One of my main interests as a young teenager in the 1960's was to go, with my friends, and listen to the juke box which was in most coffee bars at the time.
It used to be the unspoken word that everybody drinking coffee in the shop would take their turn to feed the juke box, and by doing this you were announcing to the world (or at least those in the coffee shop) what type of music you enjoyed listening to.
I remember that I used to stay in the coffee bar until about 9 or 10pm each evening (in those days entertainment options were rather limited) and then I would go to my bedroom and tune in to Radio Luxemburg.
Radio Luxemburg was what a much loved and respected radio station. Do any of my readers remember that station?
There were a lot of radio stations around in the 1960s, and many of them were stationed in offshore ships. I cant remember any of the names of those stations or ships now, but if any reader can remember then please let me know.
I also cannot recall now whether Radio Luxemburg was a ship, or whether it was based on land, in Luxemburg. Again, if anybody can enlighten me it would be appreciated.
Well, it was while I was tuned in to these various stations that I first got a taste for the guitar. Somehow it seemed to resonate with my soul and I just loved listening to any record which had a guitar solo in it.
Much as I loved the guitar, I never considered playing it for myself, that is, not until a rather curious event occurred.
If you have ever driven in the UK you will know that from time to time you come across a roundabout, something which is designed to ease the flow of traffic without actually stopping it. These roundabouts are like a large circle in the road, and they often have grass in the middle for appearance sake.
This curious event happened when I was passing one of these roundabouts, one day. I discovered an old friend of mine sitting in the middle of this roundabout, happily strumming away on his guitar.
Every car that passed had a good look at him, it was almost as though the roundabout was his stage.
I went over and joined him on his 'stage', and quietly wished that I had a guitar to play.
And that wish eventually turned into reality because after that event I saved up all the pennies I could until I was able to buy my own guitar.
Over the past number of years I have played in all types of venues, big and small, some ordinary, some very exciting, but I have never forgot my time spent on that roundabout.
And I enjoy having the opportunity to show other people how to get started on the guitar and so have their own roundabout experience.