.

The Dirty Knobs, featuring Heartbreakers drummer Steve Ferrone alongside guitarist Chris Holt and bassist Lance Morrison, both of whom have worked with Henley, released Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits on June 14. It is their third album since 2000.

“I had a big interest in doing my own songs and learning how to front a band,” Campbell says. “While I was in a band with Tom, out of respect for our relationship and our songwriting arrangement, I didn’t want to do anything that would throw that off-kilter..”

Are you enjoying it?

“Yes. I learned a lot watching Tom front the Heartbreakers all those years, and I’m picking up how to be at the mic, engage the audience, try to sing in tune, remember all the lyrics and lead the band.

“It’s a lot more than I thought, and I have a lot more respect for him now that I’m trying to do it all. But I’m enjoying it and getting a lot better each time – and the band is just great. I love playing music and I can’t see going through the rest of my life without doing so.”

Remembering lyrics is like stretching a different part of your brain; it’s not like the muscle memory of having a million guitar parts in your fingers.

"Absolutely. It’s a corner of my brain that was asleep. What’s the next verse? What’s the chorus? What’s the bridge? How do I tell the band where to move or break down? That part of my brain has been awoken out of necessity. I love playing lead guitar, but I also like to put chords together and write songs, and that’s as much or more satisfying than playing a great solo. I try to do both."

You mentioned Tom putting lyrics to your music. Is that how you wrote together?

“Usually, I’d write music and leave him a blank palette – basically a finished record with no vocals – and if he liked it, he’d bring it in the next day and start singing along with what he’d written. He would just get in there, find the melody, come up with some words and then show me what he’s got.

“He would hand my music back to me as a better song. The songs he wrote on his own, he would usually bring them in fully finished, then I would just listen and play along, and by the end of the song, I’d have an alternate guitar part that hopefully made the song better. A lot of our writing was very organic.”

Do you approach a solo differently on a song where you were the primary writer?

“No, I’ve always had the same process in the studio. I’m usually engaged in the rhythm track and let the vocal do its thing. If there’s room for a guitar lick, I’ll put it on the live track, but I rarely work them out.

“If there’s a solo that I have to go back to, like the end of Running Down a Dream, I approach it the same way; I don’t compose solos in advance. I like to run the track and see where my fingers go and what my mind picks up in the moment.

“A lot of times it’s a bunch of sloppy crap, then two little pieces that show me the way I should be playing the solo. So I can roll it back again and use that as a template to do a better solo. I do like to wing it; that’s where the spirit is.”

Playing with the same guys for years leads to easy, unspoken communication. Have you had to work to rebuild that with the Dirty Knobs?

“The Heartbreakers had a history of mental telepathy where we would just instinctively know how to complement each other, which was a blessing that could also be a curse. We would sometimes fall into repeating ourselves, but it’s a comfort to know that this guy is not gonna let you down, that you can get a feedback going between you and inspire each other.

“In this band, we’ve now been together long enough that we’re starting to develop that. They can sense where I’m gonna go, or I can give them a look or a shoulder move and they’ll follow me.

“And thank God we now have Steve Ferrone on drums. He’s really great and we have a history so he knows me really well, which makes it easy to play with dynamics. If I want the song to get quiet or build up in an unscripted moment, he can pick up on that.

“The whole thing is just kind of coming alive and becoming a great band. I’ll love the Heartbreakers forever, but this is like starting over and we have a lot of fun. I’m blessed to have these guys.”

How was the Fleetwood Mac experience? It was a blip in your career, but you did some significant shows with them in what seems like it would have been a tough situation – although you have a long history with Stevie Nicks.

“It’s interesting that you use the word blip because we went around the world for two years and played a lot of shows. It was actually a beautiful and long journey – but now when I look back at it, it does feel as you described it. It went by and became something that happened but is hard to believe. Like, I went to high school once and I toured the world with Fleetwood Mac. [Laughs]

“It was an interesting experience. Mick Fleetwood asked me to join the band, but I don’t think Stevie voted against me. It was a challenge because I don’t usually play other people’s guitar parts. I had to do something I’ve never really done before and try to emulate some of Lindsey’s melodies that the songs need. I don’t play like Lindsey, but I was able to do the songs justice. That was a good bit of work and it was good for me.

“The gigs were incredible, and they treated me and my wife like royalty: private planes, big hotels, lots of days off all around the world. It was almost like a beautiful paid vacation, and the music was always good. I would look around and see Mick and John McVie and go, ‘Holy shit. How did I get here?’ It was just another blessing in my life.

“I learned a lot about the guitar by having to learn Lindsey’s parts. Nobody sounds like somebody else, but I did the best I could and brought my own vibe to it.

“Also, every night we would do Free Falling as a tribute to Tom, and that was very emotional. Stevie was wonderful and she carries a vocal coach to warm up her voice, and I came by every day and he worked with me to learn how to get more character and strength and pitch in my voice. He taught me this vocal routine that helped me a lot, and I’m not sure I’d be doing what I am as well without that.”

At what point in your relationship with Tom did your roles become defined – that he would be the front man and you would be the guitar player?

“Right away. I wasn’t singing and I was beginning to write a little music, but he already was writing songs and he just had that charisma.

“He was playing bass when I met him in Mudcrutch, then he borrowed my Strat and we switched him over to guitar and got a bass player so he could present his songs the way he was writing them. We just had a natural respect for each other. I was happy to be the guitar player, and I think he was happy to have me there.”

One of the joys of seeing the Heartbreakers was salivating over the instruments you and Tom played. Now that you have a smaller production, are you traveling with fewer instruments?

“Yes. I have a guitar obsession. I sold about 120 of them a couple of years ago because I don’t have room for them anymore. I’ve quit buying them because I kind of have one of every guitar that I ever dreamed of. At this point buying them is kind of pathetic.

“I play them all in the studio, but I just take a few essentials on the road because you’re right – it is a smaller production. That includes a Rickenbacker 12-string, a ’56 Tele that Gene Parsons installed a B-bender on, and a white Firebird that I got in a pawn shop for 500 bucks on the Fleetwood Mac tour.

“Now that I’m leading the band and I’ve got all these things I must concentrate on, the last thing I want to do is try a different guitar just for fun. I just want it to be in tune because I’ve got to think about other stuff now. It’s a different gig!”

• Vagabonds, Virgins & Misfits is out now via BMG.

Stevie Nicks has opened up on Lindsay Buckingham’s departure from Fleetwood Mac, and revealed the moment she knew she no longer wanted to be in a band with the electric guitar player.

Buckingham was axed from the group in 2018, 44 years after he originally joined with Nicks in 1974. At the time it was reported that “a disagreement over the band’s upcoming tour” had resulted in a breakdown within the band (as noted by Louder).

However, that doesn’t now seem to be the case. In a rare interview with Rolling Stone, the vocalist looked back on Buckingham’s departure, which can be traced back to the 2018 MusiCares concert. It was during that show, Nicks says, that she realized she no longer wanted to share the stage with Buckingham.

“I think that all just happened the way it should have,” Nicks says regarding Buckingham’s firing, “It happened one night, not planned, at a MusiCares [benefit concert].

“I didn’t even tell anybody it had happened in my head until the whole ceremony was over. I took with me that night a song that I had done with LeAnn Rimes called Borrowed. I took it with me to play for him because I thought we could do this song beautifully.

“That’s when he wasn’t very nice to anybody; he wasn’t very nice to Harry Styles,” she continues. “I could hear my mom saying, ‘Are you really going to spend the next 15 years of your life with this man?’

“I could hear my very pragmatic father – and by the way, my mom and dad liked Lindsey a lot – saying, ‘It’s time for you guys to get a divorce.’ Between those two, I said, ‘I’m done.'”

Despite ending on rather sour terms, Nicks insists she holds no ill will towards Buckingham: “I hope he lives a long life and continues to go into a studio and work with other people,” she asserts. “He’s also an icon, and he can teach people. He’s not stopped in his tracks. He can still make music and have fun.”

After being axed from the band, Buckingham was promptly replaced by Crowded House’s Neil Finn, who recently discussed his experiences of replacing the Fleetwood Mac stalwart.

“I don’t think he was very happy about the situation,” Finn said. “I would hope he might have thought, ‘Oh well, at least somebody that can write a good song has taken my part.’”

New Zealand darling, Crowded House's Neil Finn, had the enviable position of joining Fleetwood Mac and becoming part of their legacy between 2018 and 2022, in lieu of Lindsey Buckingham.

With tension between Buckingham and the rest of the band at an all-time high, and a looming 88-gig world tour, Finn joining the internationally well-loved band meant learning the famed lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist's parts to a tee. However, despite stepping into his shoes, Finn never actually had the opportunity to meet Buckingham.

“I've not met him. I have a feeling we'd probably get on just fine. [But] I don't think he was very happy about the situation,” he says on the Broken Record Podcast.

“I don't think he would have blamed me for it particularly. And I think he probably had some awareness of my songs, and probably, you know, I would hope at some point he might have thought, ‘Oh, well, at least somebody that can write a good song has taken my part.’”

Finn goes on to say that he wholeheartedly believes that a band can very well redefine and reinvent itself – especially one that has been around for decades. “Fleetwood Mac have redefined themselves so many times, have been so many different kinds of bands. I related to that and I thought, ‘Oh, maybe I can do that.’”

Learning songs as iconic as Fleetwood Mac's came with its own unique and perhaps unexpected challenges, however. “You think you know the way that songs work, but then when you actually learn them, you find that there's more going on than you realized.”

As he points out, even songs that you've casually heard hundreds of times can be tricky to learn when you sit down with them.

“Even Go Your Own Way, which you think you've heard. You think, it is a very simple song, but it's just learning it is more difficult than you think. I think I have more quirks and nuances in the way that I put songs together than Lindsey does, but somehow they're hard.”

Neil Finn and Crowded House are currently on the UK leg of their tour supporting their recent album, Gravity Stairs.

Peter Green was the founding member of Fleetwood Mac, and having put the band together, was generous enough to name it after the drummer Mick Fleetwood, and bass player John McVie, both stalwarts of the ’60s British blues scene and John Mayall alumni.

Green followed Eric Clapton in Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, a tough gig to take on, but B.B. King was famously quoted as saying that Green was “the only one to give me the cold sweats”.

A master of Chicago blues and also an innovator as a composer, Green was responsible for a number of imaginative hit songs, including The Green Manalishi, Black Magic Woman (also a huge hit for Santana), Albatross, and Oh Well.

However, in this lesson I will focus on a minor blues and an uptown major blues inspired tune. The examples focus on the minor blues and the sample solo switches to the major key.

It’s worth picking through the licks to get a feel for the kinds of melodic shapes and note choices that Green favoured, such as the use of the 9th degree and the straight minor pentatonic.

In the sample solo, I used a classic '60s blues approach of stressing the tonic major pentatonic on the I chord (A), then moving to the tonic minor pentatonic on the IV chord (D).

If you look carefully, you’ll see that I have generally altered the minor pentatonic by replacing the 7th degree with the major 6th. The major 6th of A minor pentatonic (F#) is also the 3rd of the D chord, so makes harmonic sense, particularly when you consider that the note G can be displeasing when held over a D or D7 chord (this is often called an ‘avoid note’, meaning that it’s not to be held for too long).

Green’s phrasing was possibly so musical because he was such a great singer; his phrasing on the guitar has a vocal quality and a real sense of pace and drama.

Peter’s treatment of the D# diminished 7th chord is worth noting. He often hits the root of that chord but then goes back to bluesy Am6 pentatonic ideas; his navigation of the chord changes was masterful.

Other than one example that shows some of the scale options over a bluesy sequence in A, the demos are all over a slow 12/8 groove, and the rhythms exploit the options within the subdivisions of a 12/8 pulse.

Don’t be overly concerned with working out the rhythms mathematically – if you’re not well acquainted with reading in 12/8, there’s no shame in referring to the video/audio. It’s certainly what Peter would have done!

Get the tone

Amp Settings: Gain 5, Bass 7, Treble 6, Reverb 4

Peter’s Gibson Les Paul was wired with out-of-phase humbuckers. It is not essential to replicate this but there’s a delicate quality to Peter’s sound with a cleanish British tone at its core. Peter worked his amps hard and that natural colouration is key. Effects were not a big part of Green’s world, but you might want to add quite a bit of reverb to get that airy sound.

Example 1

In our first example, we start by leaving a little space between the phrases. Be careful with the high bends as their pitch requires accurate targeting.

Example 2

Here we’re starting to use 1/16th-note triplets for variety. In bar 3, we start to get a little more bluesy with the use of the C natural note (minor 3rd).

Example 3

This example starts in a fairly common pentatonic blues box shape. The flourish at the end of the bar sounds not unlike the kind of lines that Eric Clapton was playing around the time. Green saw him live with The Bluesbreakers and was deeply affected by his playing.

Example 4

This one starts on the V chord. It’s interesting to note how just stating the root of the V chord (C#) really gives a sense of making the changes.

Example 5

Here we see some of Peter’s scale choices. The A minor pentatonic can be changed to A minor 6 pentatonic on the D chord for a little more finesse. The blues scale works over A7 and D7 if used carefully.

Solo

This final piece amalgamates much of what has been covered earlier, putting it all together for a musical performance. Looking at it overall, you will notice how much colour and variety is achieved from just a few positions on the fretboard: 9th fret zone and 12th fret zone.

This is where the guitar can be most vocal – the notes aren’t too low to get lost in a band mix or too searing and screaming. Add in blues notes, bends and legato, and it’s a wealth of emotion and tasty soloing!

The electric guitar featured on Kate Bush's 1978 debut Wuthering Heights is expected to fetch up to £10,000 at auction.

The 1974 Les Paul Custom belonged to guitarist Ian Bairnson, who played the solo at the end of Wuthering Heights while his arm was in a plaster cast.

Bairnson passed away last year, aged 70. His collection of 12 guitars, including the 1974 Les Paul Custom, and gear including vintage Marshall stacks and a Soldano head, is being auctioned off by Gardiner Houlgate auctioneers in Wiltshire, UK. The total collection is expected to sell for around £30,000.

Guitar expert and auctioneer Luke Hobbs commented: “Ian Bairnson was a musician’s musician, and his guitar used on Wuthering Heights is very relevant to today’s market, considering the enduring appeal of Kate Bush.”

A 20th Anniversary model – as indicated by the 12th fret inlay – the guitar features a Cherry Sunburst finish, with only minor buckle rash and dings. Its original tuners were replaced by a Schaller set, while two coil switches were installed to the control area.

The guitar comes with a Pilot-stenciled hardcase, as well as five sales award discs presented to Bairnson for Pilot singles Magic and January.

Ian Bairnson was a Scottish session guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work with Kate Bush and Alan Parsons Project.

In 1973, he joined the Scottish rock group Pilot, scoring UK top 20 singles January and Magic. During his time with Pilot, he met Alan Parsons and later featured on every Alan Parsons Project album, including the 1984 offshoot Keats.

He went on to play on Bush's first four albums, and session with Kenny Rogers, Tom Jones, Sting, Paul McCartney and Stanley Clark – where his Les Paul was invariably slung around his shoulders.

“Guitar players broadly fall into two main groups – those who consider themselves as Strat players and those who are Les Paul type players,” Bairnson wrote on his website. “I have always loved Les Pauls. Ever since I was about 14 years old I wanted to play one. I prefer the sheer power and kick of a Gibson Les Paul.

“I bought mine as soon as I could afford one. It came from a shop called Take Five in Shaftesbury Avenue in London and cost me 315 pounds in 1974. It is a Custom model but over the years I have changed bits and pieces and now it looks more like a Standard. I suppose it is true to say that I built a career using only a Les Paul and a Marshall 50-watt amplifier.”

“Ian was always ready to play a stylistically perfect solo for every track he was involved with,” Alan Parsons told Guitar World. "The usual process was he would just play it through a few times and I would give him vague directions like ‘Let’s try it starting low and working upwards’ or ‘Let’s try it simpler – less notes.’”

In addition to Bairnson's Les Paul, the auction will also feature Eric Clapton-used prototype 000-28EC acoustic guitar, a collection of Bernie Marsden's guitars, a Jaco Pastorius-used Zemaitis bass, two guitars previously owned by Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green and two of Gary Moore’s Gibson Les Pauls.

For more information about the auction, visit Gardiner Houlgate.

In a new interview, Crowded House's Neil Finn has revealed how one surprise phone call led him to join Fleetwood Mac.

“I was gobsmacked,” he told MOJO. “I was 60 and I’d had a wonderfully diverse musical life when Mick called and said, ‘We’ve got rid of Lindsey – would you play with us?’ I’d just done [2018 album] Lightsleeper with [Finn’s son] Liam so he had a vested interest in my not doing it, but he said, ‘Give it a shot,’ so I auditioned.”

“It’s the only audition I’ve ever done. I went to Hawaii and Mick spent an hour telling me it wasn’t an audition, but it was. I was auditioning them, too: I wasn’t sure it was the right thing, I was quite conflicted, but I liked the people and the welcome was universal.”

When asked what elements he brought to the iconic group, Finn said: “The naysayers said, ‘No Lindsey Buckingham, no Fleetwood Mac,’ but I brought personality and the ability to sing with Stevie and Christine. I could never be capable of sounding like Lindsey, but I put a similar intensity into his songs.”

Elsewhere in the same interview, Johnny Marr recalled the exact moment he realized how unique Finn's talent is: “I was at the Concert For Linda in 1999, watching Neil soundcheck Don’t Dream It’s Over when Elvis Costello leaned in and said, ‘Imagine being that good.’ That’s Neil. His songs are so seamless, you don’t notice at first how clever they are, and he has this God-given gift for melody.”

Neil Finn and former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell replaced Lindsey Buckingham as Fleetwood Mac's guitarists in 2018. The band allegedly fired Buckingham after internal disputes. 

This stint followed Finn's already illustrious career, which includes his work with New Zealand New Wavers Split Enz and founding the beloved Australian pop-rock band Crowded House. 

Finn is gearing up to release Crowded House's eighth studio album, Gravity Stairs, in May. The release will be followed by a tour that kicks off in the UK and Europe at PRYZM in London on June 10, followed by North America in late August. 

When the guitar collection of a legendary guitarist goes on sale, it’s normally dominated by guitars that garner record sums. From electric guitars that were used on platinum-selling albums to vintage unobtainium, such auctions are generally composed of instruments that average guitarists can only dream of – partly because of their provenance and partly because rockstars tend to own vertiginously high-end equipment.

The late Peter Green’s guitar collection is a more interesting proposition, however. Though it contains many highly sought-after instruments, it also reflects the tastes of a man who maintained a broad and unpretentious interest in guitars throughout his life. 

Some were played daily, while others were bought seemingly on a whim to form a collection of well over 100 instruments that includes many rare vintage guitars but also workaday modern instruments, from Strat clones to seaweed-hued semis. Turkish lutes and bulky archtops sit cheek by jowl with high-end British acoustics and chainstore electrics – a huge spectrum of sounds to suit a broad and enquiring musical mind.

Now, three years after Peter’s passing, his guitar collection is coming up for sale at prestigious London auction house Bonhams, along with some of Peter’s self-penned artworks and Fleetwood Mac grails such as the original hand-written lyrics to Man of the World. The auction, which will be online only, will take place from 16 to 28 June. But with so many guitars going under the hammer, it’s clear someone must have had a heck of a job authenticating, cataloguing and prepping everything in time for the sale. 

That someone is Steve Clarke, a veteran guitar tech and restoration expert who is also the author of the Famous Frets book, which forensically traces the history of some of rock’s most iconic guitars. Today, Steve is Bonhams’ go-to man for high-profile guitar sales of this kind and he was happy to tell us a little more about the many interesting instruments that ended up on his workbench while he was preparing Peter Green’s guitars for auction.

One of the most exciting is the 1931 National Duolian that Peter was photographed with around the time of his 1997 Peter Green Splinter Group album. Imbued with shovelfuls of mojo and evidently played hard for decades, the guitar embodies so much blues history, not least Peter’s own contributions. So what did Steve think of what must surely be the centrepiece guitar of the sale?

“It’s bloody loud!” Steve laughs. “You strum a chord and it’s a shock, to be honest with you. I’ve played these before, but I didn’t know where the sound was coming from – and that’s with old strings. And it was loud. Someone next to me said, ‘Have you plugged that in?’ I said, ‘I was just going to ask you that! Where’s this volume coming from?’ It doesn’t sound real. It’s quite heavy, though – it surprised me – and it’s got a very wide fingerboard on it.” 

Like so many National guitars, wear-marks have only increased its charisma, while the familiar Pacific-island scenes on the back of the body still beguile the eye. 

“It’s beautiful,” Steve agrees. “It’s got nice engraving – I think it’s one with the palm trees on the back. So it’s a lovely, lovely thing.”

However, beneath the evocative looks, there was still a guitar that Steve needed to set up and perform cautious, sympathetic maintenance on before it could be presented for sale. 

“It was a little bit untidy,” he recalls. “I slacked the strings off – which had to be kept on – because the fingerboard was so dry. The frets were also a little bit bronzed-over due to storage. So I oiled the fingerboard and cleaned all the frets with these fret rubbers, which you probably know about – they come in three gauges – and got a really nice shine on them. 

“The fingerboard looked fantastic when I’d done it. I then put the strings back on and just carefully tuned it up, because they were quite old strings, and I’d gotten rid of that scratchiness. You know that feeling you get when a guitar’s not been played for a while? But after that it was great. It’s just a wonderful guitar, impressive,” he says, adding that the way he found Peter’s guitars set up shone an interesting light on his preferences as a player.

“The main thing I’d say on all of the guitars in his collection, which really surprised me, was how high the action was,” Steve continues.

“They were all very high action. He obviously wanted to dig in. Where he did seem to have had setup work done was in the nut area: the nuts of some of his guitars were cut to [give a relatively low action] around those first three frets. But higher up the fretboard, he didn’t want a low action. There was a Gibson Firebird I looked at and an Epiphone Explorer that, again, both had really high actions.”

Careful with that axe 

Some guitars in the collection needed more than just a bit of light fettling, meaning Steve had to tread carefully to keep the guitar as close to its original condition while ensuring it worked and played properly before entering the auction catalogue. Such was the case with the beautiful 1968 Gretsch White Falcon that is another standout instrument in the sale. 

“It was in a poor state, that one,” Steve admits. “It was probably one of the worst ones out of the six that we needed for the Birmingham Guitar Show [where the auction was showcased to admiring guitar fans in February of this year]. When I plugged in the Gretsch nothing happened… Nothing! Completely dead. I thought, ‘Here we go…’ And time was so precious, I can’t tell you. It was just bonkers. So I said, ‘What do you want done?’ And they said, ‘Steve, we need those six guitars and they’ve got to be working.’ So I said, ‘Right, I’m gonna need to spend some time on it…’ 

“I basically started messing about. I checked the jack socket and it had completely bronzed over – there was nothing going on there. Cleaned all that up, went through all the switching. One of the toggle switches, I recall, had turned around [in its mounting] and it was shorting out. So I took that out and checked it, undid the knot on the wires, and ‘Brang!’ a bit of life came back into it. And then it was a matter of cleaning the pots, which were terribly scratchy and intermittent. 

“I spent quite a while on that one guitar and Bonhams are staring at me like, ‘You do know there’s about 150 other guitars [to set up] and we’ve got two days, don’t you?’ [laughs] But I got it working and oiled the fingerboard and it was lovely. It was just such a nice guitar, just a wonderful piece of history and everything.”

Unlike with normal maintenance jobs, however, Steve had to seek clearance before making any change to the original condition of the guitars he inspected, no matter how routine.

“Sometimes we’d have to phone the estate if I was just taking strings off,” he explains. “If a string was found to be broken when we inspected a guitar, it had to go back in case after it was replaced. Whereas you or I would probably just chuck it in the bin.”

One notable feature of the collection is the number of rarely seen models by major US makers. Peter clearly had an eye for uncommon guitars, such as an early ’70s ES-325 with mini-humbuckers, which looks like the lovechild of a 335 and an Epiphone Riviera, with a dash of ’70s SG thrown in for good measure.

“They’re unusual,” Steve agreed. “From memory, I think that was a 1972 model. It had the embossed [pickup] covers on it, which I think nails it to around ’72. And I remember now the bridge pickup surround was busted, so what had happened is that the adjustment screw on the bass side was tilting and going into the guitar body.

“But yeah, it was a ’72 with the Epiphone-type pickups on it. It was a lovely thing, though. I got that working, too. It also had a fault on the volume pot for the bridge pickup, which didn’t surprise me, it’d probably been like that for a bit. But yes, got it working again – nice guitar and you’ll not see many of those.”

The colour & the shape

But, arguably, what makes this auction a little different to others of its kind is the number of inexpensive but serviceable guitars that offer Peter Green fans a very realistic chance to bid on something he owned and enjoyed.

“He had Encore Strat-style guitars, you know, and Stagg stuff,” Steve explains. “And some of these things he’d got, I think, perhaps just because he liked the colour. I remember one that was a green Tanglewood, with a 335-type shape. I think the story was he bought it in Scandinavia. There’s a piece of paper inside: ‘Bought this in Sweden,’ I think it said, and the weird thing is, he bought it because it ‘reminded him of seaweed’.”

“That also seems to be the case with things like his four-string Turkish lute,” Steve continues. “According to people who were close to him, he sometimes bought things if he simply liked the look of them. He didn’t necessarily play them all. And there were many guitars that clearly he hadn’t played. A lot of the Strats, he played, though – I could tell he played them [regularly]. He also had a nice Telecaster-style electric, a blue one made by Steve Acworth.”

Indeed, that particular guitar (pictured above) immediately stood out to us as well. Made by the late British luthier Steve Acworth, who died in 2017, the guitar closely resembles Leo’s finest with a few departures from tradition including a zero fret. Somehow the carefully hand-built nature of the guitar speaks to you straight out of the case, Steve agrees.

“Straight away it felt quality,” he says. “It had a good weight to it and it was a really comfortable guitar, really nicely balanced and the fingerboard was excellent. And from memory, it had the lowest action of all the guitars I picked up. It was like it was somebody else’s [other than Peter’s], if you know what I mean? 

“It has a very low action on it, very playable and it didn’t choke out anywhere; the nut was cut perfectly on it. Beautiful guitar, really, really nice colour. I loved it, absolutely loved it,” Steve enthuses and we can only agree. In fact, the Acworth T-style electric would be the guitar we’d be most tempted to take a punt on were we bidding in June.

Some of the most exciting lots in the auction, from a musical perspective, aren’t instruments at all, however. Steve says that among the guitars were numerous vinyl records as well as sketches and artworks plus, most interestingly of all, hand-written lyrics to seminal Fleetwood Mac songs. 

“There were boxes with albums in, you know, like K-Tel greatest hits and Fleetwood Mac albums and things,” Steve says. “There was a whole range of very strange stuff and classical stuff. Then in one of the boxes there were some very abstract-looking paintings and a crumpled up [sheet of] paper. Someone told me that those were the lyrics to Man of the World, which are now estimated to be worth around £80,000.”

But it’s the guitars, of course, that are most likely to capture the attention of readers of Guitarist. Eclectic, interesting, surprising yet at times quite humble, Peter Green’s collection is more than just a group of instruments, it’s also a window on the mind and musical life of an enigmatic artist. 

“Think about guys like Hank Marvin – you could give him a Strat copy from Argos for £100 and he’d still sound like Hank Marvin, you know what I mean?” Steve Clarke reflects. “And I think that’s the same with Peter Green: he must have known that if he could pick a guitar up and play it and everything else felt good for him, and if he liked the look of it, he was happy – never mind if it’s 50 quid or five grand.” 

• For more information on the auction, head over to Bonhams. To learn more about Steve Clarke’s wider work, see Famous Frets.

Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always the case that high-profile guitarists – with their seemingly endless pool of guitar gear resources – opt to play the most expensive electric guitars on the market. In fact, some of the most well-known pro players have played cheap guitars, from Prince and Brian May all the way to Eddie Van Halen and St. Vincent.

It’s testament to the fact that you really don’t need to fork out a fortune on an instrument when far more affordable, and reliably robust, alternatives are out there.

Another name that can now be added to that growing list of cheap gear champions is Scott Poley, a session ace who recently took one of the cheapest guitars money can buy on an extensive arena tour with his Fleetwood Mac tribute band, Rumours Of Fleetwood Mac.

Specifically, Poley took a second-hand Harley Benton ST-20 Stratocaster copy on the road, and used it for 113 arena shows across the UK, USA and Canada.

Now, the Harley Benton ST-20 will be familiar to many guitar fans, and though brand-new examples of the slash-price Strat can be bought for as little as $95, Poley purchased his for even less, forking over just $40 for the white-finished workhorse.

In a series of videos posted to his YouTube channel, Poley revealed he was determined to prove that, with just a few minor adjustments, the astonishingly cheap electric could be capable of surviving a grueling touring schedule, and perhaps even more importantly, sound good at the same time.

With the help of his tech Phill Orme of Doghouse Guitar Repairs, Poley souped up his Strat copy with just a handful of tweaks – all documented on YouTube – swapping out the factory output jack for an alternative that would work with the Neutrik silent jacks on his chosen guitar cables.

Other adjustments included blocking out the vibrato for better stability, and a minor nut adjustment that was required after the standard 10-46 electric guitar strings were replaced with a slightly heavier 10-52 set.

Under the hood, the control cavity received some TLC, with Orme eradicating the possibility of scratchy pots by treating the components to some DeoxIT Fader F5 – a widely used pot lubricant that.

As far as adjustments are concerned, Poley left the Harley Benton otherwise untouched, though admittedly compensated for his lack of spending in the guitar department by pairing the ST-20 with a high-end rig, comprising a Milkman tube amp, Little Walter 1x12 cab and Boss Blues Driver overdrive pedal.

Though the ST-20 performed admirably throughout the 100-plus date tour, that’s not to say Poley wouldn’t make further, even more significant upgrades to the Benton if he decided to turn it into his number-one instrument for bigger tours. Specifically, he’d change the “underpowered” pickups.

“What can I say about this guitar? It’s great,” Poley commented. “It’s consistent. It sounds good. Problems with it? The pickups are underpowered for this kind of stuff. If I was using it longer term, I would replace the pickups. I say that, the pickups are fine! 

“I mean, they’re not bad; they’re just a little underpowered for something like this. This is really serious touring. But they sound okay. They just sound a little bit quiet. 

“It’s a really special instrument, this, and I’m going to miss it a lot, because I’ve really fallen for it.”

Despite developing an affection for the instrument, Poley plans to give it away on April 1. For details on how to win perhaps the cheapest guitar to ever grace an arena tour, head over to Scott Poley’s YouTube channel.

More than 150 electric guitars and acoustic guitars once owned and played by the late Peter Green will go up for sale later this year in what will undoubtedly be one of the biggest guitar auctions of 2023.

Hosted by Bonhams, The Peter Green Collection auction will take place online between June 16-28, with a handful of items from the extensive catalog set to be exhibited at the annual Guitar Show in Birmingham, England, next week (February 25-26).

Items included in the auction have been offered up by Green’s Estate for the first time, with a representative saying, “We hope that Peter’s guitars and other items included in the auction will be of great interest to his fans and find good homes.”

The other items that are referenced will take the form of “several important handwritten lyrics and some of his psychedelic sketches”. A highlight from the non-guitar list of items is a rare set of lyrics for Fleetwood Mac’s Man of the World, written by Green, which has an estimated value of £40,000-£60,000.

At the time of writing, only a handful of guitars from The Peter Green Collection have been revealed, with the lot featuring a 1999 Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster in Sea Foam Green – estimated to be worth up to £6,000 – and a Gretsch White Falcon 6137 from 1968, said to carry a value of up to £8,000.

Other guitars confirmed to feature in The Peter Green Collection include a National Duolian Style-O resonator from 1931, a yellow-finished G&L Strat SC3 guitar from the ‘80s and a 20th Anniversary Squier Strat that was used in the Canvey Island Sessions.

The list is capped off by a Gibson Howard Roberts Fusion III from 1995 – dubbed Green’s “comeback guitar” – which was used at the Buxton Opera House and during Green’s Splinter Group era.

“Peter Green was one of the greatest guitarists,” said Bonhams’ Director of Poplar Culture Department, Katherine Schofield. “Even when out of the limelight, the tributes paid to his playing throughout his lifetime continued to highlight his reputation and the esteem his fellow artists held him in. 

“This sale is a celebration of his love for the guitar, with a number of different makes and models, for enthusiasts and career musicians. With estimates starting at the accessible price point of £150, this is a unique opportunity to own a piece of Peter Green’s legacy.”

A statement from Peter Green’s estate added, “Peter’s contribution to the Blues and Rock music genres as a brilliant musician, guitarist, songwriter and vocalist is well established worldwide. 

“Peter was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. His guitar playing was original and unique. BB King said Peter had the sweetest tone he'd ever heard: ‘He was the only one that gave me the cold sweats.’

“We hope that Peter’s guitars and other items included in the auction will be of great interest to his fans and find good homes.”

To find out more about The Peter Green Collection, head over to Bonhams.

A collection of Fleetwood Mac guitars and memorabilia fetched thousands when it went under the hammer at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills. The iconic wooden balls worn by Mick Fleetwood on the cover of their 1977 album Rumours were the top-selling item, bringing an astounding $128,000.

Another highlight was the sale of John McVie’s one-of-a-kind Alembic Series 1 custom fretless bass used to record The Chain. The iconic 4-string was used extensively by McVie both in studio and on-stage from 1976-1980, and sold for $100,000, well over its auction estimate of $40,000-$60,000. 

Additional highlights included a Kramer Ferrington electro-acoustic bass that was used in the music videos for Little Lies and Seven Wonders, which sold for $15,625; a 1976 Rumours Tour Alembic Series 1 brought $28,800; a 1970s Ernie Ball Earthwood acoustic bass fetched $25,600; a 1962 Fender Bass VI gifted by Peter Green sold for $22,400.

A poignant moment during the auction was the sale of the collection of Christine McVie, who passed away three days before the event took place. The dress worn by McVie on the back cover of the Rumours album sold for $56,250 — more than five times its estimate of $10,000.

A portion of the auction proceeds will benefit MusiCares, who honored Fleetwood Mac in 2018 as the organization’s Person of the Year, to support the charity’s work providing critical services to underserved members of the music community.

For more information on Julien’s Auctions, go to juliensauctions.com.
To connect with MusicCares visit musicares.org.

Kirk Hammett joined Judas Priest onstage during their set at the Louder Than Life music festival over the weekend (September 26) for a performance of The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown).

For the track – which was originally written by late Fleetwood Mac guitarist Peter Green, and later covered by Judas Priest for their 1979 album Hell Bent for Leather – the Metallica guitarist played his 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard, affectionately dubbed “Greeny” after its original owner, Peter Green. Check out fan-filmed footage of the performance below.

A photo posted to Instagram by Judas Priest guitar tech Robb Philpotts shows Hammett with bassist Ian Hill and guitarist Andy Sneap – who has been filling in for Glenn Tipton, who retired from the band due to his battle with Parkinson's disease in 2018.

“A pretty special moment tonight with Kirk Hammett from Metallica joining us for [The] Green Manalishi,” his caption reads.

“I even managed to tick off a bucket list moment by getting a picture with Greeny before soundcheck. A huge thanks to Kirk for being very cool and his tech Justin for being even cooler. A pleasure gents.”

Back in June, Hammett told Guitar World about how Judas Priest led him to The Green Manalishi, and Green-era Fleetwood Mac in general.

"I have to admit I was introduced to that song [Manalishi] by Judas Priest when they covered it on [1979’s] Unleashed in the East," Hammett said. "I looked at the label one day and saw the song credits: 'Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood,' and I went, 'Huh, what’s this about?' I asked someone and he said, 'Oh yeah, it’s old Fleetwood Mac.' 

"I said, 'What do you mean old Fleetwood Mac?' And he said, 'Yeah, Fleetwood Mac used to be a blues band.' He gave me a tape of Green Manalishi and some of their other songs, including Rattlesnake Shake and Black Magic Woman. I listened to it and really, I felt like it was more rocking than their stuff on the radio." 

In response to a question about how Priest's cover stacks up with the original, Hammett said "In retrospect, I obviously have a lot of respect for Judas Priest, and their cover version of Green Manalishi is really heavy. 

"But the original is dark as night and it comes from a deep, deep place in Peter Green’s soul. It resonates from within, and I can relate to it from the dark place in my own soul. I always liked darkness and I still do. I have that outlook, that perspective, that awareness."

Hammett – with Greeny in tow – played a major role in Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate The Music Of Peter Green And The Early Years Of Fleetwood Mac, an all-star Peter Green tribute concert that took place on February 25, 2020 at the London Palladium.

At that particular show, Hammett teamed up with ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons for a similarly red-hot version of, you guessed it, The Green Manalishi. 

After three singles and months of waiting, Lindsey Buckingham’s first solo album in 10 years was finally released last Friday (September 17), and the former Fleetwood Mac member celebrated the occasion with an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

Appearing on the show the day before the album dropped (September 16), Buckingham treated the audience to a solo-laden, harmony-heavy performance On The Wrong Side – the second single from the self-titled effort.

Wielding his trusty Rick Turner Model 1 LBU, Buckingham and his super-tight band breeze through the track’s soft rock exchanges, which are crammed with Fleetwood-esque, goosebump-inducing backing vocals and harmonies.

The highlight, however, is undoubtedly the melodic guitar solo. Initiating the 16-bar lead passage by stepping on a Boss DD-3 delay pedal and OD-1 overdrive pedal, the electric guitar icon effortlessly flexed his proficient powers of note selection, which he executed via his fierce fingerpicking skills.

On The Wrong side was the second of three pre-album releases, lining up alongside I Don’t Mind and Scream – all of which can be found on Lindsey Buckingham’s recently released self-titled studio album.

It’s Buckingham’s first solo effort since his 2011 offering, Seeds We Sow, with the 10-track record showcasing his “instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style”.

“I wanted to make a pop album, but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop," Buckingham explained. “As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing. 

"For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and idealism that hopefully was always there.”

As for On The Wrong Side, Buckingham revealed the track, which takes inspiration from Go Your Own Way, deals with the "peaks and valleys of life on the road with Fleetwood Mac".

In other Buckingham news, the rock icon recently clashed with former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Stevie Nicks, who called out the guitarist’s “factually inaccurate” recollection of his Fleetwood Mac departure, telling Rolling Stone, “To be exceedingly clear, I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired.”

• Lindsey Buckingham's self-titled album is available now.

Stevie Nicks has responded to Lindsey Buckingham’s recent claims that his acrimonious bust-up and eventual departure from Fleetwood Mac was the result of an ultimatum issued by Nicks, who supposedly forced the band to choose between the two musicians.

Speaking to LA Times earlier this week, Buckingham – who was promoting his upcoming debut self-titled album – took time to reflect upon his infamous spat with Fleetwood Mac, detailing the various factors that ultimately led him to part ways with the group in 2018.

“It would be like a scenario where Mick Jagger says, ‘Either Keith [Richards] goes or I go,’' said Buckingham, referring to the “him or me” situation Nicks allegedly imposed on the group.

“No, neither one of you can go,” he added. “But I guess the singer has to stay. The figurehead has to stay.”

Buckingham further stressed that the split “wasn’t caused by me”, going on to say, “You could do a whole analysis on Stevie [Nicks] at this point in her life and what she’s allowed to happen and what she’s allowed to slip away from her.

“Her creativity, at least for a while it seemed like she wasn’t in touch with that,” he continued. “Same with the level of energy she once had onstage.

“I think that was hard for her, seeing me jump around in an age-appropriate way. Also, she’s lonely. She’s alone. She has the people who work for her, and I’m sure she has friends, but you know.”

In a later interview with Rolling Stone, Buckingham likened the situation to "Trump and the Republicans", and said he thought his Fleetwood Mac bandmates "felt that they were not empowered enough" to oppose Nicks.

Nicks has since responded to the claims via a statement issued to Rolling Stone, which labelled Buckingham’s “revisionist” recollection of events as “factually inaccurate”.

“It’s unfortunate that Lindsey has chosen to tell a revisionist history of what transpired in 2018 with Fleetwood Mac,” Nicks began. “His version of events is factually inaccurate, and while I’ve never spoken publicly on the matter, preferring not to air dirty laundry, certainly it feels the time had come to shine a light on the truth.

“Following an exceedingly difficult time with Lindsey at MusiCares in New York, in 2018, I decided for myself that I was no longer willing to work with him. 

“I could publicly reflect on the many reasons why, and perhaps I will do that someday in a memoir, but suffice it to say we could start in 1968 and work up to 2018 with a litany of very precise reasons why I will not work with him.

“To be exceedingly clear,” she concluded, “I did not have him fired, I did not ask for him to be fired, I did not demand he be fired. Frankly, I fired myself.

“I proactively removed myself from the band and a situation I considered to be toxic to my well-being. I was done. If the band went on without me, so be it.”

Buckingham recently released Scream, the third single from his upcoming self-titled debut album, which is available for preorder now ahead of its September 17 release.

The release of Lindsey Buckingham’s upcoming self-titled album – his first solo effort in a decade – is just over a fortnight away, and as such the former Fleetwood Mac guitarist has further fueled the proverbial hype train by releasing the album’s opening track, Scream.

Sitting comfortably within the sonic universe that has been constructed so far by his previous singles – I Don’t Mind and On The Wrong Side – Scream begins at a canter, before driving, unprocessed acoustic guitar drones, chime-y percussive stabs and delay-tinged vocal hooks up the ante.

Things unfurl into a gallop, with the track – described by Buckingham as a “celebration of an aspect of life” – layering on lead licks, pounding kick drums and an ever-present six-string passage that charges Scream towards the finish line.

“Everything on the record is me, for better or worse,” offered Buckingham. “Many of the songs on this album are about the work and discipline it takes in maintaining a long-term relationship. 

“Some of them are more about the discipline,” he continued, “and some of them are more about the perks. Scream is about the perks. 

“It felt very celebratory and it was also very, very simple and short. To the point. It didn’t evolve into some huge thing. It made its case and got the hell out. 

“It just seemed like a good place to start the album, somehow. It’s very upbeat and very optimistic and very positive. It’s a celebration of an aspect of life."

Of the album itself, which promises to showcase Buckingham's "instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style", the former Fleetwood Mac icon mused, “I wanted to make a pop album, but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop.

“As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing. For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and idealism that hopefully was always there.”

The 10-track record will be released on September 17, and is available to preorder now in a number of physical and digital formats. 

As well as preparing for the release of his solo album, Buckingham has also recently weighed in on his Fleetwood Mac legacy, telling the WTF With Marcon Maron podcast that “pretty much everyone would love to see me come back to Fleetwood Mac”.

In the five since since Prince left this Earth – no doubt transitioning flawlessly to his new role as the headline act at a neon-lit speakeasy in Guitarist Heaven – his legacy has only grown more iconic, more revolutionary, and more essential. In the cover story for Australian Guitar #144, we get down to the wire with some of the guitarists that knew Prince well and worked closely with him, exploring the magic behind the guitar's most eccentric mind.

As you're flipping through the issue in search of that story, you may notice a few pages with a blue tint and a dazzling, floral-inspired illustration. That would be our epic eight-page special celebrating the 2021 edition of the Byron Bay Bluesfest; ahead of the legendary event's hotly awaited return this October, we caught up with just a few of the names we can't wait to see play at it: Tex Perkins, The Living End, All Our Exes Live In Texas, Hiatus Kaiyote, Ross Wilson, Jeff Lang and Hussy Hicks.

As for the rest of the interviews in #144, you'll find some enrapturing chats with the likes of Wolfgang Van Halen, the Hoodoo Gurus, Shihad, Kathleen Hanna, The Screaming Jets, Myles Kennedy, Nancy Wilson, The Superjesus, Rise Against, Children Collide, Juliana Hatfield, Anna Leone, The Jungle Giants and Tropical Fuck Storm... Y'know, just to name a few!

Once you've delved into the worlds of the guitarists making the biggest waves in today's music world, why not pick up your own axe and start riffing away? In this issue, we'll teach you how to play classic tracks by Johnny Cash, Fleetwood Mac and Pearl Jam. And by virtue of our hands-on section, you'll learn how to master harmonised chord scales, chromatic movement, extended major and minor chords, and a few key stretches. And if you're down to get your hands dirty, you can learn how to wrangle some physical tone mods in this issue's DIY feature.

On the editorial side, we uncover the tonal secrets behind tracks by Nirvana, Prince, the Sex Pistols and Slash, plus tap into a whole new world of next-gen players making the most of an unlikely platform perfect for budding musos: TikTok. Yes, really! We also ask the question, how much difference does your taste in guitar strings really make? And we explore how you can take action if and/or when the pressures of being a musician impacts your mental health. 

One thing we don't recommend is blowing all your savings on retail therapy – but, if you're already in the market for a new guitar, why not take a look at our rundown of the best online guitar companies? After you check out our feature on the jaw-dropping guitar collection of Keith Richards, we're sure you'll find an excuse to get around a new piece of kit. "But what am I going to play it through?" Don't worry, we've got that part covered too – head to page 74, we've squeezed in a giant shootout of the best combo amps on the market right now.

For all your other gear-frothing needs, we've packed Australian Guitar #144 with a whopping 21 gear reviews, including some choice equipment for home recording enthusiasts. Speaking of which, this issue's Technique mini-mag features articles on the tonal tricks you can employ to master the art of reverb, and some essential tips for anyone wanting to become a master of... Well... Mastering! We've also got an interview with the legendary Mick Jones, whose production on Eddie Van Halen's 5150 album hasn't aged a day.

All of this, of course, is in addition to our regular Hot Gear, Final Note, Fresh Frets and Spotlight columns, plus CD reviews, news and more.

Australian Guitar #144 is available from today at newsagents all around the country, and online via TechMags or iSubscribe.

Subscribe to the print edition of Australian Guitar, and you'll enjoy each new issue on the day it's published, delivered straight to your door.

Lindsey Buckingham has said that “pretty much everyone” would love to see him return to Fleetwood Mac, insisting that his firing “harmed the band's legacy”.

In a new conversation on the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Buckingham discusses the feasibility of balancing his early solo career – which he was ultimately fired over in 2018 – with his Fleetwood Mac duties, and what he thinks of his dismissal.

Speaking about his decision to release solo material in the first place, Buckingham says it was because Fleetwood Mac had “gotten very drawn into the whole Tusk idea”.

“They were a little bit wary of doing it in the beginning but they got completely drawn into it by the time it got done,” he says. “They loved it. But when it did not sell close to 16 million copies – I think it probably sold 4, 5, and it was a double album.

“So, Mick came to me one day and he said ‘Well, we're not going to do that again,’ meaning, ‘You can't go to your house and work on tracks by yourself and bring them in and have us play over them’ – which is what I did.

“He's not blaming me, he's just saying you know, ‘That was your art album, we want to do something a little broader now.’ And I said okay, but I realized at that point that I wasn't going to be able to continue to sort of aspire to be the artist [I wanted to be] unless I started making solo albums.

“The tone actually began with the solo album that is about to be released, the brand-new one, which has been waiting to come out for three years now – more actually.”

Buckingham is, of course, referring to his forthcoming self-titled solo album which is scheduled to drop September 17 via Reprise.

He continues: “And when Christine [McVie] and I were done touring as a duet – which we did after we made that album a few years ago – what I asked of the band, because they were planning an FM tour pretty much right after that, was, ‘We did this great project with Christine, I have this other album that I'm really proud of, it's a pop album, and I'd love if you could give me an extra three months to just put it out and do some American dates before FM goes out.’ And there was certainly one person who did not want to bestow that on me.”

Following his comments, host Marc Maron asks Buckingham if singer Stevie Nicks was who he is referring to, to which he replies: “Yes, I mean to be fair, everyone was anxious to get on the road. But you know, we've all made time for each other's things. You know, I had been in the band for 43 years for god's sake. Jesus.”

He continues: “Anyway, that sort of led to other things that kind of built up around that. And then it just got to the point where someone just didn't want to work with me anymore, and other people were perhaps not feeling empowered enough to stand up for me when possibly they should have or could have.”

Regarding his thoughts that his firing “harmed the band's legacy”, Buckingham explains, “We spent 43 years building this legacy which was about rising above things. It stood for more than the music. And by allowing this to happen through some levels of weakness – my own weakness included – I think we did some harm to that legacy and that's a shame.”

The guitarist also mentions that he's still in contact with his “soul mate” Mick Fleetwood, stating: “We love each other and we reinforced each other's sensibilities in the band,” adding, “it's my sense that pretty much everyone would love to see me come back.”

He does, however, admit that he's unsure as to whether him rejoining the band is actually “doable”.

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell and Crowded House's Neil Finn have assumed guitar duties since Buckingham's departure in 2018, although Mick Fleetwood has recently indicated he would be open to a reunion with his former bandmate.

Country singer-songwriter Caroline Jones has debuted a blistering reimagining of the classic Fleetwood Mac track Big Love, which will appear on her highly anticipated sophomore studio album.

The track itself, premiered today on Guitar World, sees Jones trade her trademark Tele twangs for fingerstyle acoustic guitar snaps as she takes on the lightning-fast lead licks found in Lindsey Buckingham’s live solo arrangement.

Joined in the studio by electric guitar player Derek Wells, drummer Nir Z, fiddle player Jason Roller and bass guitar maestro Tony Lucido, Jones wields her Godin Multiac Nylon String Natural HG to maximum effect, making light work of the rapid-fire right-hand fingerpicking patterns.

In reference to the progressive rock elements that Jones and Nir Z aimed to assimilate into the arrangement, the cover also reels off a slew of high-gain lead lines and blink-and-you’ll-miss them hi-hat rolls, all while Jones makes her way unfazed through the track’s formidable guitar part.

You can check out the song's accompanying music video – which features Jenee Fleenor on fiddle and Mark Hill on bass – below.

Of the track, Jones revealed, “This arrangement for Big Love is based on Lindsey Buckingham’s solo acoustic performances from his live albums. My good friend and collaborator, Nir Z, showed Lindsey’s solo version to me on tour a few years ago and basically dared me to try to the learn the guitar part! 

“It is incredibly fast, technical and rhythmically complex,” she continued. “It took me months and months to learn it, bit by bit. I still don’t feel like I quite have it under my fingers all the time! And no one will ever play it like Lindsey. 

“Over the summer months of 2019, Nir and I worked up a live arrangement of the song that incorporates progressive rock elements. The live reaction was explosive. Folks really seem to love the intensity of it, so we decided to record our version for my upcoming sophomore album.

“I’m very very proud of this production and arrangement. It is very different for me – intense, gritty, dark and wild.”

Big Love will feature alongside the already released single Come In (But Don’t Make Yourself Comfortable) on the tracklist of her upcoming album – her second full-length studio effort – which is set to be released later this fall.

Elsewhere, Jones recently teamed up with Guitar World for an edition of Sick Riffs, in which she teaches the slide-tastic main lick of her track Tough Guys (Remix), taken from her 2019 EP, Chasin’ Me.

Lindsey Buckingham has released On The Wrong Side, the second single from his upcoming self-titled album.

The highly anticipated 10-track studio effort will be the former Fleetwood Mac icon’s first solo outing in a decade when it is released on September 17 via Reprise.

Said to be written in the same vein as Fleetwood Mac’s smash hit Go Your Own Way due to the contrast between its ebullient arrangement and its conflicting subject-matter, On The Wrong Side is described by Buckingham as a sonic reflection on “the peaks and valleys of life on the road with Fleetwood Mac”.

The track, which joins up with the previously released I Don’t Mind, can be heard below.

Sporting a significantly more up-tempo personality, the album’s latest track ticks along at a canter, with a gorgeous Fleetwood-style chorus hook, propped up by an impenetrable wall of backing vocals, taking center stage throughout.

Buckingham has also dusted off his electric guitar for the special occasion to let loose on a sublime solo, characterized by his oh-so melodic approach to phrasing and sweet high-gain tone. A wailing run, punctuated by rapid-fire pentatonic licks, rounds the track off in style.

Alongside On The Wrong Side and I Don’t Mind, Buckingham’s album is set to feature a cover of ‘60s folk group Pozo-Seco Singers track Time, as well as seven other songs that demonstrate his “instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style”.

“I wanted to make a pop album,” reflected Buckingham, “but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop.

“As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing,” he continued. “For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and idealism that hopefully was always there.”

Lindsey Buckingham’s self-titled album will be released on September 17 via Reprise Records, and is available to preorder now on vinyl, CD and digital formats. 

Mike Campbell is selling a trove of vintage gear on Reverb, including a number of electric guitars and amps he has used through the years with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Don Henley and Fleetwood Mac.

Campbell's melodic sensibility and guitar tone have helped to shape the sound of American rock, and there are some super-collectible pieces in his collection. Why is he selling them? Well, like the best of us, Campbell is a long-term sufferer of Gear Acquisition Syndrome, and they're running out of storage at the Heartbreaker Clubhouse.

“I just woke up the other day and realized that I have been collecting guitars and amps my whole life and I just don't have room for a lot of them anymore,“ said Campbell. “I have decided to sell some of the nicer pieces.“

There are some very desirable amps going on sale, including the very first amp Campbell got – a Heathkit TA-16. There is also a vintage National amp, a Gibson Lab Series L5 combo which was a big favorite of B.B. King and was recommended to Campbell by the Cars, plus a variety of Fender combos.

As for guitars, perhaps the most noteworthy items are a Gibson Les Paul Custom Lite that has an onboard compressor – a far-out choice that he used while rehearsing with Fleetwood Mac – and a B-Bender-equipped 1970s Gibson Les Paul Standard.

“I used this with The Heartbreakers for a string of dates we did at the Vic in Chicago," Campbell says. "I like this because it has a string bender on it, which is rare on a Gibson. But this is a great-sounding guitar, and a real workhorse. I hate to part with a lot of these [guitars], but something's got to go.“

Other guitars include a 1980s Gibson Les Paul Black Beauty '55 Reissue, bought as a road dog to spare his '56 original, a 1950s Kay Barney Kessel Artist and an Italia Monza with a built-in amplifier.

“[The Monza] is a nice guitar to have if you don't have an amp handy,“ said Campbell. “I remember when I was in the studio with Dylan one day, I had this down there and he went crazy and he had his manager go find one. They're kind of hard to find, but they play really well.“

As for effects, there is a Boss GT6 multi-effects unit on sale, but don't spend all your money on that until you've considered the MKII Watkins Copicat tape echo, which would look nice in your home studio, right?

The Official Mike Campbell Reverb Store is online from Wednesday, July 21. For more details and to sign up for an alert once it's live, head over to Reverb.

Lindsey Buckingham has announced his upcoming self-titled full-length album – the former Fleetwood Mac guitar player’s first solo offering in a decade.

The 10-track offering, which will be released on September 17 on Reprise Records, will follow up the electric guitar icon's 2011 LP Seeds We Sow, and was written, recorded and produced by Buckingham himself at his home studio in LA.

To celebrate the news, Buckingham also dropped the record’s lead single, I Don’t Mind, which boasts double-tracked, uber-clean six-string passages, instantly catchy guitar motifs and ethereal vocal pads.

As the track’s production swells, so do Buckingham’s guitar constructions, which develop from stripped-back arpeggio-esque lines into pumping pop licks. Check out the single in the video below.

Of the album’s lead single, Buckingham explained, “I Don’t Mind, like many of the songs on my new album, is about the challenges couples face in long-term relationships.

“Over time, two people inevitably find the need to augment their initial dynamic with one of flexibility, an acceptance of each others’ flaws and a willingness to continually work on issues,” he continued. “It is the essence of a good long-term relationship. This song celebrates that discipline.”

Speaking of the album itself, the guitar legend added, “I wanted to make a pop album, but I also wanted to make stops along the way with songs that resemble art more than pop.

“As you age, hopefully you keep getting a little more grounded in the craft of what you’re doing. For me, getting older has probably helped to reinforce the innocence and idealism that hopefully was always there.”

The tracklisting for the album is as follows:

1. Scream
2. I Don't Mind
3. On The Wrong Side
4. Swan Song
5. Blind Love
6. Time
7. Blue Light
8. Power Down
9. Santa Rosa
10. Dancing

Said to showcase Buckingham's "instinct for melody and his singular fingerpicking guitar style", the tracklist will feature nine originals, as well as a cover of '60s folk group Pozo-Seco Singers' hit single Time.

Lindsey Buckingham’s self-titled album will be released on September 17 via Reprise Records, and is available to preorder now on vinyl, CD and digital formats. 

A limited-edition blue vinyl version of the album will also be available, and can be preordered from Lindsey Buckingham's official website.

Rufus Publications has unveiled a never-before-heard version of Fleetwood Mac’s Need Your Love So Bad, performed by the late electric guitar great Peter Green and David Gilmour.

Featuring Green’s original vocals, which were recorded in 1968 on a domestic tape recorder in his mother’s attic, the track was later fleshed out by the Pink Floyd legend, who added some new dynamic-spanning lead guitar parts and exquisite acoustic guitar strums.

The six-and-a-half minute anthem ditches the orchestral strings for a more pronounced Hammond-style organ, and also serves up some tasty slide guitar work, decorative double-stop flourishes and atmospheric, single-string soundscapes. 

Recorded in collaboration with producer Laurie Latham, the pair were able to show Green their fresh take on the track, and received his seal of approval before he peacefully passed away in his sleep on July 25 2020.

“This version of Need Your Love So Bad started life as a home recorded vocal by Peter Green in 1968 using a domestic tape recorder,” a statement from Rufus Publications says.

“Producer Laurie Latham took the vocal track and with the full input of legendary Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour created a new musical landscape for this classic blues track.”

Green and Gilmour’s version of Need Your Love So Bad is the first of two previously unreleased versions of Fleetwood Mac songs to be unveiled in conjunction with the newly announced The Albatross Man – a book about Peter Green’s life, which features rare photos and memorabilia. 

The second track – which is yet to be released – is a version of the band’s 1971 hit Man Of The World, recorded by Kirk Hammett and Mick Fleetwood.

The Albatross Man is available to preorder now ahead of an October 29 release – for more information, visit Rufus Publications.

Peter Green was known to be an exceptionally private man, but the legendary blues-rock electric guitar player and Fleetwood Mac founder, who passed away in July 2020 at the age of 73, spent the last four years of his life working on a detailed book about his life.

Now that book, a massive, illustrated effort titled The Albatross Man, is being released via Rufus Publications.

The 450-page coffee table book boasts personal pictures, Fleetwood Mac notes and essays and an array of photos, many previously unpublished. There are also written contributions from Kirk Hammett, Bernie Marsden, producer Mike Vernon and many others.

Even more intriguing is the fact that there is a music element to the project, including a newly discovered Green vocal take of Need Your Love So Bad, recorded in the mid ‘60s in his mother’s attic on a tape recorder. That take formed the basis of a new version of the song, with David Gilmour on guitars and production by Laurie Latham.

Additionally, a new recording of Man of the World, with Kirk Hammett playing Greeny, is included. Man of the World also features Mick Fleetwood on drums and Bob Rock handling bass and production.

Hammett talked about his contribution in a recent interview, saying "It gets a little uppity in the end, and what I did was I just modernized the whole song, modernized it with modern tones, kind of like a more modern arrangement. I've made the uppity part heavy and dynamic.”

According to Rufus, The Albatross Man began when the company’s Mark Smith started traveling to Canvey Island on a regular basis to talk to Green about his life, look through his personal archive and discuss his love for fishing, drawing and listening to a wide range of music. During this time, a book of rare images, memorabilia, lyrics and notes from Green’s Fleetwood Mac days was assembled, with the guitarist having complete control over the direction and details.

The Albatross Man will ship in October, on what would have been Green’s 75th birthday, in three editions.

The Ultra Limited Personally Signed Peter Green version (£2,000; approx. $2,775) is offered in a run of 50 numbered copies, in a leather-bound case and clamshell box, with two single-sided 7-inch vinyl singles (also on CD) and hand-drawn Green art. Each book is personally signed by Green, and also includes a Peter Green T-shirt. 

There’s also a Deluxe Man of the World edition, limited to 500 numbered copies and signed by Kirk Hammett, for £295 (approx. $410), and a Standard Edition for £95 (approx. $130).

The Albatross Man is available for preorder beginning April 28. For more information. head to Rufus Publications.

Mick Fleetwood & Friends have released footage of the David Gilmour-featuring Albatross from the iconic 2020 live concert celebrating the music, life and legacy of late electric guitar legend Peter Green.

With former Fleetwood Mac member Rick Vito and house band guitarist Andy Fairweather Low providing supporting chords, the Pink Floyd legend is given free reign to let loose with some seriously sweet lines on a lap-steel for three-and-a-half minutes. You can listen to the whole performance in the video above.

The three guitarists were joined on the stage by bass guitar player Dave Bronze, Zak Starkey on percussion and, of course, Mick Fleetwood on the drums. 

Albatross is our latest taste of the celebratory concert, which will be streamed online for the first time on April 24 in HD and 4K with Dolby Atmos sound. After the online event airs, physical formats of the gig will go up for sale on April 30.

On the night, Mick Fleetwood was joined by an array of guitar heroes, including Kirk Hammett, Noel Gallagher, John Mayall and Pete Townshend, who all assembled at the legendary Palladium in London to celebrate Peter Green’s music.

“Peter Green taught me two unassailable lessons when it came to music: less is more and don’t worry about being clever,” said Mick Fleetwood. “He played from his heart, which is why so many people, musicians and appreciators alike gathered in London to pay tribute to him, all of us together earring witness to the magic of Peter’s music."

Head over to the Mick Fleetwood & Friends website to find out more about the star-studded concert.

Lindsey Buckingham has teamed up with Fender to release a rendition of the iconic Fleetwood Mac track Never Going Back Again, which is performed using the guitar maker's all-new American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster.

The performance appeared in the pilot episode of Fender’s Re-Creation series, which will see guitarists, artists, producers and music-makers use the new technology of the Acoustasonic Jazzmaster to reimagine classic tracks.

With a capo strapped to the second fret and a room-rumbling delay sound engaged, Buckingham locks into one of the Acoustasonic’s clean voices, showcasing his expertly crafted fingerpicking melodies as he runs through the track at a laid-back tempo.

A guitar-only section in the song puts the spotlight on the new model, giving guitarists a sonic glimpse of the Jazzmaster’s warm natural tones, which play host to Buckingham's intricate improvisational lines.

Of Fender’s newest offering, Buckingham, said, “Even though I’ve only been with this new Jazzmaster for a short time, I can see that it would have a lot of uses in the studio. I’m excited to give it more time to get to know it  a little better.

“Acoustic guitar has always been my soulmate and alter ego; it got me to a place where I guess I had my own style,” he continued. “Anytime I can take that orchestral approach, I have. The American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster allows you to do just that.”

Head over to Fender to find out more about the American Acoustasonic Jazzmaster.

More than a year after Mick Fleetwood assembled a star-studded lineup of special guests to celebrate the music of late electric guitar great Peter Green and the early years of Fleetwood Mac, the one-off concert is set to be streamed online via video on demand. 

The historic show, which took place on February 20 last year at the London Palladium, was originally slated to appear in cinemas around the globe, but will instead be streamed on April 24 via nugs.net in HD and 4K with Dolby Atmos sound. 

It will then be available for five days on demand, before being released in physical formats on April 30.

Boasting an all-star, the concert saw a whole host of guitar heavyweights in action alongside Fleetwood, including Kirk Hammett, David Gilmour, Noel Gallagher, Billy Gibbons, John Mayall and Pete Townshend.

Other performers on the night included Neil Finn, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey, Steven Tyler and Bill Wyman, all of whom performed alongside a house band composed of Dave Bronze, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, Ricky Peterson, Rick Vito and Mick Fleetwood himself.

Of Green’s legacy and upcoming concert, Fleetwood said, “Peter Green taught me two unassailable lessons when it came to music: less is more and don’t worry about being clever. He played from his heart, which is why so many people, musicians and appreciators alike gathered in London to pay tribute to him, all of us together earring witness to the magic of Peter’s music.

“He revealed himself in his art, which sometimes happens at great cost, as it was with Peter,” he continued. “He showed so much of himself that he had to withdraw. And he did. May he rest easy. He was loved and he will be missed.”

Tickets for the livestream will go on sale on March 17 at 10am ET.

For more info and to see the concert's feature-packed setlist, head over to Mick Fleetwood & Friends.

Three years on from Lindsey Buckingham’s public split from Fleetwood Mac, and only 12 months on from Mick Fleetwood’s comments that the two would never reunite, the bandmates have now seemingly reconciled, with Fleetwood voicing his desire to get the band back together for a farewell tour.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Fleetwood revealed he has built bridges with Buckingham, saying that the two have been speaking more following the death of founding member and electric guitar legend Peter Green.

Said Fleetwood, “I’ve really enjoyed being reconnected with Lindsey, which has been gracious and open. Both of us have been beautifully honest about who we are and how we got to where we are.”

He continued, “I look at Fleetwood as a huge family. Lindsey’s position in Fleetwood Mac will, for obvious reasons, never be forgotten, as it should never be forgotten.”

When quizzed about the future of the group, the Fleetwood Mac drummer refused to rule out the possibility of a reunion in the near future, and voiced his desire for an eventual farewell tour.

“My vision of things in the future is really far-reaching. Would I love to think that [a reunion] could happen? Yeah. I’d love to think that all of us could be healed, and also respect the people who are in the band, Neil Finn and Michael Campbell,” explains Mick.

He went on to explain, “I think the vision for me, and I think it would be hugely appropriate, is that we actually say, “this is goodbye”, and go out and actually do that. That has always been my vision and I am flatly confident that we can do that. We owe it to the fans.”

When addressing the possibility of Buckingham rejoining the band, Fleetwood pointed out the potential problems that the strained relationship between Lindsey and Stevie Nicks would cause.

“I can’t speak for the dynamic between Stevie and him,” offers Fleetwood. “I don’t even need to protect it. It’s so known that they are chalk and cheese in so many ways, and yet not.”

Despite this sticking point, Fleetwood is appreciative of his and Buckingham’s newly reconciled friendship, and plans to make the most of it when normality is restored.

“I know for a fact that I intend to make music and play again with Lindsey,” admitted Fleetwood. “I would love that.”

Mick Fleetwood’s all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green took place at London’s Palladium on February 25, 2020, just months before Green’s passing at age 73 that July.

Now, to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the tribute show to the famed electric guitar player, a new video has been released from that evening’s performance, featuring ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler leading the charge through the Fleetwood Mac classic Rattlesnake Shake.

Backing Mssrs. Tyler and Gibbons on the performance are Mick Fleetwood, Dave Bronze, Jonny Lang, Andy Fairweather Low, Ricky Peterson, Zak Starkey and Rick Vito.

The one-off celebration, which also featured David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Noel Gallagher, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, Neil Finn, Andy Fairweather Low, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey and more, is being released online via video-on-demand, as well as in a variety of physical formats, including 4LP gatefold vinyl, on April 30.

Late last year, another performance from the evening – The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown), with Gibbons paired up with Kirk Hammett and his Greeny Les Paul – was unveiled as well.

To preorder Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, head here.

Mike Campbell recently sat down with Guitar Center to discuss what he describes as the “mystery of songwriting.”

In the process, the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers legend – who currently plays with Fleetwood Mac as well  as his own band, the Dirty Knobs – talked about how instruments often spark the idea for a song, and also pulled out three of the most cherished electric guitar models in his collection, which he dubs his “desert island guitars.”

First up is his Number One, a ‘50s Fender Broadcaster. “It’s priceless,” he says. “I will never sell it. I got it for $600 at Nadine’s Music Store in Hollywood, California when [Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers] were doing our first record. I only had a Stratocaster at the time and Tom was using that. So I needed something good.

"I found this on the wall and it’s natural wood. It’s just beautiful, it plays wonderful. And we used it all throughout the Heartbreakers records. In fact, on Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Tom played this.”

Next up is a ‘59 Les Paul burst. “This is a particularly good one," he says. "It’s in great condition. I don’t take it out of the house. And it’s a totally different sound than the Broadcaster.

"This guitar represents a lot of records I grew up – Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, a lot of those great players from the ‘60s who inspired me used this same model guitar."

He continues, "I got this when we were starting an album called Mojo with the Heartbreakers. I started playing it and Tom lost his mind. He said, ‘That’s a great-sounding guitar. I want you to play it on every song. We’re going to make this album around the sound of that guitar.’ And we did.”

Finally, Campbell pulls out a white Gibson Firebird that “supposedly” has Johnny Winter’s signature on the body. “This guitar I bought in Philadelphia. I was on tour with Fleetwood Mac on a day off and my wife and I went walking and we passed a pawnshop," he says. 

"And I have Firebirds but I don’t have a white one. I put it in the show that night and it was my main guitar the rest of the tour. It just sounded perfect. And it’s also become my main guitar in the Dirty Knobs.”

As for the impetus behind collecting guitars?

“There’s the joke about how many guitars does a guitar player really need,” Campbell says. “Only one…more.”

Like all of us, Marty Friedman is looking forward to a better year in 2021. And he’s doing his best to kick it off in style, with a New Year’s Day livestream featuring a “multi-dimensional visual atmosphere” designed by Japanese motion graphics creator Nobuyuki Hanabusa.

“Playing live is what I want to doing in real life, but it can't be done in real life right now,” the electric guitar whiz explains, calling Guitar World from his Tokyo home. “So I figured, at least we can make the best out of this situation and use some new technology to do something really cool.”

Indeed, the livestream, which will present Friedman and his band performing songs from his forthcoming album, Tokyo Jukebox 3, onstage for the first time, looks to be something “really cool” (for just how cool, read on). But beyond that, Friedman has been busy this past year otherwise.

In addition to the aforementioned Tokyo Jukebox 3, he also recently teamed up, to the surprise and delight of fans, with current Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro on a shredding new song, Imminent Threat, jammed virtually with members of Mastodon and Baroness on an awesome cover of Fleetwood Mac’s You Making Loving Fun and declared, to much interest from GW’s readers, that he was done with effects like reverb and delay.

Friedman spoke with Guitar World about his busy 2020, as well as what’s on tap for the upcoming year. Beyond the livestream, he said he hopes to be able to get out on the road and play the Tokyo Jukebox 3 material live in person. But, he added, “much more important than my silly record is that I hope for a lot of health and happiness and safety for people.”

He continued, “Music is obviously such an important thing for me and for people who read Guitar World. But for most people, music is kind of a nice diversion and then they have to get on with their lives. And those are the people that make life good for the rest of us. So, you know, we get crazy because we can't do a tour or anything like that, but there are people who are having real serious problems out there, and hopefully 2021 will be a better year for them. Hopefully, it will be for all of us.”

What can you tell us about the New Year’s Day livestream concert?

“It's a very new interpretation of what people might have seen me do in the past. Basically when I've played live it's been in a very traditional format – normal staging, normal venues, a pretty stripped-down rock band approach. But having the opportunity to do a streaming concert has given us a chance to work with people who are taking the medium to the new levels.

“Since live concerts aren't happening there's just been an amazingly huge leap in not only the technology around a performance, but the imagination in terms of how to present a musical concert. It’s been happening in Japan, and probably in America, too.

“To get into more details about my particular concert, we'll be doing a normal show for us, but as far as the venue and the technology involved, we'll be in a completely LED environment. It’ll be 360 degrees, meaning the ceilings and the floors and all sides, we're completely surrounded by LEDs.

“The designer who’s doing this is a really avant-garde guy who has done so many of the bigger concerts here in Japan. He’s created content for different worlds for us to be performing in, and each song is interpreted with a different motif. It's really something I've never seen before. When I saw a video explanation of what was going to happen in a run-through my jaw just hit the floor.”

And this will be the first time we get to hear you playing a lot of the material from the new Tokyo Jukebox 3.

“Absolutely, yeah. A lot of this stuff is not released anywhere but Japan and it hasn't been played live anywhere. I've done a couple of songs on TV here in Japan, which you can probably find on the internet. And there's a video for a song called The Perfect World. But the songs for the most are going to be completely new to people.”

What can you tell us about the new record?

“It's the third in a series of albums of Japanese songs that I've covered and destroyed. [laughs] It's been nine years since the last Tokyo Jukebox, and in those nine years I've released a lot of other albums and I've toured everywhere. 

“But the reason I wanted to do this third one now is because I've played so many of these Japanese songs around the world, and a lot of people have discovered Japanese music through my playing the songs and touring with them.

“It's just an amazing feeling to go to a foreign country, or even America, and play these songs as if they were mine and then have the fans discover that they’re really covers, and through that they discover Japanese music and hopefully get the same kind of fever that I got for it when I first decided to move here. It's wonderful to watch that cycle happen and to be kind of a conduit for folks discovering something really, really fresh.”

A few months back you talked about ditching effects like reverb and delay on the new record. What was that about?

“I don't want to say there’s none on the new record, but I noticed when I was tracking that, usually when guitar players track stuff, there's some kind of wetness on melodies and solos. I'm exactly the same. And then I noticed that when the engineer took off the wetness there was this kind of 'slap' to my tone. Like a spank that kind of took away some of the softness and led to a more in-your-face-ness. Does that make sense?”

It does.

“So we took a lot of delay off when we were monitoring things back and I said, 'Let's leave it like that.' Then when the final mix started to happen I wound up taking more and more of that stuff off and you could hear more of the nuances in my playing.”

So you actually recorded with effects, and then removed them after the fact.

“Yeah. You monitor with effects a lot. And often when I'm playing live and I have in-ear monitors, I have the monitor person make it super-wet because it's just comfortable to play with wetness. But since this record got mixed, I kind of like the dryness.

“So I’ve started rehearsing with my band with a little bit drier of a tone. And it's not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. It was really quite an easy transition. And it helps a little bit with accuracy, which has never been my top priority. I'm not going to go down in history for being Mr. Accurate. [laughs] So anything that can help me play a little bit more accurate is okay.”

Beyond your own record, you recently guested on a track, Imminent Threat, from Kiko Loureiro’s new solo album.

“Oh, Kiko and I are bros! He's a good, good friend of mine. Whenever he comes to Japan we hang out. I don't think we've ever sat in a room together playing guitars, but I would certainly love to. He’s a super, super, super guitar player, and a super guy. So when he asked me to play on his thing I jumped to it. I had no idea what he was going to come up with, but the song was really cool. So I did my thing with it and a good time was had by all.”

As would be expected, the idea of the two of you playing together excited the Megadeth fanbase.

“Oh, yeah.”

When you’ve spent time with Kiko do you guys ever trade Megadeth war stories?

“I don't remember talking too much Megadeth with him. But he's a real intelligent fellow. So I have to keep up with him! I remember one thing he said that was really interesting – we were talking about Allan Holdsworth for some reason, and he said something about how when you hear any guitarist or any artist, you're kind of hearing their life in their music. And he used Allan as an example, and he used me as an example.

“I'd never really heard it put in those words before. Normally that kind of New Age-y talk makes me want to vomit. But it actually made sense the way he was saying it. I just thought it was a brilliant thing to say.”

So what you’re saying is your conversation is more elevated than, “Dude, how do you play that lick in Tornado of Souls?”

“[laughs] I don't really talk like that with anybody. Although occasionally with the guys in my band, if they play something I think is cool – which is often – I’ll say, 'Dude, show me that!' I've always done that. It doesn't matter who it is, whether I know the person or not. If they're there and they're doing something cool, I'll just stop them and try to try to figure out what it is and how I can make it my own somehow.”

Speaking of cool guitar licks, you recently covered Fleetwood Mac’s You Make Loving Fun with Two Minutes to Late Night. Are you a fan of the Mac?

“Big time. Lindsey Buckingham is one of my favorite guitarists in history. I've ripped off so many motifs from that guy. He plays very basic melody lines, but the way he hangs on single notes, no-one else does it. And it's just so gut-wrenching.

“That was a huge influence on me when I first started playing lead guitars – how do you get that emotion? He's playing the same scales as everybody else is, and he's not doing these, like, 20-finger tapping things, but the second you hear the guy you know it's him. And what he does always elevates the song.

“You know, most pop songs don't have lead guitars in them, and they don't need lead guitars in them. But Fleetwood Mac have the ultimate pop songs, and they all have great lead solos in them. So what does that tell you? That tells you that the guitar player is just amazing.”

He’s definitely an underrated player.

“A lot of people notice how fantastic he is with his fingerpicking and his acoustic playing, and that's something that people can work really, really hard at and kind of master. But there's only one Lindsey who can emote the way he does on leads. And I don't think anybody can really copy that.

“I think this is really important, because a lot of guitarists don’t have that. Even me, I don't really have that one thing. Whereas with, like, Eddie Van Halen, everybody tries to do the fret tapping. I don't really have something that people can pick up on like that. It's all just gut stuff. I kind of wish that I had more of a thing where you could go, 'Oh, do this and you'll sound like Marty,' because it might open some more doors for me. But I think my playing is a bit too eclectic.

“If anything, the thing that people often pick up from my playing is bending from a half-step below a note. But that’s so on-the-surface, and such an absolutely throwaway meaningless thing, that when brought to the forefront it just sounds really weird.”

Well I would make the argument that people tend to characterize your playing as having a certain exoticism, as far as note and scale choices.

“That's true. That's a good point. But it’s not something that’s so tangible.”

It’s more like, you know it when you hear it.

“Right. You know it when you hear it. But I kind of always wished it was more doable by other people. But it is what it is. Some people are easier to impersonate on a surface level. I've heard guys who sound really, really, really good at the surface level doing Eddie Van Halen’s playing. But even so, you can never get the soul of a Van Halen. You can never get it.

“But I think it’s a wonderful thing to be able to do. Although I really have yet to hear people do a surface of my playing that really sounds that much like me. I kind of wish that more people could. I wish I could be a little bit more accessible like that!”

• Marty Friedman's Tokyo Jukebox Live Worldwide 2021 streaming event takes place on Jan 1 2021. To buy tickets, head over to Zaiko.

Back in February, Mick Fleetwood launched an all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, who passed away on July 25 at age 73, at the Palladium in London.

Guitar World was there to take in the historic tribute to the singer and electric guitar player, which featured performances from the likes of Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Kirk Hammett, Steven Tyler, Noel Gallagher, Jonny Lang, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, Neil Finn, Andy Fairweather Low, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey and more.

Now the rest of us can witness the one-night-only event as well, as a film version of the concert, Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, is coming to cinemas in March 2021, with screenings across the country on the 23rd and 28th of the month.

You can check out the trailer above.

Additionally, the film will be released on physical formats – gatefold 4LP, 2CD/Blu-Ray mediabook and digital audio on April 30, 2021, via BMG.

Said Mick Fleetwood, “The concert was a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music. Peter was my greatest mentor and it gave me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent.

“I was honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician. ‘Then Play On’...”

For more information or to preorder, visit Mick Fleetwood and Friends.

“It was a bit of a shock when I found out [that Peter had died] because he didn’t show any signs of debilitating health. When I saw him [in January 2020], he seemed in perfect health. 

“Many times in the past I’ve wanted to meet people and I’ve been too late because they’ve left us for whatever reason, and I’ve always had to deal with a lot of regret after that. So meeting Peter Green and spending time with him on that afternoon really was a lot more important than I realised at the time. 

“I felt it was important that I brought Greeny to him so that it came full circle and because he hadn’t seen the guitar since the 70s. At least I got to spend a few hours with him than no time at all.  

“It was really nice to see that he was starting to get a lot more attention from a whole new generation of guitar players. It was really important for me to sit down and tell him, ‘Peter, I speak for a lot of guitar players, including myself – generations of guitar players around the world – when I say your influence is just as relevant, if not more relevant, than it was before. Your inspiration is strong to this day. Just know this, Peter.’ 

• The story of Peter Green, one of British blues' most mythologized - and influential - players

“He looked at me, shook his head and changed the subject. Which falls in line with his reputation of not being comfortable with that kind of thing. But I knew that it meant something to him because, later on, a friend told me he really enjoyed our meeting.

“Sometimes it’s hard to have outward awareness when you’re struggling with your inner self. And I think that might have been the case with him; he might not have thought his influence and the impression he made is as huge as it really is. It’s the craziest thing when an artist of substantial influence passes away. It’s so bittersweet.

“His songwriting had a huge impact on me. Green Manalishi – that song is so dark. It reaches deep, deep down inside a person and grasps those dark shadows that are in all of us. I hope to be able to compose a song that has a 10th of that vibe. 

“Green Manalishi sounds like it was written in the swamps of New Orleans at the stroke of midnight under a full moon. But it was probably written by Peter Green in his flat somewhere in London. Those three songs: Oh Well, Black Magic Woman and Green Manalishi influenced hard-rock and heavy metal so much. 

“You can draw so many parallels to those three songs. They’re super-dark and I like how they’re themed. I like the subject matter. That heavy atmosphere and that heady subject matter, I believe, influenced hard-rock and heavy metal. It’s comparable to what heavy metal bands were doing at the time. 

“You could put Oh Well or Green Manalishi up against the first two Sabbath albums. That was the trend back then. To be heavy was seen as a progressive thing, you know – getting out of the light, airy, psychedelic hippy thing and going heavy. 1969, 1970 and 1971 were all about that. 

“To this day, I marvel at how well thought out his guitar lines were. Even though it sounds like he’s improvising and I know it has to be spontaneous, every note falls in the right place and sounds well thought out. His sense of melody and phrasing is all there. 

“He nailed that classic Les Paul tone and developed it further than Eric Clapton or Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page did by using that super-creamy neck pickup sound and that out-of-phase tone. It was a sound like no other. And his touch was really spot on and very accurate and controlled. He was just a very masterful player. He had all his techniques mastered in the ways that he wanted them to be mastered for an overall sound and vibe. It was amazing.

“Peter laid down a template for a lot of bands but he often doesn’t get the credit for influencing so many bands that went on to influence people like myself. I’ll give you three examples: Carlos Santana, Judas Priest and Aerosmith – if you listen to any of those bands you will find elements of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. To me, those first couple of Santana albums sound so much like the original Fleetwood Mac. 

“The influence on Judas Priest is obvious as they covered Green Manalishi. And Aerosmith, when you really think about it, the format they had was similar to the format Fleetwood Mac had with two very bluesy lead guitar players and blues-based riffs that were really rocking out. I mean, those first couple of Aerosmith albums really remind me of Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. And ZZ Top, of course. 

“It’s sad now that [Greeny’s] original owner who helped it along and nourished it and nurtured it is not around any more. All that vibration, Peter Green’s feel and his touch, his molecules and atoms will forever be in that guitar. It’s like a living memory of Peter Green. 

“I have no plans to retire that guitar at all. As a legacy to the two people who owned that guitar before me – Peter Green and Gary Moore – I feel it’s important to keep it going and keep it playing so that people can hear it live in real-time and hear it sing. 

“So many people love that guitar. I love it, too. That guitar has a lot of love and energy going to it constantly and who am I to get in the way of that? It’s all part of its reason for being and I’m just going to continue enabling that.

“Hopefully, it will go on to make music 100 years from now. I mean, how cool would that be if it ended up with someone else who could play it in front of hundreds of thousands of people? That would be my dream. It really is the people’s guitar.”

Hugely influential British blues guitarist and Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green has died aged 73.

The news was confirmed by a statement from Green family solicitors Swan Turton, which reads, “It is with great sadness that the family of Peter Green announce his death this weekend, peacefully in his sleep. A further statement will be provided in the coming days.”

Born in London, 1946, Green began playing professionally at the age of 15. Before long, he found himself filling in for Eric Clapton in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers at the tail-end of 1965, and joined full-time the following year.

In 1967, Green formed Fleetwood Mac with fellow former Bluesbreaker Mick Fleetwood on drums. While Green’s guitar skills were already fully developed, leading his own group developed his fresh take on blues songwriting.

Many of Green’s compositions became staples in the blues-rock ouvre, including Black Magic Woman (which itself was covered by Santana), wistful instrumental Albatross, introspective ballad Man of the World, plus rockier offerings Oh Well, and The Green Manalishi.

“To my mind, a blues doesn’t have to be a 12-bar progression,” Green once said. “It can cover any musical chord sequence. To me, the blues is an emotional thing. If a song has the right emotion then I accept it as a blues.”

• The story of Peter Green, one of British blues' most mythologized - and influential - players

The guitarist’s vocal bends and supernatural sustain - often with the aid of feedback - quickly became the stuff of legend, as did his 1959 Gibson Les Paul, affectionately known as Greeny, which was later purchased by Gary Moore then, more recently, Kirk Hammett of Metallica.

Green’s proclivity for LSD began to take its toll on his mental health as the ’60s drew to a close, and in March 1970, a drug-related incident at a commune in Munich had a devastating impact upon his psyche. He quit the band soon after and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia.

• The story of Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac, as told by John Mayall, Mike Vernon and Green himself

In the late-’70s and early-’80s, Green released a string of solo albums, and recorded and toured with friends including Nigel Watson and Cozy Powell, billed as the Peter Green Splinter Group, from 1997 until 2004.

Green was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame among seven other members of Fleetwood Mac in 1998.

In February this year, an all-star cast including David Gilmour, Kirk Hammett, Billy Gibbons, Pete Townshend and many more paid tribute to Green at the London Palladium, celebrating the life and legacy of a guitarist whose playing and songwriting continue to shape blues and rock music to this day.

Peter Green is, arguably, the most underrated guitarist of the British mid-'60s blues boom, consistently relegated to a position somewhere below the holy triumvirate of Clapton, Beck and Page.

He deserves better. He would write some of the most memorable blues-based songs of the '60s, create some of the genre’s most imaginative guitar licks and establish a band that, by the end of the decade, was out-selling the Beatles and the Stones.

Born in London’s East End to a poor Jewish family, he had been turned onto the possibilities of guitar at age 11, in the skiffle era of the mid-'50s. His brother Len acquired a cheap Spanish guitar and showed young Peter a few chords. Before long, it was Peter’s guitar. 

This is the story of how it all began for Peter Green, his first recordings and the creation of Fleetwood Mac.

AUGUST 11, 1965: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton, play at Putney Pontiac Club in south-west London. Shortly after this gig, Clapton unexpectedly disappears to Greece for a two-week holiday.

John Mayall: “I guess Eric just became bored with it. So he decided to get some friends together and go off to Greece. For me, it was panic stations because we’d come to rely on him so much and there were so few people to choose from as a replacement.

“I got a lot of replies to an ad I put in the Melody Maker, so I was auditioning different players every night, letting them sit in to see how they worked out. Then Peter came up to me during a gig at The Flamingo in Wardour Street and was fairly forceful, very insistent that he was better than the guy I had on stage that night, so I gave him a shot and he was quite right, of course.”

Mike Vernon (Blue Horizon Label Founder and Producer): “Peter was an unknown quantity at this time. He had played in several local bands, the best known of which was perhaps the Muskrats, but he was not a big name.”

Peter Green: “John said I could play a little bit and he said, 'You’ve got the feeling,' or something similar. Anyway, he let me on the train.”

AUGUST 25, 1965: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton, newly returned from Greece, again play at Putney Pontiac Club.

John Mayall: “Unfortunately, it was only a couple of weeks before Eric came back from Greece. Eric returned with a tan and Peter was out again. Peter wasn’t very pleased about that, but that was the way it was.“

Peter Green: “I was only there for a week, and then I went with Peter B’s Looners...“

DECEMBER 24, 1965: Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames, supported by instrumental band Peter B’s Looners, led by organist Peter Bardens, play at The Flamingo. Besides Peter Green, the group also includes drummer Mick Fleetwood.

Mick Fleetwood: “Peter came to audition… we were a very simple instrumental band, a lot of Booker T, Mose Allison. He had a great sound as they say, but me and the bassist, Dave Ambrose, didn’t think he knew enough about the guitar. He only played a couple of licks, variations on a theme, Freddie King. And to Peter Bardens’ credit, he pulled me aside and said, 'You’re wrong, this guy’s special.'”

APRIL 29, 1966: Peter B’s Looners play at The Carousel Club, Farnborough, with an augmented lineup including vocalists Rod Stewart and Beryl Marsden. They have been brought in, at the behest of Flamingo owners Rik and John Gunnell, hoping not just to expand the band’s musical range, but to create a white soul “supergroup.”

Dave Ambrose: “When Rod Stewart and Beryl Marsden came in as singers, the band changed to Shotgun Express, doing mainly soul and Tamla Motown songs.”

MAY 6, 1966: Shotgun Express play at the Beachcomber club in Nottingham.

Beryl Marsden: “The music hadn’t happened organically. We had been rather manufactured. There was a lot of money out there to be earned in the clubs we played, like The Flamingo in Soho, and The Ram Jam Club in Brixton, but we didn’t see big wage packets at the end of the hard week’s work, and that led to discontent, too.”

Dave Ambrose (bass): “We did a single on Columbia [“I Could Feel the Whole World Turn Round”] which was a minor hit, but, shortly after a lot of soul searching on his part, Peter left.“

JUNE 17, 1966: With Eric Clapton having abandoned Mayall’s Bluesbreakers again, Peter Green is drafted in to replace him once more.

John Mayall: “With Peter back in the band, the way we played stayed pretty much the same. As long as you have the same rhythm section then things don’t change that much – it’s when you lose a bass player that you’re in trouble.“

Peter Green: “I bumped into John Mayall on the road and he said, 'Eric Clapton’s going to form Cream, with Ginger and Jack. Do you want to come with me and get some experience? And be a blues band again instead of trying to be Booker T & the M.G.’s?'“

John Mayall: “He was a little hesitant at first because he’d been offered a job with Eric Burdon that entailed going to America, which Peter had always wanted to do, but the music Burdon was playing wasn’t as attractive to Peter as playing blues, so he opted to come back with me.“

• The story of Peter Green, one of British blues' most mythologized - and influential - players
• The deep secret behind Peter Green's “magic” 1959 Les Paul tone
• The Peter Green tribute concert: 10 guitar highlights from David Gilmour, Kirk Hammett, Billy Gibbons, Pete Townshend and more

JULY 22, 1966: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers release an all-new album, Blues Breakers: John Mayall with Eric Clapton, which had been recorded before Peter Green had replaced old Slowhand.

John McVie: “It was done at Decca studios in West Hampstead in less than a month. We played together a lot as a band, so we’d just go in and do takes live, with no overdubs. And as soon as the session was finished, we’d be out to a gig. 

“After the album came out a strange situation developed, because this upstart guy named Peter Green started playing with Mayall. There were 'guitar style' wars going on between them –  all that stuff about 'Clapton Is God' being sprayed on the walls was real!“

JULY 24, 1966: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers play their first ever proper gig with Peter Green, at the Britannia Rowing Club, Nottingham.

Mick Fleetwood: “He went immediately for the human touch, and that’s what Peter’s playing has represented to millions of people – he played with the human, not the superstar touch.“

OCTOBER 11, 1966: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers are in Decca studios with producer Mike Vernon recording A Hard Road. The sessions take five days in total, spread out over a month.

Mike Vernon: “All three Decca studios were custom-built by Decca boffins. The smallest, No. 2, was used primarily for pop and group sessions, and had a really cool vibe… it was compact and vision between the control room and the main studio area was excellent. 

“The sound achieved was never less than great but it did depend largely on the engineer. Working with engineer Gus Dudgeon made sense to me as he was very much into the music.

“I am reasonably sure I had not met Peter prior to his arrival at West Hampstead. Me and Gus were looking at him and thinking, 'Who the hell is this? Where’s Eric?' John Mayall just said, ‘Oh, he’s Eric’s replacement.’ I hadn’t even heard that Eric had left the Bluesbreakers. John said Peter was as good as Eric, which was a bit hard to believe until he actually plugged in and then we thought, 'Ummm, he can play a bit!'

“Initially, Peter seemed like a very quiet and somewhat reserved kind of guy… not outspoken or aggressive in any way. He must have felt somewhat awkward, though, following in Clapton’s footsteps.

“As the sessions progressed, Peter became a little more certain of his role as a Bluesbreaker… especially when he was given the chance to exercise his vocal chords. He certainly was not as reluctant to sing as his predecessor had been… he seemed to really enjoy that role and he was very good.

“When I heard Peter sing The Same Way for the first time, I thought 'Wow!' Here is a great blues singer, no inhibitions about singing with an English accent, expressive and individual. I had a feeling Peter was destined to make his mark in the music business.”

John Mayall: “Peter was every bit as good in the studio as he was on the road. He just nailed it. I didn’t need to give him any instructions. I chose him for his individuality, for the way he played, so why would I try to direct him? The only thing he actually wrote for the album was the instrumental, The Supernatural, but that was a great piece of music.”

Peter Green: “Mike Vernon came up with the idea for The Supernatural. He said he’d seen this guitarist who’d played a high note, sustained it and then let it roll all the way down the neck. But I played it and I decided on the sequence.”

Mike Vernon: “That was a major departure in sound and feel from anything we’d done with Eric. The fluidity of his playing was quite awe-inspiring. He seemed to have a natural ability to string together notes and phrases that worked straight away. 

“There was little time spent on working out what he was going to play, either because he had already figured out what he was going to do in advance or the 'moment' took over and it just happened! In my estimation, Peter Green was just the very best blues guitarist this country has ever produced.”

FEBRUARY 17, 1967: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers release A Hard Road.

John Mayall: “People often ask me about the differences between Peter and Eric, but I don’t judge guitarists by the number of notes they play. I just want them to have something moving and original to say. On a personal level, though, Peter was a much easier guy to work with than Eric. Very easy-going and fun-loving, great to be around. He became a really good friend.”

April 19, 1967: John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers record Double Trouble in London, but the song will not appear on the next album, Crusade, because of Green’s departure from the band.

Mike Vernon: “John really rated Peter’s playing as well as his vocal prowess. Peter kept telling me he was fed up with the Bluesbreakers and wanted to put his own unit together.”

Mick Fleetwood: “From the beginning Peter was a stickler about it not being all about him, but all about the band. And that spirit was so important.”

Mike Vernon: “It just sort of snowballed, to the point where Peter was going to leave John Mayall and form his own band. He said to me, 'I want you to record our records and I want them out on your label, Blue Horizon. I don’t mind if we’re with Decca, but I don’t want it to be on any other label but Blue Horizon.'”

Neil Slaven (author and record producter): “Mike and I were school friends. We’d formed a blues society at school, and in 1966 we had formed a label together called Blue Horizon, which was mail-order to start with. We did singles at first, and then albums. If you did 100 or fewer copies you didn’t pay tax. 

“The next thing was that we started the Blue Horizon Club in Battersea. Mike was already thinking about leaving Decca, and Peter had been doing slide acoustic gigs for us at the club. I remember him saying, 'For two pins I’d give all this up and start a pet shop.' There was always this other side to him that was detached, as if he was watching himself going into it.”

Mick Fleetwood: “We had no manager, so we did everything ourselves, and Peter did all the negotiations with Blue Horizon.”

Jeremy Spencer (Guitarist, Fleetwood Mac): “In early spring of 1967, I was playing guitar in the Levi Set, in Lichfield, Staffordshire. Unbeknownst to me, my friend Phil had answered an ad in Melody Maker, which said that Mike Vernon was scouting Britain for blues talent. Mike came up to see us, and we did a 30-minute set and he was impressed and enthusiastic. He later arranged a session at Decca for us to record about four tracks.

“While there, Mike told me that Peter Green was quitting John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers to form his own band and wanted to find another guitarist. Mike then arranged for us to play for half an hour between the sets of an upcoming John Mayall gig at Birmingham’s Le Metro club, so Peter could see and hear me play.”

JUNE 11, 1967: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers play at Le Metro, Birmingham, supported by the Levi Set.

Jeremy Spencer: “I walked up to Peter to introduce myself. He said 'Jeremy? Jeremy Spencer?' before I said anything. I said I was and asked him if he listened to Elmore James. He said, 'Yes, all the time. Do you listen to B.B. King?' I said I did, and we chatted until it was time for their set. 

“I had seen John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Peter Green some months previously and had enjoyed it. Anyway, the Levi Set played for about half an hour between Mayall’s sets. I was happy that a good time had been had, but I pretty much discounted any idea of Peter wanting me in his new band. 

“To my surprise, however, Peter asked if I wanted a drink, and as we stood by the bar, he talked as though I was already in it! He was saying stuff like, 'Well, you can do a couple of Elmore things and then I do a couple of B.B.’s and so on like that…' I finally said, 'Are you serious? Do you like what I play?' He said I was the first guitarist that made him smile since Hendrix! 

“Knowing that Peter disdained speed-freak guitar playing, I said, 'But he’s fast. I’m not.' He said, 'It’s not the amount of notes you play. It’s what goes into the notes.' Then he showed me a page that he had written in his notebook on his way up to Birmingham. It was like a prayer that said something like, 'I can’t go on with this music like it is. Please have Jeremy be good, please have him be good.'”

Peter Green: “I could see he was a little villain, you know? I thought I’d give it a try.”

Neil Slaven: “It was Jeremy and Mick who initiated all the madness in Fleetwood Mac. Peter seemed to enjoy it, but he didn’t really join in. But Peter needed someone like Jeremy around to inject something extrovert into gigs that he knew he couldn’t provide.”

JUNE 15, 1967: Peter Green quits the Bluesbreakers.

John Mayall: “I was disappointed when Peter left, because he was really a special player, but his heart wasn’t in it so much, because we were starting to lean more toward jazzier elements.”

Mike Vernon: “I don’t think Peter found it that easy to be the 'boss' of Fleetwood Mac. There were a lot of issues at the onset. He couldn’t get John McVie to leave Mayall and so Bob Brunning took the bass player spot. I do think that Mick also played an important part in holding the unit together. He had a keen sense of how things should be done and, in that area, he and Peter usually agreed.”

Mick Fleetwood: “Peter and I came from very different backgrounds. He was an East End lad with a chip on his shoulder – a Jewish boy who got beaten up. He got away from all that, but it caught him up in the end when it all went wrong.”

AUGUST 14, 1967: The new outfit, named Fleetwood Mac, make their debut on the third day of the National Jazz and Blues Festival, Windsor, Berks, UK. The likes of Cream, Donovan, Jeff Beck, PP Arnold, Alan Bown, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Chicken Shack, Blossom Toes, Pentangle and Denny Laine are all on the same bill.

John McVie: “I wasn’t the bass player with Fleetwood Mac that night; I was playing with John Mayall, who was headlining. Peter Green was harassing me to join the band, and I said, 'No, I’m fine playing with John.'”

Stan Webb (guitarist, Chicken Shack): “I remember Peter and me were talking about the price of beer. Peter was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and Eric Clapton came over to us wearing a bed spread, rings on every finger, his frizzy hair sticking out six inches, and said to Peter, 'You’ll never be a star if you dress like that.' Peter just smiled. And that sums it up.”

Jeremy Spencer: “Peter was straightforward, intuitive and a deep thinker. I think I brought to the band a kind of happy-go-lucky bawdiness, I suppose, but we related on musical and even what could be termed mystical wavelengths. We still do, in a similar way, during our infrequent interactions on the telephone.”

AUGUST 28, 1967: John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers play at The Marquee, London. This will prove to be John McVie’s last gig with the band.

John McVie: “At the time John had horn players in the band, and we were rehearsing at some club when John turned to one of them and said, 'Okay – just play it freeform there.' I said, with typical blues snobbishness, 'I thought this was a blues band, not a jazz band!' I immediately went across the street, called Peter, and asked if he still wanted me to join up. I joined Fleetwood Mac in September ’67.”

SEPTEMBER 9, 1967: In a secret session at Decca studios in New Bond Street, London, Fleetwood Mac record three tracks – I Believe My Time Ain’t Long, Rambling Pony and Long Grey Mare.

Mick Fleetwood: “Mike used his key to the studio to record us after hours.”

Mike Vernon: “We recorded it extremely late at night, in the big studio at Decca. We shouldn’t have been there, when nobody at Decca knew we were doing it.”

SEPTEMBER 19, 1967: Fleetwood Mac plays at Klook’s Kleek, West Hampstead, London, UK.

Mike Vernon: “I spent many hours following them around the club and university circuits. Seeing them working in front of an audience and gauging the latter’s reaction to new and old material helped in deciding what to record. In summary, I would say that Peter had to work at being the 'boss'… once he was at ease with that situation, everything moved forward at a faster pace and with better results.”

Mick Fleetwood: “Peter would come over and whip me! 'It ain’t fuckin’ swingin”! You ain’t puttin’ it where it should be!' He would treat me like a dog, but that’s all it took. 'I know you can do it, just do it. Just feel it, buddy!' Everything I am musically I owe to Peter. I am more capable technically than I appear, but that’s a lesson well learnt from this man: less is more, more is less.”

NOVEMBER 3, 1967: The first UK single by Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac, I Believe My Time Ain’t Long, is released.

Mike Vernon: “The very first demos had been offered to Decca, and they weren’t rejected, but they wouldn’t put the record out on the Blue Horizon label so we offered it to CBS, who took it and took the label identity as well. 

“But once that record came out and was something of a success, I got the dreaded phone call from the seventh floor at Decca, after which I got called in and was told, 'You can’t produce records for other record companies!' 

“I said, 'Well, I did offer it to you and you rejected it, so I took it to someone else.' And they said, 'OK, fair enough, but you can’t do these two things at once, so you either have to resign or we’ll fire you!' So I said, 'Right, I resign as of now,' went away, and about three weeks later I came back and signed an independent production deal with Decca…”

Mick Fleetwood: “Peter saved my bacon on more than one occasion. One night at The Marquee, we’d had a few drinks, we were jamming, and I’d got over-adventurous and came out of it the wrong way. I’d lost track of whether I was on the off-beat or the onbeat, but Peter always knew, so he was laughing at me. 

“I was completely lost, but I kept going, of course, until Peter came back, grabbed my wrist and put me back in time. He was my mentor, my partner and my friend. That was my training ground. I didn’t really have a lot of confidence. 

“I was going around with Aynsley Dunbar, the drummer of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, who was an incredible drummer, and still is. I had sort of a humorous self-effacing element to me, and Peter was a great encourager of it. He told me that it was one of the best things about my playing.”

NOVEMBER 22, 1967: Fleetwood Mac decamp to the CBS Studios in New Bond Street, London, to record the tracks Merry Go Round, Hellhound on My Trail, I Loved Another Woman, Cold Black Night, The World Keeps on Turning, Watch Out, A Fool No More, You’re So Evil and Mean Old Fireman. Most of these recordings will appear on their debut album.

Mike Vernon: “I don’t think Peter was very interested, at that time, in the recording process. That was my job, along with the engineer. He fully understood the basics, though. I think he felt that his job was to create the music and the atmosphere that was essential to get the best results. If I had any qualms it would only have been that they could sometimes be infuriating with their persistent 'messing around.'”

Mike Ross (engineer): “The first time I met Peter was when they walked into our studio, which was on the first floor above a fashion shop. It wasn’t a great studio, but we made it work. It had been a ballroom in the early 1900s, so it had very high ceilings, which we’d lowered, otherwise drum sounds would just bounce around everywhere. 

“As a staff engineer for CBS, I was doing pop bands like the Marmalade and the Tremeloes, so this was my first real exposure to the blues. Peter was obviously the boss, he was very verbal. 

“The two people I remember doing most of the talking were Mick Fleetwood and Peter Green. They were clearly the guys in charge. The others were more quiet, a bit laid back. Mick and Peter used to give me lifts home after sessions because I lived at Holland Park and they were in Shepherd’s Bush, and that’s how I started to realize what good friends they were. They were very close. 

“All those sessions were mainly recorded live, with the band DI’d straight into the mixing desk. We were using a four-track recorder, but they wouldn’t let us record them separately, which I would have preferred, to achieve a better sound. 

“Peter didn’t want a 'better' sound. He wanted it to sound as near as possible to the way they sounded on stage. So they would all play at once, with Peter singing and playing simultaneously. As a result, there was quite a lot of spill across the tracks, which I think did add to the roomy sound. It was absolutely live, but it wasn’t dirty enough for them.

“There were lots of conversations about how Chess Records sounded. They even brought in a couple of Chess 78s to illustrate the sound they wanted. In fact, when they heard the tapes they were really not happy with them, but there wasn’t much we could do about that except maybe remix them a little by changing the levels on the tracks.

“They wanted it to sound rougher, but Mike Vernon was able to talk them out of that, so we didn’t really get close to what they wanted until the second album came round – Mr. Wonderful – where we got them to bring their stage amps and speakers into the studio and play through them.”

DECEMBER 5, 1967: John Mayall is in recording studios in London working on the tracks Jenny and Picture on the Wall, with Peter Green on guitar.

John Mayall: Even after Peter left, we remained great friends, so I would go out to see him playing live in Fleetwood Mac, which was a very exciting band – mostly my old band – but you can’t stand in the way of progress.

DECEMBER 11, 1967: Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac is in CBS studios recording My Heart Beat Like a Hammer, Shake Your Money Maker and Leaving Town Blues. The first two of these will appear on the debut album, Fleetwood Mac.

Mike Ross: “I was impressed by the quality of their songs, and also by the speed at which they worked. Most of the songs would be just two takes, or even one in some cases. They took it all quite seriously, no messing around once they got down to work. Mike Vernon was quite a strict producer. I think they knew better than to mess around with him being there.

“The only one who was a bit of a humorous character was Jeremy Spencer. He just wanted to be Elvis Presley and he’d come out with a bit of Heartbreak Hotel or something in the middle of a session. He wanted tape echo on everything. He was a rock ’n’ roller at heart, more so than a blues man, but his Elmore James’ guitar style was amazing.”

Jeremy Spencer: “Peter had asked me on the band’s onset if I ever wrote my own material and I had told him that I didn’t. The problem was that I was uninspired with getting anything new. No wonder he eventually welcomed Danny Kirwan’s creative addition.”

FEBRUARY 16, 1968: Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac release their first album, Fleetwood Mac, on Blue Horizon. It will peak at Number 4 and remain on the UK chart for 37 weeks.

Mike Vernon: “Peter was able to really put good melodies together within his playing, probably more so than Clapton who had a much more rhythmical approach, he never got out of the groove. Whereas Eric had energy in his playing, Peter had a deftness, a touch and a more melodic style, and actually at that time, he probably had a deeper blues than Eric.”

Melody Maker (review): “This is the best English blues LP ever released.”

It’s not every day that you find yourself being offered a Les Paul for next to nothing, but that’s exactly what happened to Gary Moore at the dawn of the 1970s. “Peter was such a generous person,” Gary told Guitarist back in 1995. “If you admired something, he’d give it to you.

"He had this amazing coat you may have seen in photographs: full length wool coat with a very faint red check through it. I don’t think I ever said anything about it, but he said, ‘Do you like my long coat?’ It’s like he read my mind. He said, ‘I’m getting rid of all this stuff...’ and he gave me this beautiful coat.”

Gary also claimed that he was the first person to hear about Peter’s intention to leave Fleetwood Mac. “One day I went round his house and he said, ‘Oh, let’s go for a drive,’” Gary continued. “We were driving along and he said, ‘I’m leaving the band; I’ve had enough.’ I was amazed that he was telling me, because no-one knew at the time.”

Little did Gary know that there was another revelation headed his way. “He asked me if I wanted to borrow the guitar. I mean, he was tremendously supportive, you know? And I said, ‘Fuck, yeah!’ I mean, what are you going to say? So I went down and picked the guitar up at his parents’ place. I had it for a few days and I couldn’t believe I had it in my hands. 

• Kirk Hammett on Greeny's completely independent fanbase
• The story of Peter Green, one of British Blues' most influential players

"I was so scared that anything might happen to it, because I lived in this bedsit in Belsize Park and I had to take the guitar everywhere because there was no lock on my door. He called me up and said, ‘What do you think of the guitar?’ And I said, ‘Well, it’s fantastic.’ He said, ‘Do you want to buy it?’”

Gary told Peter that he didn’t think he could afford it, but Peter remained insistent that he wanted Gary to be Greeny’s new owner. “He said it wasn’t the money he was interested in, he just wanted it to have a good home,” says Gary. “So he told me to take my main guitar and sell it and whatever I got for it I could give to him, so it would be like swapping guitars. 

“I had an SG at the time and so I took it into town and I sold it for £160 or something and he came up to my flat for the money and gave me 40 or 50 quid back! He said, ‘I’ll tell you what, I’ll just take what I paid for it, which was 120 quid.’

"But then he said he wouldn’t even do that and so I think I ended up giving him £100 or £110. I said to him if he ever wanted it back I’d give it to him, but he said, ‘No, I’ll never ask for it back...’”

Subsequently, the guitar was involved in a car accident when a lorry went into the back of Gary’s car at Chiswick Flyover. 

“I just opened the boot and although the guitar was in a flight case, its neck was completely broken. But we got it repaired amazingly well, we put a steel bolt in the neck - it was in a terrible state, though. The car was written off, so you can imagine.”

Forget BB King's Lucille, Eric Clapton’s Blackie and Brownie, Keith Richards’ Micawber. Nevermind Willie Nelson’s Trigger, Prince’s Cloud, Jimmy Page’s Dragon and Eddie Van Halen’s Frankenstrat. For Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, the anthropomorphized guitar that strikes the deepest chord in his soul is a 1959 Gibson Les Paul Standard named Greeny.

Steeped in history and mystique, the instrument was originally owned by Fleetwood Mac co-founder Peter Green. It was subsequently purchased by Gary Moore, who played it in Thin Lizzy and on his best- known blues-rock albums over the next 30 years, after which he sold it to Phil Winfield at Maverick Music. The company’s website later posted it for sale - reportedly for $2 million.

A couple of private investors owned the instrument for brief periods; then, six years ago, Hammett bought the guitar. Metallica’s resident shredder, a devoted fan of Green’s iconic blues playing, was excited to own the legendary instrument, which features a tone unlike any other Les Paul. 

The welcome aberration happened when Green replaced the neck pickup and accidentally put it in backwards, creating an out-of-phase sound when played in the middle position. 

In addition to having a distinct tone, the guitar resonates with the vibe and spirit of its former owners, Hammett says, adding that since he started playing Greeny he has become a more spontaneous and dedicated artist.

“Every single time I pick her up, she makes me a better player,” Hammett says. “I’m obsessed with her. I bring her everywhere with me. Where I sleep, she sleeps, basically. And I try to play her as much as possible because she wants to be played.

"She deserves to be played and she has such a beautiful sound and tone that people want to hear her. I’m constantly amazed by the amazing mojo of that guitar.”

On February 25, Hammett demonstrated his blues chops - with the help of Greeny - at an event dubbed “Mick Fleetwood & Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac”, which took place at the London Palladium.

• The story of Peter Green, one of British blues' most mythologized - and influential - players

It also included performances by David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Bill Wyman, Christine McVie, Steven Tyler, Billy Gibbons, Neil Finn, Jeremy Spencer and Noel Gallagher. The house band for the show was composed of drummer Mick Fleetwood, guitarists Andy Fairweather Low, Rick Vito and Jonny Lang, bassist Dave Bronze and keyboardist Ricky Peterson.

Each artist performed a song written or made famous by Green; Hammett capped the evening by playing the last song Green recorded with Fleetwood Mac, The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Prong Crown), which also featured drummer Zak Starkey and five other guitarists, including Lang, Vito, Gibbons and Fairweather Low.

While Fleetwood Mac’s studio recording of Green Manalishi didn’t include a guitar solo, Green sometimes soloed during the song during live performances, so Mick Fleetwood gave Hammett his blessings to let fly, and the guitarist played a blazing solo for almost two minutes.

“He said I could solo as long as I wanted, so I dug deep within myself and played with as much emotion as I could,” Hammett says. “I played all my darkest licks and a handful of Peter Green stuff as well for good measure, and it was magical. It was a homecoming for Greeny, and I felt like I was just along for the ride. The guitar was driving, and I was there observing the scenery as it went by.”

Hammett also performed Shake Your Moneymaker with most of the evening’s performers. “I’m thankful it was caught on camera because it was a transcendent experience for me,” Hammett says. “Standing on the same stage as all those legends like Billy Gibbons, Pete Townshend and John Mayall pushed me into another zone.”

The Palladium show will come out as a concert film later this year, and Hammett and Gilmour have both worked on early Fleetwood Mac songs to accompany Green’s limited-edition coffee table art book, I Suppose I Do Enjoy Being Me, which will be out later this year via UK-based Rufus Publications. 

For the project, Hammett entered Abbey Road Studios and recorded Fleetwood Mac’s Man of the World. Gilmour wrote a new arrangement for Mertis John’s Need Your Love So Bad (which Fleetwood Mac famously covered in 1968) then flew in Green’s original vocals.

Long after finishing his tea and pastry, Hammett was still waxing rhapsodic about early Fleetwood Mac, the recent Peter Green tribute show, Green himself, Greeny and the long history of one of rock’s most legendary guitars.

What was your very first exposure to Fleetwood Mac? 

"When I was growing up, I listened to a lot of '70s radio, and Fleetwood Mac was on every 15 minutes. That Rumors album was huge. At the time I had no idea the band had done its first three albums with Peter Green and they sounded totally different."

You played Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) at the benefit. That was Green’s last single with Fleetwood Mac. When did you first hear it? 

"I have to admit I was introduced to that song by Judas Priest when they covered it on [1979’s] Unleashed in the East. I looked at the label one day and saw the song credits: 'Peter Green, John McVie and Mick Fleetwood,' and I went, 'Huh, what’s this about?' I asked someone and he said, 'Oh yeah, it’s old Fleetwood Mac.' 

"I said, 'What do you mean old Fleetwood Mac?' And he said, 'Yeah, Fleetwood Mac used to be a blues band.' He gave me a tape of Green Manalishi and some of their other songs, including Rattlesnake Shake and Black Magic Woman. I listened to it and really, I felt like it was more rocking than their stuff on the radio." 

How do you feel Fleetwood Mac’s original Green Manalishi compares to the Judas Priest version?

"In retrospect, I obviously have a lot of respect for Judas Priest, and their cover version of Green Manalishi is really heavy. 

"But the original is dark as night and it comes from a deep, deep place in Peter Green’s soul. It resonates from within, and I can relate to it from the dark place in my own soul. I always liked darkness and I still do. I have that outlook, that perspective, that awareness."

Are your side projects also steeped in darkness? 

"Yeah, that darkness colors a lot of the music I compose. I’ll get on a dark thread when I’m writing and I stay on it, and that turns into riffs and chord progressions and songs. I’ve recorded a lot of really dark stuff on my own. I mean, when you hit that tritone or that harmonic minor scale - the Phrygian dominant scale - you’re not thinking about flowers or the altruistic aspects of humanity. 

"You’re thinking about the end of the world and doom and gloom and total Armageddon. It’s a natural reaction. And like myself, there’s a lot of people out there that crave that darkness. It’s cathartic. It feels good. It lets me go to the darker parts of life and experience them without really experiencing them and coming out okay at the other end."

You’re a huge fan of horror movies. Could some of your darker compositions find their way into a film score? 

"I would love to do that. I have stacks of dark ambient shit that would work perfectly. But I’ve never been asked, because everyone thinks of me as the guitarist of Metallica. I love being that, but it would be cool to branch out a little. That’s why I’m so excited about the Peter Green stuff and some other things I’m working on."

How did you get involved with the Peter Green benefit concert? 

"Word got around to Mick Fleetwood that I had gotten the Peter Green guitar, so about four years ago he asked me if I wanted to be a part of a Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac show. At that time, Metallica were about to embark on a huge worldwide tour. It hadn’t even begun, so I had no idea what my schedule was going to be like. 

"Mick wanted to do the tribute in 12 or 15 months and I couldn’t commit to that. But it didn’t seem like Mick had a specific date in mind. So I said to him, 'You know, I am interested but I can’t commit right now. I’d love to do this when I’m not touring, but I really don’t know when that will be.' 

"I purposely keep myself in the dark about my touring schedule and just approach it three months at a time. If I look at it as three calendar years’ worth of dates, I tend to get overwhelmed and freaked out and then all of a sudden I don’t want to do any of it. That’s happened to me in the past, so I make it a point now just to worry about the next three months, and that’s a lot healthier for my brain."

Did Mick Fleetwood wait until you were available to schedule the event? 

"Fast forward two-and-a-half years and I found out from [photographer] Ross Halfin that it was starting to take shape and form. Ross said I should contact Mick Fleetwood. I thought, 'Well, heck, Metallica is two thirds of the way through this world tour. And I think as the tours go on we have more and more free time.' 

"I emailed Mick and told him I would love to be a part of it but I needed to know the date. He said it would happen in February 2020 and I thought, that’s perfect."

Did you tell him in advance what you wanted to play? 

"I told him how much Green Manalishi was a huge part of my playing - both the Fleetwood Mac version and the Judas Priest version - and Mick said, 'Great, that’s fantastic.' I didn’t know at the time, but he had always intended for me to play Green Manalishi.”

Were there rehearsals before the event? 

"Mick has a house in Maui [Hawaii], and I spend a lot of time in Oahu, so I went over and spent a couple days in Maui and rehearsed with him and Andy Fairweather Low, who is a great guitar player. 

"Amazingly Dave Mason [who played in Fleetwood Mac from 1993 to 1995] and a couple of people from his core blues band were there. I was super nervous at first, and I later found out that they were nervous, too. But once the anxiety settled, everything fell into place."

How did you settle your jitters and get onto the same page as them? 

"When I first walked into the room I was definitely the scary heavy metal guy. So, between takes, when I was just standing around, I played all these blues licks by Robert Johnson with the sound down and when they heard that, they all warmed up to me. It was really amazing to be standing there with Glynn Johns, John Mayall and Bill Wyman just talking the blues. It was a great icebreaker."

Did you find there was a bit of a learning curve in the rehearsals? 

"There was no learning curve. I had Greeny, who was the main driver of that song, and I just plugged into a relatively clean Vox analog amp. Right off the bat, it sounded full, heavy, dark - the way it should be. At the end of it, we were all shaking our heads going, 'Yup, this is going to be great.' 

"About four weeks later, we all convened in London at rehearsal and played it a couple times with the extended core band, which included Jonny Lang and Zak Starkey, and it sounded even heavier with the two drummers. 

"Afterward, Mick said, 'You know the song was slated for the middle of the set but we’re going to have to move it to the end because it’s going to be a hard act to follow.' I was immensely pleased by that comment, of course."

The benefit took place February 25, 2020. You met Peter Green a while before that. 

"I met him in L.A. in January 2019 and it was a very intense experience. I knew he was this genius player who had schizophrenia [and had some bad acid experiences] that messed with his head. 

"For years, he was ill. He has better meds now and from what people are telling me he’s the sharpest he’s ever been. He’s much, much more coherent, and when I met him I thought he was great. It was intense, though, because he was checking me out and trying to read what I was all about. But once we got on the subject of fishing, that kind of broke the ice. 

"I did a lot of fishing from a boat as a kid so I know a lot about it, and from that point on talking to him was great. We talked for about 90 minutes about the early days of Fleetwood Mac and guitars. He still collects guitars and he still plays."

Did you have Greeny with you? 

"That was kinda funny. I showed him Greeny and he said, 'That’s not my guitar. My guitar had a lot more red in it.' But he was willing to hold Greeny and take pictures with me and Greeny, and that was significant for me because it was the first time he had come into contact with that guitar since the early '70s. 

"It was another full-circle experience. Greeny left him for almost 50 years and gained all this notoriety being involved in all this classic music. And then when I came over, Greeny came back into the hands of Peter Green [if just for a moment]. It was really touching."

Green lent Greeny to Gary Moore in the '70s and soon after convinced Moore to buy the guitar for $300, the same amount Green paid for it in 1966. Moore had the guitar for about 30 years.

"When I listen to Thin Lizzy’s Black Rose I can tell every track Greeny is on. It’s that distinct neck-pickup sound. And [Moore’s 1990 album] Still Got the Blues has a total Greeny sound. I love it when I hear Greeny when I’m out doing random things. I was at a comic store in New York about three years ago and I heard that tone. 'There’s Greeny.' The store was playing Fleetwood Mac’s Need Your Love So Bad."

Does it feel like Greeny calls out to you? 

"I just notice her a lot more in everything and I remember every time I saw or heard her in the past. When I was 16, I was in a record store and I was looking at one of Gary Moore’s albums. I flipped it over and there he was playing Greeny and I thought, 'That’s gotta be the coolest shot of a guy playing a Les Paul, ever.'"

You’re the third famous guitarist to own Greeny. What drew you to the guitar? 

"Originally, I heard that it was on the market and the asking price was $2 million and I scoffed. I was like, 'Man, whoever’s trying to sell that is just crazy.' So no-one bought it. 

"Then, about six years ago, I was in London and a guitar dealer friend told me, 'Hey, I got Gary Moore’s guitar. Let me show it to you.' I said, 'Wait a second, I’m not paying $2 million for that.' He said, 'Oh no, it was never for sale for $2 million.' And I said, 'I’m not interested in a guitar for $1 million either.' My friend said, 'No, it’s very affordable, Kirk. Let me bring it over.' I thought, 'Okay, you know, I can just kind of humor him.'"

Were you interested in actually buying the guitar? 

"I was a little curious. Late-'50s Les Pauls are my favorites and Les Paul Standards are amazing. They’re like the Stradivariuses of electric guitars. My friend brought over Greeny with a vintage Vox amp. I took it out of the case and I was like, yep, there’s the backward pickup. I plugged her in and started going through the pickups. 

"The bridge pickup was really bright. I switched it to the neck pickup and it was nice and creamy. And then I switched it to the middle position, where you hear that out-of-phase sound because of the backward pickup, and I was shocked because it really sounded like a Strat cranked through a 100-watt Marshall. 

"I looked at my friend and I was just grinning. 'I’m not giving it back to you.' It all happened within about two minutes. I said to him, 'Okay, you got me. You fuckin’ got me. I love this guitar. It’s amazing.'"

Sometimes people who purchase high-ticket items experience buyer’s remorse. Did that ever happen to you? 

"Just the opposite. I was frantic about it. I got really paranoid and OCD about it being sold from underneath me. But in reality, no-one was interested in that guitar. They had shown it to Joe Bonamassa just the week previous and he wasn’t as impressionable as I was. But I was obsessed. 

"I was calling up every day saying, 'Okay, do we have a deal yet? Okay, let’s work out a payment plan. Okay, so you got the check? Okay, when can you deliver the guitar to me?' I was kind of crazy about it. 

"Once I finally got it in my hands, I just went, 'Yes!' And then I started noticing other aspects of it that I didn’t catch before. It was easy for me to play because it wasn’t too heavy. There were all these wear marks on it and a little mark from where Gary Moore rested his fingers when he played it. And the finish was cracked in the coolest way. I thought, 'This guitar has a vibe. I’m not letting it out of my sight.'"

You played Greeny on Metallica’s Hardwired… to Self-Destruct and you’ve taken it on tour. That’s a pretty valuable guitar to bring onstage. 

"Usually, people put on white gloves when they handle a ’59 Les Paul because they’re so fucking rare and valuable. But I had an epiphany. I realized I’m in the best sort of situation I could be in. 

"If this were any other guitar, the more I played it, the more the value would go down because it gets scratched, dented up and damaged. But Greeny already has a million dents and scratches. The neck was broken twice before I got it and it doesn’t matter because it still sounds amazing. 

"So I can sweat all over it or bleed all over it and it will always retain its value and its significance because of its history."

Were you able to make Greeny work in Metallica right away? 

"I started playing it immediately. I was able to get a really good working sound out of it because it’s different from all my other guitars. The other guitars I play onstage have active EMG pickups, and Greenie has classic [humbucker] pickups. But the pickups are so incredible-sounding. 

"The output isn’t too high or too low. It’s right in that sweet spot where I can hear everything evenly and clearly. All of the different frequencies come out ringing. It was very easy to modify it to work for me onstage. A lot of times when you have a vintage guitar it doesn’t sound as good as these hot-rodded guitars. That wasn’t the case at all. 

"The tone was there. I just hit a power chord and I was like, 'Oh my God, this is heaven.' And to play that super-loud, through a PA that’s 35 feet high in an empty stadium - it’s Greeny being where it wants to be, singing to all these venues filled with tens of thousands of people."

What did you actually pay for Greeny? 

"I made a deal with the person I bought it from that I would never say what I paid for it. But it wasn’t $2 million. It wasn’t $1 million. It wasn’t even $500,000. That’s all I’ll say about it."

You mentioned that Greeny’s neck was broken twice. Do you know the details? 

"Last year, I saw Neil Carter, who played in Gary Moore’s band and UFO [in the '80s], and he said to me, 'You know, I was with Gary Moore when Greeny was in the trunk and Gary got rear-ended by another vehicle.' 

"I said, 'Wait, you were there when Greeny’s neck was broken?' He goes, 'Oh yeah,' and then he told me the story. Gary Moore’s manager was supposed to put gas in the car. For whatever reason, he wasn’t able to. So they were going up the M1 and ran out of gas and got stuck there in the middle of the lane in the middle of the night. They got out of the car and were just sitting on the side of the road. 

"And then, out of nowhere, this vehicle came down the road and tried to stop at the last second, but ended up hitting the car and it impacted the trunk and broke the guitar. 

"When they took Greeny out of the trunk they thought she was ruined. Amazingly, they found a guy who put her back together as good as new. So after I heard that story I talked to my tech, who is British, and he thought about who he would have brought the guitar to if that had happened to him. 

"And sure enough, it was the guy who repaired Greeny. He gave my tech a detailed account of what they did to put Greeny back together - the type of dowels they used, where they were inserted, the type of glue they used. And now my tech knows what to do if that kind of thing ever happens again."

Any other great Greeny stories? 

"[Thin Lizzy guitarist] Scott Gorham told me that Gary Moore’s band Skid Row was playing a show once and this weird band made up of sketchy-looking characters was opening for them. 

"After Skid Row came offstage, Greeny was gone, and so was the opening band. A guy at the club, though, who wasn’t a part of the crew or anything thought it was fishy and I guess he knew where the band was from. So he and a friend got in his car and started driving and eventually they saw the band and confronted them. 

'Hey, did you guys take Gary Moore’s guitar?' 'No, no, no,' the band said. So the guy searched the van and while he was looking his friend suspected maybe someone took a walk with Greeny. He looked around and saw Greeny in the bushes. 

"He quietly picked it up and put it in the back of their car and then went back over to his friend who was still arguing with the guys in the opening band. 'Okay, they don’t know anything. Let’s just go!' he said. They hopped into the car and sped off and Greeny made it back to Gary Moore."

Do Metallica fans recognize Greeny? 

"I don’t start the show with that guitar. Greeny gets handed to me maybe seven or eight songs in. When I put it on and walk out I can see people pointing and whispering to each other. And signs come out saying, 'Greeny Lives!' And if we’re doing Fade to Black, I have to play it on Greeny. 

"I love that Greeny has its own fanbase that’s completely independent of me. When I first got the guitar, my guitar-playing friends would bring over their Les Paul, set it right next to Greeny and take a picture of the two guitars. 

"A lot of times I’ll be standing there and all of a sudden someone will say, 'Can I take a picture with Greeny?' I’m like, 'Yeah, sure.' I’ll have to take it off and give it to the person or set it on the stand and take their camera and shoot a photo for them. 

"It’s kind of like how it would be if I was married to someone super-famous and was constantly asked to step aside so they could take a picture with her."

Do you sometimes feel like Greeny gives you superpowers? 

"Whitfield Crane, the singer for the cover band I’m in, the Wedding Band, said something really funny. He went, 'Dude, Greeny is your Excalibur.' I said, 'What do you mean?' And he said, 'Well, you know, other people tried to have it but they couldn’t get it and now it’s your guitar and it’s like it has all these powers.' 

"And I thought, 'Yeah, Excalibur. That’s what I use to slay the dragon.' And then I thought about it some more and 'the dragon tone' is what I call the middle pickup sound. So it’s almost like another 'coming home' moment. I don’t know. I just know I can hit a note and it will fucking sing for two minutes. It’s an amazing, amazing guitar.”

It was October 1966, and God had gone missing. Scanning the Decca Studios in North London as John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers set up to record A Hard Road, producer Mike Vernon felt a sense of rising panic. 

“I said to John, ‘Where’s Eric Clapton?’ Mayall says: ‘He’s not with us any more, but don’t worry, we’ve got someone better.’ I said, ‘You’ve got someone better – than Eric Clapton?’ John said, ‘He might not be better now, but in a couple of years, he’s going to be the best.’ Then he introduced me to Peter Green.” 

Vernon’s incredulity made sense. After all, this was Eric Clapton: pack-leader of London’s fretting classes, proclaimed as ‘God’ in graffiti all across town, whose precocious fingers had shot molten soul over Bluesbreakers cuts like Hideaway and Little Girl from that summer’s scene-igniting ‘Beano’ album. 

The fact that Beano’s official title gave him top billing – Bluesbreakers With Eric Clapton – spoke volumes about the hotshot guitarist’s pulling power. Now he was gone, replaced by a spring-haired cockney interloper. 

The swap seemed absurd, like a Sunday league nonentity pulling on George Best’s hallowed number seven shirt and running out for United. Only Mayall was unruffled, showing the quiet confidence of a man with an ace up his sleeve. Bringing in Green, he reflected, decades later, “was a no-brainer”. 

Born in London's working-class Bethnal Green on 29 October 1946, Peter Allen Greenbaum’s early life echoed that of his fellow British Invaders. Like his peers from that golden generation, he devoured the import vinyl that trickled over from the States, thrilling to the primal touch of US titans like Freddie King, Otis Rush, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy and – perhaps most palpable in his own playing – the one-note master, BB King.

Green had tried guitar, but ended up slogging across London, bass in hand, keeping his head down in also-ran acts like Peter B’s Looners. It was Clapton, he recalled, who changed his trajectory. “I decided to go back on lead guitar after seeing him with the Bluesbreakers. He had a Les Paul, his fingers were marvellous. The guy knew how to do a bit of evil, I guess.” 

By his own admission, Clapton was a flake who regularly ducked shows, and when Mayall recruited deps, Green showed them no mercy. “Peter had pestered John to employ him,” noted Clapton, “often turning up at gigs and shouting that he was better than whoever was playing that night. I got the impression he was a confident person who knew exactly what he wanted.” 

When Clapton took a booze-soaked holiday in Greece in August 1965, Green got his chance, only to be left fuming when the prodigal son returned to reclaim his gig. But by summer 1966, when Clapton quit for Cream, Green became a permanent fixture, quickly silencing the early catcalls – “Where’s Eric?” – with his magic touch. 

“What I remember about those concerts is that nobody was calling for Eric,” remembers Tom Huissen, the Dutch fan who released an album of Green-era bootlegs in 2015. “They accepted Peter straightaway. The way he played – it was just phenomenal.” 

Green’s mastery of mood meant he could shine on live material spanning from Otis Rush cuts like So Many Roads, through R&B floor-shakers like Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson’s Looking Back, to T-Bone Walker’s languorous Call It Stormy Monday. He could certainly play blazing, visceral flurries of notes, but to Green, doing so was an admission of defeat. 

“Playing fast is something I used to do with John when things weren’t going very well,” he reflected. “But it isn’t any good. I like to play slowly and feel every note.” Speaking to Christopher Hjort for the notes of last year’s Fleetwood Mac: Before The Beginning boxset, Vernon also noted that Green resisted the era’s growing vogue for overdrive. “He loved the sound of the guitar pure, without too much distortion, and made the notes sing, rather like BB did.” 

It was this same ethos that Green brought to A Hard Road’s sessions, which alternately groans with some of his most fiery and sensuous playing. Back in 1998, he would give a characteristically modest interview to Guitarist, shrugging that “I didn’t really know what I was doing. I used to dash around on stepping stones. ‘Safe’ notes, y’know?” 

Yet Green’s towering performances on that 1967 album beg to differ, whether on the weeping bends of Someday After A While (You’ll Be Sorry) or the intense sustained notes of The Supernatural. And even if speed wasn’t his style, the guitarist would sometimes relax his principles, as on showboat instrumental The Stumble: less lauded than Clapton’s Hideaway, perhaps, but easily its equal for chills. 

The Bluesbreakers seemed the perfect home for a player of Green’s persuasion. But even as A Hard Road reached UK No 8 in February 1967, the guitarist was restless. 

As he told Norman Jopling: “It was becoming less and less of the blues. We’d do the same thing night after night. John would say something to the audience and count us in, and I’d groan inwardly.” 

According to then-girlfriend Sandra Elsdon, Green was even chewing over a move to the motherland (“He was into Chicago blues and just wanted to be immersed in it”), until the plan was killed by Mayall’s flatmate Marsha Hunt. “I could only imagine this small temperate London boy getting his ass kicked in Chicago,” she remembered. “I put him off in no uncertain terms.” 

Even so, Green was not long for the Bluesbreakers line-up. The original members of Fleetwood Mac remember his approach as being tantamount to a press gang (“Peter asked if I wanted a drink,” recalled guitarist Jeremy Spencer, “and as we stood by the bar, he talked as though I was already in it”) and in late-summer 1967, Vernon unlocked Decca Studios under cover of darkness for a secret session by the nascent line-up, completed by drummer Mick Fleetwood and original bassist Bob Brunning (shortly replaced by John McVie). 

“Fleetwood Mac was a bit of an experiment to start with,” Green noted. “I wouldn’t have been surprised if it had failed.” 

Given Green’s profile, the subterfuge couldn’t last. Soon enough, the music press was buzzing (Melody Maker: “A new Cream-type group is being formed by ex-John Mayall guitarist Peter Green”) and Mayall graciously accepted the loss of a second guitar god in as many years. In truth, Melody Maker was off the mark. 

As the debut album reached UK No 4, a less questing bandleader might have been satisfied to stick to the formula and ride the prevailing appetite for electric blues. But, as ever, Green was thinking bigger. 

Unlike the psych-tinged and jazz-inflected Cream, Fleetwood Mac’s dedication to the true, deep blues was unwavering – even if they did occasionally give the stage to Spencer’s 50s rock ’n’ roll pastiches.

“The irony is that these funny little English dudes reconstituted an artform that was all but dead – nobody gave a shit about it in America – and served it back to them,” wrote Fleetwood in his Love That Burns book. “We helped save something that was all but thrown in the dustbin.” 

For purists, the band’s self-titled debut – recorded live and informally christened ‘dog and dustbin’ after its sleeve art – was a treasure trove, with Green originals jostling with standards by Robert Johnson and Elmore James.

Revisit the enigmatic, echo-clad guitar leads of I Loved Another Woman, for example, where Green had rarely sounded so supple and emotive. 

“It really holds up, when you listen to some of that early stuff,” writes Fleetwood. “I mean, Peter was such an extraordinary player, so sensitive and mature.”

After an underwhelming follow-up album in August 1968’s Mr Wonderful, the recruitment of cherubic guitarist Danny Kirwan was a catalyst, prodding Green from tired 12-bars towards offbeat textural work, more like that year’s earlier single, Black Magic Woman. “That was the song,” noted Vernon, “that proved that Peter was not only just a really good songwriter, he was an exceptionally good songwriter.” 

Green didn’t share that opinion: he had confidence in his playing, but writing was uncharted territory (“I was forced into songwriting,” he told us in 1998. “I’m not really a songwriter”). But a breakthrough came when he shook off the prescriptive influence of the blues pioneers and accepted the genre was defined more by feel than formula. 

“To my mind,” Green told journalist Ian Middleton, “a blues doesn’t have to be a 12-bar progression. It can cover any musical chord sequence. To me, the blues is an emotional thing. If a song has the right emotion then I accept it as a blues.” 

With his antennae up, and attuned to the more experimental writing of bands like The Beatles, the early Mac’s most iconic song was born. Albatross was a swooning, swooping, pulsing instrumental, with Green draping stately guitar lines over a tapestry of overdubs. 

“It was a brand-new Strat,” Green told David Mead in 1995. “We hired two for the recording and that was one of them. There’s a Les Paul on there as well, though. But the chords and the main melody are on a Strat with the high melody parts on the Les Paul. Danny plays the harmony parts. There are two bass guitars on there, too.” 

Such ambition was lost on CBS executives, while even Fleetwood fretted that Albatross was “a little light in the loafers” for their blues hardcore. But Green persisted, and when the song sailed to UK No 1 in December 1968, it set in motion a career-best run of creativity. 

In 1969 alone, Green delivered the glistening Man Of The World and schizophrenic folk-rocker Oh Well (both UK No 2 singles), before third album, Then Play On, made UK No 6 and announced a musical mind fusing everything from tape echo to the classical influences of Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending. 

“One can only imagine,” mused Fleetwood, “what he’d have created if he had continued on that track.” And yet, if you peered a little closer, it was clear the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac had already peaked. 

Green was unravelling, leaving lyrical clues to his state of mind (‘I just wish I’d never been born,’ runs Man Of The World, while Love That Burns begs: ‘Please leave me now in my room to cry’). Then there was his final composition, The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Prong Crown), examining Green’s struggles with fame, fortune and imposter syndrome, his spooky guitar tone signposting a man on the brink. 

“The burden of our success haunted him,” noted Fleetwood. “Peter thought it was all bullshit and was convinced that people never really liked him.” 

In April 1970, an NME interview revealed the extent of Green’s burnout. “I feel it is time for a change. I want to change my whole life, really, because I don’t want to be at all a part of the conditioned world, and as much as possible, I am getting out of it.” 

Get out of it he would, in both senses. In early 1970, after a disastrous LSD dose at a Munich hippie enclave, Green’s fragile headspace shattered entirely, leading the guitarist to quit the band and tumble into an existence mostly chronicled by troubling newspaper headlines. 

Decades later, when mercifully recovered enough to play with his underrated Splinter Group, Green couldn’t form a cogent argument for his actions in those last chaotic days of Fleetwood Mac. “I don’t really know why I left the group in the end. I think it was just because I wanted to do things for free. I knew that people looked at me like I was in a dream. I could tell that, even at the time…” 

Green’s fall from the top table of British blues is often viewed by connoisseurs as a maddening waste of talent, his early promise only half-fulfilled at best. Perhaps, but rather than pine for what might have been, it’s surely better to treasure his output from that magical era and celebrate the genius that fired the world’s imagination, however briefly. 

As Fleetwood once told this writer: “I’ve just learnt that Peter’s journey took him where he is. After a while, you just have to accept it…”

Mick Fleetwood’s all-star tribute concert to Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green takes place tonight, February 25, at the Palladium in London.

In addition to Fleetwood and the house band, the bill for the historic tribute to the singer and electric guitar player includes Billy Gibbons, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend, Kirk Hammett, Steven Tyler, Noel Gallagher, Jonny Lang, Bill Wyman, John Mayall, Neil Finn, Andy Fairweather Low, Christine McVie, Zak Starkey and more.

Of course, Greeny – the 1959 Les Paul Standard that was famously owned by Green and, subsequently Irish rocker Gary Moore, and now belongs to Hammett – will be in attendance as well.

In advance of the gig, Fleetwood has shared a short rehearsal clip that shows the assembled musicians jamming Fleetwood Mac classics like “Oh Well” and "Station Man."

Said Fleetwood about the show, officially dubbed Mick Fleetwood and Friends Celebrate the Music of Peter Green and the Early Years of Fleetwood Mac, “The concert is a celebration of those early blues days where we all began, and it’s important to recognize the profound impact Peter and the early Fleetwood Mac had on the world of music.

“Peter was my greatest mentor and it gives me such joy to pay tribute to his incredible talent. I am honored to be sharing the stage with some of the many artists Peter has inspired over the years and who share my great respect for this remarkable musician.”

For more information, head to Mick Fleetwood and Friends.

There’s a note of disbelief in Andy Powell’s voice as he reels off the vital statistics of Wishbone Ash. 50 years. 25 studio albums. And too many ex-band members to compute (some going more quietly than others).

“I joke on stage with our newest member, Mark Abrahams, that I’ve burnt out nine guitar players before him,” chuckles Powell. “But he takes it very well.”

As the sole remaining member of the line-up that set out with 1970’s Wishbone Ash, and lifted off with 1972’s masterpiece, Argus, Powell is the custodian and mouthpiece of this band – and there couldn’t be a better man for the job. Friendly, engaging, garrulous and great company, he’ll happily lead you down memory lane, from Flying Vs to court cases. 

“I’m giving you a lot of information,” he considers. “But it’s a shit-ton of work."

When you revisit 1970’s debut album, do you recognise yourself as a player?

“Yeah, I do. I can hear the emotional excitement. I’m a speedy character and I can hear that in the youthful playing. But technically, I’m a lot more advanced now. I couldn’t pick a guitar in those days. If I played those parts now, I’d probably get myself under control. But then, somebody else would say, ‘No, don’t lose that mad, out-of-control thing.’”

What are your proudest moments?

“The first album and Pilgrimage [1971], we were slogging around the clubs, so those two albums were our live set. Our first song, Blind Eye, was designed to wake people up in a club. Argus is where we hit our stride. A lot of the pieces were written in bedsits in Ladbroke Grove, sitting on people’s beds. We all lived in the same street, like a little commune. On tour, living in these tight, confined spaces, whether someone was reading a book by Tolkien, or someone picked up a Bible, we’d all be transferring ideas.”

How did the classic songs take shape?

“Mostly with acoustic guitars. I was really into Fairport Convention and Celtic rock at the time, so I was writing songs like Errors Of My Way. But when you transferred that to electric… I remember [co-guitarist] Ted Turner came up with the main lick in The King Will Come, then we plugged in the electric guitars and suddenly it was like, ‘Wow, we can hear this stuff being played in concert halls.’ 

"At the time of Argus, we were on the cusp. We were going to America. We couldn’t just go out and be a jam band. We needed bigger themes. We needed Throw Down The Sword and The King Will Come.”

What atmosphere were you trying to create with your playing?

“If you want to hear what I’m about, I’d pick Sometime World or Throw Down The Sword. That’s my stamp. It’s emotive work. My best playing is when I’m not thinking and just let it fly. When you really hit it, there’s a transcendence. For me, it’s like the way people describe astral projection, without getting pretentious. When you look down and go, ‘I don’t have a fucking clue what my fingers are doing – but they’re doing something and it’s connected with my heart.’ And if I can get that on record, then I’m really cooking with gas.”

Can you explain how the band’s twin-lead style developed?

“We were the second generation, don’t forget. You’d already had Beck, Clapton, Page, Green. Then it was up to us to carry the torch. And that was really the reason for the twin-lead guitar thing. Because how could you top Beck? You couldn’t. You had to think laterally. Another thing I learnt from Fleetwood Mac was how one guitar player would – in a gentlemanly way – step the hell back and let the other guy do his thing. So I never considered it to be a battle with Ted. We always knew who was going to play each solo, no ego problems. Great training for a guitar player is to shut the fuck up and listen.”

Ted left at an unfortunate moment…

“I treat regrets as life lessons. But we were just coming into our stride. Ted could see he was going to be shackled to a life as a gigging musician and I think the idea of that scared him. But it was just at that point when we were about to conquer America. I think, if he could have just stuck with it, we could have achieved greater heights. I don’t think we fully realised the potential of that first incarnation. Then we went through a period of self-doubt, trying to find a new direction with Laurie Wisefield, not always finding it.”

How was the guitar interplay different with Laurie?

“There was perhaps a bit more competition with him. Our music became more aggressive, more technical. We both had to learn elements of each other’s styles. He came from a country format; I came more from a bluesier place. So I had to learn how to pick and he had to learn more single-string playing. Laurie stepped into a period of success, particularly in the States. 

"My favourite moment with that line-up was when we went to Miami to record There’s The Rub [1974]. We were like the soundcheck band for the Eagles’ Hotel California: they came in literally the day we left. We’d already written F.U.B.B., and there were some nice moments playing those lines with Laurie in harmony, backed up by Latin conga players, down in there in the heat of Miami – while smoking copious amounts of Jamaican weed, I might add.”

What do you think were the cornerstones of your sound?

“There were two aspects. On stage, we quickly gravitated towards Orange OR100s. Massively heavy, very clean, hi-fi-sounding, midrange-y, punchy as hell, loud – it was the perfect amp to conquer the stadiums with. Because bear in mind that PAs were pretty weak in those days. I played the Flying V, Ted played a Strat or Les Paul, so with that arsenal, we could create a lot of sound. We didn’t need pedals. If you played a solo, you just turned the guitar up.

“The second aspect was in the studio. It came to my attention that the best way to get a really good sound was with vintage tweed Fender amps. I had two 4x10 Concerts. I would close-mic and distant-mic them, which was a fairly new concept at the time.”

You can’t be an average player with a Flying V, can you?

“You’ve got to stick your neck out. Bear in mind, it was a bit of a dog at the time. Nobody wanted a Flying V. Aside from Albert King, nobody could get their head – or arms – around it. I bought my Vs at the same time I bought the Orange rig. They had two ’67s – this was in about 1972, so they were five years old, but no-one had wanted them. 

"I always thought it was an amazing shape. But when I played the thing, even before I plugged it in, I realised it had this vibrant sound. It had a bit of twang, which a Les Paul didn’t. It suited my style. I like ringy, open chords. You combine that with the photo-visual side – they loved to show a picture of me in Sounds and Melody Maker.”

You and original bassist Martin Turner went to court over the Wishbone Ash name. Could you ever be friends again?

“I’ve tried at various points. He’s tried. I just think we’re intrinsically such different people. It’s like a divorce. We’re not in each other’s lives any more. I hope that at some point we could look each other in the eye and go, ‘Hey, you old bugger’ or whatever. But I don’t hold my breath for it.”

What can we expect from this year’s Coat Of Arms album?

“It’s technical, for sure. We’re not afraid to do unusual timings, long songs, complicated arrangements. But there’s also a depth of feeling, and I’m not afraid to wear my political allegiances on my sleeve. Some songs go up to eight minutes and, you can imagine, you can’t sing for that long, so there’s lots of twin guitar. It’s Mark’s studio debut – and he’s phenomenal.”

Is it important that you’re not just a ‘greatest hits’ band?

“Oh, I’d have given up years ago. I can’t stand that whole thing. Sure, you use your laurels, but you don’t rest on them. I’ve got to be vital. I’ve got to feel like I’m exercising that creative muscle. I know fans love nostalgia, but I’m living in the now. I can’t go out there and be a parody of myself.”

Return of the Mac

A Peter Green super-fan, Powell gives us his verdict on the newly released Fleetwood Mac box-set

“When we hit the summer of love in 1967, everything exploded for me. We’d gone through the British blues boom, so John Mayall was on my radar, and through listening to Mayall and Clapton, the next port of call was obviously Peter Green.

"Bluesbreakers tracks like The Supernatural blew me away. Clapton took me into another dimension as far as what could be done on guitar with single-string soloing. But Peter had this kind of mojo. It was a bit scary.

“He was the complete package. He had light and shade in his playing: he’d go from a whisper to an out-and-out screeching solo. He pioneered that out-of-phase pickup thing with the Les Paul, gave his solos this human sound, almost like a vocal. It was like a plaintive, yearning kind of deal. No-one else was playing like that. He wore all his influences well – y’know, BB King and Otis Rush and everyone – but he just made it something uniquely Peter.

“In 1967, when I was 17, I was fortunate enough to go to the National Jazz & Blues Festival in Windsor and saw Peter Green and Fleetwood Mac. At the end of the show, I leapt up on stage, grabbed him round the neck and pulled him back on for an encore. That was a seminal moment for me. I was just overcome.

“I was hooked. I was hoping to somehow get some of that mojo Peter had, hoping some of it might rub off on me. That’s why I grabbed hold of the guy, in a way. And I think a fair bit of it did. Fleetwood Mac was one of the very first twin lead-guitar bands, so that whole deal was impregnated into the early DNA of Wishbone Ash, which came along two years later.

“Ted Turner and I were both besotted with Peter Green. There are lots of similarities and influences of Peter Green and early Fleetwood Mac, though Wishbone took it a little bit more in a truly English direction, with more Celtic and folk roots, as opposed to pure American blues.

“I’ve had a good listen to the new boxset. It’s really quite astounding. Number one, where did these recordings come from? Number two, they’re really damn good. The demos are really enlightening. I often think that with demos, you get more of the spirit of the song before the, let’s say, ‘proper recording’.

“On this set, you’ve got the very early Mac entity, with Jeremy Spencer and the Elmore James thing, and you’re hearing a bunch of guys just having a great time. Then you get to the 1970 period with Oh Well and The Green Manalishi, and Danny Kirwan coming on the scene. It’s fascinating. One of the best selections I’ve heard, actually.”

• Wishbone Ash's Coat of Arms is out 28 February through Steamhammer

It was close to two years ago that Lindsey Buckingham was fired by Fleetwood Mac, and in that time the band reconstituted with former Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers electric and acoustic guitar player Mike Campbell and Crowded House’s Neil Finn for a massively successful tour.

Now, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, drummer Mick Fleetwood was asked if he could ever envision the Mac reuniting with Buckingham (who sued the band and then underwent emergency open heart surgery), to which his answer was a resounding “no.”

“Fleetwood Mac is a strange creature,” he explained. “We’re very, very committed to Neil and Mike, and that passed away a time ago, when Lindsey left. And it’s not a point of conversation, so I have to say no.”

Fleetwood continued, “His legacy is alive and well, and as it should be. A major, major part that will never be taken away, and never be down-spoken by any of us. Neil and Mike have tremendous respect for Lindsey. The situation was no secret. We were not happy. It was not working, and we parted company. And that really is the all of it.”

Elsewhere, Fleetwood discussed the upcoming tribute concert to Mac cofounder Peter Green, which is scheduled to take place February 25 in London, with a guest list that includes David Gilmour, Christine McVie, John Mayall and Steven Tyler.

As for whether Green, who wrote many of the group’s early songs before addiction and mental health issues led to his exit from the band, will play at the show, Fleetwood responded:

“No. But it seems he’s going to come. He wants to keep a very, very low profile, and that’s fine. This is about the journey Peter took into the music, and that music is still alive. Everyone that’s on this show has their own poignant story about being connected to that early band.”

If Green is not able to be there on the 25th to sing and play his songs, we have a suggestion as to someone that might be available to help out.  

Kirk Hammett recently stopped by the Let There Be Talk podcast and went deep on “Greeny” – his 1959 Les Paul Standard electric guitar that was famously owned by Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green and, subsequently, by his disciple, Irish rocker Gary Moore.

In addition to recounting the story of how the iconic guitar came into his hands, he also dropped some new Peter Green-related nuggets.

For starters, Hammett revealed that when he recently met Green – for the first time ever – at his house in the south of London, the Fleetwood Mac legend didn’t acknowledge the Les Paul.

"I said to Peter, 'Hey man, I have a friend of yours in this bag,' ” Hammett said during the interview, transcribed by Ultimate Guitar. “And I pulled it out, I showed it to him, and he said, 'That's not my guitar,' which is his stock answer whenever he's asked about Greeny.

"And the reason why he said that is because he doesn't see the red in the finish. So, he says, 'Oh, that's not the guitar, my guitar was red.' His friend who was just sitting across the room says, 'He knows that's his guitar.' So, that's just kind of a thing he does.”

Hammett also stated that he played Green a version of the Fleetwood Mac ballad Man of the World that he recently recorded at Abbey Road for a tribute album.

"It gets a little uppity in the end, and what I did was I just modernized the whole song, modernized it with modern tones, kind of like a more modern arrangement. I've made the uppity part heavy and dynamic,” Hammett said.

"I actually took a lot of liberties with it, and so I got a little nervous about playing the song for him because I took a lot of liberties, I don't know if he would be offended by it, but I played him the track, and right after it ended, he just looked at his friend and asked him something about the weather or something.

"I didn't know if he liked it or not. The guy named Mark, who's spearheading this whole project, he told me that Peter liked it, and he was able to determine that from Peter's body language.

"I said, 'What do you mean?' It looked like he was more interested in the weather.' And he said that when he was listening, he was tapping his foot, and by the end, he was making kind of guitar movements with his hand, and Mark said that it was a very positive thing.”

Regarding the upcoming Peter Green tribute album, Hammett revealed that he plays on two songs – Man of the World and Need Your Love So Bad. And what's more, he also sings on the former track.

"There was a demo of this one song called Need Your Love So Bad that they found," Hammett said. "It's a demo; Peter Green sang that song in his bedroom, and at the end of it you could hear his mom saying to turn it down or something like that.

"So what they did, they took that vocal track and they isolated it, and they've created an augmented instrumentation track done by David Gilmour. So the song Need Your Love So Bad, [was] created by David Gilmour and his band, and they flew in the vocals on top of it.

"It's a more modern, updated version of Need Your Love So Bad, and that's one of the tracks. The other track is Man of the World with myself and Mick Fleetwood.

"I am singing on it; it's an easy song to sing, it's got that talk-singing kind of thing, I can handle that. That's about the length of my singing abilities, but I'm into it. I'm so into it, I'm into all aspects of it, it's just one of those things, it just kind of unfolded like this.”

The capo is to electric and acoustic guitars what sugar - or Stevia, if you prefer - is to food: it makes everything sweeter.

Musicians started noticing the capo's inherent sound-sweetening properties in the early 17th century, when primitive versions of the handy accessory were employed to raise the pitch of a host of fretted instruments.

The point of a capo is, of course, to be able to perform a song in a different key while using the same fingerings and chord formations you'd use in an open position. This enables performers to stick to positions they're more comfortable with and to enjoy all the benefits - including ringing, open strings- high up on the neck.

Capos also facilitate or create alternate chord voicings and help performers accentuate certain melody lines in a song. Of course, the higher up the neck you go with a capo, the more you change the voicing of the guitar - to the point that you can even imitate a mandolin.

Former Eagle Don Felder says it best in the video below, which he created for Guitar World:

"When I originally wrote [Hotel California], it was in the key of E minor, which is a really great guitar key to play in and write in. We recorded the whole track in E minor, and then Don Henley went out and tried singing it... and it was way too high for him.

"So I took a guitar, went out in the studio and said, 'OK, let's move it down to D minor.' Still too high... C minor, a little bit too high; A minor; no, that's too low. It wound up being in the key of B minor, which is on the seventh fret."

The seventh fret is exactly where Felder's capo wound up; the song is played as if it were in E minor.

Below, members of the Guitar World staff - including Jimmy Brown, tech editor Paul Riario and online managing editor Damian Fanelli - have rounded up 15 essential 'capo songs' - out of hundreds of worthy choices - that show off the benefits of, and alternate voicings created by, the capo. We tried to make sure no bands are repeated (although three bands are, indeed, repeated); we also set out to create a well-rounded list.

Note also that we've chosen videos that aren't necessarily vintage or classic- or that don't even show the 'classic' line-ups of certain bands; they do, however, show the capo'd guitar being played (in most cases, at least).

• Pop a capo on your axe with our guide to the best guitar capos you can buy today

1. Eagles - Hotel California | Capo 7

As stated earlier, to play the Eagles' Hotel California in its original key, try using a capo on the seventh fret. The song is played as if it were in E minor, the song's original key, as explained by Don Felder above (and in the video below). This makes the song 'sound' in B minor. Note: The capo is used on the acoustic guitar part that starts the song.

In the top lesson video below, Fender also shows you how to play part of the guitar solo (Note that Felder plays Hotel California in A minor now because he sings it when he performs it, and it works better with his vocal range).

2. Jethro Tull - Aqualung | Capo 3

This classic 1971 Jethro Tull tune features a capo on the third fret - for the acoustic guitar part, that is, which is performed by Ian Anderson in the vintage live video below.

The acoustic part is played as if it were in E minor, but it 'sounds' in G minor. Don't worry, we'll have more classic Tull for you later in the list!

3. Oasis - Wonderwall | Capo 2

Jumping ahead to the height of the Britpop-dominated mid-'90s, we bring you one of the songs Oasis will be remembered for - Wonderwall, which was composed by Noel Gallagher.

To play the song in its original key (as thousands of wide-eyed kids of all ages sing along with you), put a capo on the second fret and play the song as if it were in E minor. It, of course, 'sounds' in F# minor.

4. The Who - The Real Me | Capo 3

Although this one doesn't normally leap to mind when one thinks of "popular capo tunes," this rocking Quadrophenia track from 1973 was recorded by Pete Townshend using a capo on the third fret.

The song, which is played as if it were in a power-chord-friendly A, 'sounds' in C.

5. The Beatles - Here Comes the Sun | Capo 7

George Harrison was fond of sticking a capo on the seventh fret of his guitar and playing songs in the 'D' formation that sound like they're in A. He did it on the Beatles' If I Needed Someone and followed it up a few years later with 1969's Here Comes the Sun, one of his greatest compositions.

Below is a Here Comes the Sun lesson by Jimmy Brown.

6. Fleetwood Mac - The Chain| Capo 2

This classic Fleetwood Mac song is played in drop-D tuning - the studio version, that is - with a capo on the second fret.

The song, which emphasizes a 'swampy stomp' groove, incorporates an octave bass line on the guitar and some greasy finger picking.

7. Tom Petty - Free Fallin' | Capo info below

Free Fallin', the most popular track from Petty's first 'solo' album, 1989's Full Moon Fever, was played like so:

• Capo 1 main, low guitar part and second, higher guitar part (played as if the song were in E; sounds in F.)
• Capo 3 third guitar part (played as if the song were in D; sounds in F.)

In this song in particular, we hear the capo truly 'sweeten up' the beefy chords.

8. James Taylor - Fire and Rain | Capo 3

This beautiful song by James Taylor is played as if it were in the key of A. It 'sounds' in C. It features open-chord embellishments and sliding chord shapes.

9. Bob Dylan - Don't Think Twice, It's All Right | Capo 4

When we spoke to Ed Sheeran, we asked him to name a few acoustic guitar songs every guitarist should know how to play. He named this one, a bouncy track from Bob Dylan's 1963 album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. At least John Mayer knows how to play it - and we've included his live video below.

Note that there aren't many (or any) videos on YouTube that show Dylan playing this song the way he played it in '63. There is, however, an interesting clip of Dylan performing the song with Eric Clapton. By the way, Blowin' in the Wind is another fine capo tune by Dylan (capo 7).

Almost forgot: For Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, it's capo 4; play a C chord; 'sounds' in E! There are some fun changes in this tune.

10. The Guess Who - No Sugar Tonight | Capo 4

This classic Guess Who tune - which is performed with a capo as a straight chord melody - is played as if it were in D. It 'sounds' in F#.

Note: We're talking about the original version. In the video below, you'll notice the capo doesn't play a huge role in the song in modern times.

11. The Beatles - Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) | Capo 2

This late-1965 Beatles song is played as if it were in the key of D, but it 'sounds' in E, with a capo on the second fret. Right-hand-wise, it's a 'strum-picky' chord melody - not quite picking, not quite strumming.

Because there are no videos of the Beatles performing this song live (because it never happened), we've provided a basic (non-Guitar World) lesson video that shows everything clearly, including the capo on the second fret, the chords and embellishments.

12. Harry Chapin - Cat's in the Cradle | Capo 8

This 1974 Harry Chapin tune is played as if it were in the key of A but 'sounds' in F. It's another example of a 'chord melody' piece.

13. Jethro Tull - Thick As a Brick | Capo 3

This classic Jethro Tull tune is played as if it were in D, but it 'sounds' in F. It is packed with rolling arpeggios that make non-stop - and awesome - use of the capo.

14. Fleetwood Mac - Landslide | Capo 3

We don't like to repeat bands in our lists (OK, we've already done it with the Beatles and Jethro Tull), but it's difficult to leave out this Fleetwood Mac tune.

The song, which highlights a form of Travis picking, is played as if it were in the key of C. It 'sounds' in Eb.

15. Clarence White - I Am a Pilgrim / Soldier's Joy | Capo 2

Here's a curveball for you - a selection from the world of bluegrass. Here's Clarence White (on the left, with the beard) performing a medley of I Am a Pilgrim and Soldier's Joy with his brother, Roland, on mandolin and Bob Baxter on second guitar (later joined by Byron Berline on fiddle and Alan Munde on banjo for Soldier's Joy).

The clip is rare in that it shows White's fingering and fretwork up close. Second, there's White unusual sense of timing in the first tune (I Am a Pilgrim); it's as if he's throwing in chord substitutions like a jazzer, while Roland plays it straight on mandolin.

It can be a little disconcerting and confusing (but I love it). But pay close attention to the second tune (starts at 3:47), which is a traditional fiddle tune adapted to guitar. It is almost always played with a capo on the second fret, in D, although played with a C chord.

Lindsey Buckingham underwent open-heart surgery earlier this year, and now the former Fleetwood Mac singer and guitarist has made his first public appearance since the operation. This past weekend, Buckingham performed at his daughter Leelee’s high school graduation, picking an acoustic rendition of “Landslide,” from Fleetwood Mac’s 1975 self-titled album, as students sang the lyrics behind him.

Lindsey’s wife, Kristen Buckingham, posted a snippet of the performance to Instagram, which you can check out below.

She also tweeted: “Last night was epic. First time I’ve seen Lindsey play in the last 4 mos, all the while Leelee ending her high school career. AND she sings a little ‘Landslide’ with her dad. I cried, I’ll admit it. Never know what’s ahead so enjoy the moment.”

Earlier last year Buckingham was fired by Fleetwood Mac following a disagreement over the band's current tour. In October, the singer and guitarist filed suit against the band for his dismissal.

According to documents filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Buckingham sued his former band mates for "breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oral contract and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage."

In a statement to Rolling Stone about the lawsuit, Buckingham said: “Last January, Fleetwood Mac made the decision to continue to tour without me.

“I remain deeply surprised and saddened, as this decision ends the beautiful 43-year legacy we built together. Over the last eight months, our many efforts to come to an agreement have unfortunately proved elusive. I’m looking forward to closure, and will always remain proud of all that we created, and what that legacy represents.”