I had such a great time in London last night! The guitarcheology talk and Q&A at Regent Sounds Music Shop was a real blast. Thanks to Crispin Weir for setting up the event (and nice to see his lovely wife Paula as well). My good pals Brian Nevill and Lindy Loo McConnell were in attendance, as well as Jolly Kanjilal, who gave me a lift from Great Yarmouth.
There were also a couple dozen of the coolest and most knowledgeable London guitar cognoscenti in attendance, who listened while Crispin and I spoke of hunting down rare and interesting and valuable guitars, and the history behind such Southern California guitar builders as Paul Bigsby, R.C. Allen, Semie Moseley, and others. We had a great talk and I think all who came were entertained!
Regent Sounds is a guitar shop on Denmark Street with an amazing selection of gear, both old and new. They actually own T-Bone Walker’s Gibson ES-5, not for sale, but on display last night! Truly amazing to see and play in person.
Regent Sounds used to be a recording studio, from 1951 until the mid-1980s, and many legendary records were recorded in the tiny studio: the Rolling Stones’ first album, Black Sabbath’s first album, and tons more.
Denmark Street has always been London’s center of music activity. Most of the music publishers were based out of offices in the second and third floors of the buildings on the street. Rose Morris was a shop on Denmark Street (it still exists today) that became the sole distributors of brands like Rickenbacker and Bigsby back in the 1960s, and is the place where bands like The Beatles and The Who got their American gear. There were other recording studios on the block as well. Brian Nevill remembered the days when all the best studio musicians would hang out in a local diner down the street, waiting to be called in to play on sessions. Denmark Street is definitely a part of London with more history than you could imagine.
It was one of those magical and fun nights: Everyone was in a tremendously good mood, the weather was perfect, and I can’t wait to come back and do it again! I spent the night at Brian and Lindy’s place, and this morning we had breakfast at a local joint and told stories from when Brian toured as my drummer back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Then I picked up a newsboy cap on Portobello Road to replace my old one.
It’s been great, Britain! Until next time!
See more photos and videos at Deke’s original Facebook post!
