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JOHN BAILEY DOUBLENECK SEMI-ACOUSTIC 1968 I actually sold this guitar in 1993, but it's here because it's the most beautiful instrument I've had. I saw it in Bert Jansch's guitar shop in Fulham in 1984 and immediately recognised it as that used by Gordon Giltrap and pictured on his Visionary album. It was the one guitar I'd ever really coveted. It seems Gordon had had to sell a number of instruments, and I in turn sold my car to buy it. And Bert made me a cup of coffee, too. John Bailey built this for Ralph Denyer, author of The Guitar Handbook, and actually made others for the 2nd guitarist and bass player in his band, Blonde on Blonde. He hoped to sell a lot of guitars once the band appeared on TV - but unfortunately they split. Not only is the thing beautiful, but he's solved the problems of a doubleneck far better than the more famous makers like Gibson and Rickenbacker. Gordon, my acoustic-guitar hero, then bought it and used it with his electric band. I in turn used it intermittently for 9 years, during which it got a re-fret, until I decided to sell it to kick-start our church extension fund. In the event, the only reply I had was from Gordon himself! He wanted to buy it back, so he came down to Essex and got his baby! I actually discounted the price, though he always claims I charged him over the odds because it had belonged to a star!
I've since spoken to John Bailey on the phone - wonderful bloke, full of reminiscences about the legends who used his flat as a second home in the late sixties, and the guitars he made for them.
In view of increased interest in John's work since his death in 2011, I've devoted an entire biography to the doubleneck here. |
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