Hello my Chickadees!!
Happy Christmas to all of the world-wide readers of the blog. I really appreciate your correspondence telling me your experiences....we are family.Once again I'm full of the Spirit of Christmas and looking for appropriate gifts for Mrs Bob and the Bobettes. The Christmas tree has been ordered to display in the bay window and I've got loads of dangly things to decorate the ceiling with.
First things first, I would like to wish belated birthday greetings to two people who changed my life over 60 years ago, in fact they changed the whole face of guitar music for the Brits, ergo, the world!! and they are:
HANK AND BRUCE
The Shadows were the most influential group in the UK and every aspiring guitarist learned their tunes religiously. That first sound of a Stratocaster in the hands of Hank B Marvin opened our ears and its beauty was undeniable. Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend and Tony Iommi were
amongst those who worshipped at the church of Hank but it was not only the tunes that attracted us, it was the technique that inspired us all and particularly the rythm guitar patterns of Bruce Welch were outstanding. They started at the 2i's coffee bar in Soho at the age of 15 and they have now reached the ripe old age of 81 and are still both active in showbiz. So happy birthday to our home grown heroes and thanks for the inspiration. One of the first records I was gifted at Christmas 1961 was this wonderful Extended Play record for less than £1.My favourite Shads tune ever was The Savage!! which featured in the film The Young Ones.
They were such a great band to see Live too.
CHRISTMAS SHOPPING
As usual at this time of year I like to proffer suggestions for Christmas gifts from cheap gifts like my Shadows EP to the ridiculously expensive to balance things out. The first is a CD recorded by some pretty dedicated musicians who make the sound and create the Dickensian feel of Christmas as they stand outside in all weathers, in most towns and cities, making us feel all jolly as we go about our shopping.
THE SALVATION ARMY
Not only do we get to listen to some fine brass bands but any profit from sales does wonders to help the less fortunate get a bed for a night or a hot meal in the freezing cold of the winter nights.It's less than a tenner, it's a marvellous cause to support, so do yourself and those who need help a favour by buying a CD or dropping a couple of quid into one of their collection tins and you will get the nice gift of feeling Good that you did something charitable at this time of year. Thanks!
Now then for those who have loads of dosh how about this Christmas offering from Fender to help drain your bank balance.
I give you the
FENDER TONE MASTER PRO PEDAL BOARD
For you guys who are hungry for more gadgets and effects pedals Fender have this pedal board on sale for a numbing price of £1.500 pounds....wtf!I'm staggered by the cost and astounded that it comes in two pieces, the pedal board and it's own dedicated powered speaker cabinet which will set you back another £500. It's almost like a deconstructed Fender Mustang with the inbuilt computerised effects taken out and put into a separate container but much, much more expensive. However if you have the dosh and it makes you feel good then it's all about choice. Happy Christmas.
BOBS CHRISTMAS LOCATION
As this blog is published I shall be travelling North to spend the Festive Season in Manchester with the family. I love it in Birmingham but you have to be where the kids are as you get older and your priorities change. When I was playing in the 60's there was no finer feeling than gigging on Christmas Eve to a full dance hall, watching everyone getting into that wonderful Christmas feeling with loads of girls giving me a festive kiss or two after we played the last song and then arriving back home to a nice coal fire in the hearth and the tree glinting with its adornments.
My Mum always stayed up till I got back home so we could drink a Whisky Mac toast together and wish each other a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous new year which is what I wish for you lovely blog readers too, it's nice to share our memories.
I haven't got my traditional card for Oggie this year, he's never been one for celebrations and this Christmas he's not too well but I will say that I love the guy, we met when we were both 11 years old and both learned the guitar together, all of The Shadows stuff, right through to the Merseybeat days, one afternoon that stays in my head was when we learned "Sweets for my Sweet" and our practicing of the Bruce Welch rythm style made the job so much easier.
Happy Christmas Oggie and keep breathing my friend xxx.
Be kind to each other. Peace and Love.
Bob
Copyright: Bullsheadbob
Contact : Bobsbullocks@Gmail.com
