When I was a youngster back in the turbulent 60,s, like most of my peers I used to hang out in the various coffee bars that were around town, and I would feed the juke box which always stood in the corner.
Of course you had to pay for this entertainment, and as money was a bit scarce we would all take it in turns to put our coins into the juke box and let everyone know what artists we were fans of.
I used to spend a few hours in the coffee bar (I dread to think how much coffee I drank) and then I would make my way home and straightaway tune in to Radio Luxemburg.
I wonder if any of you can remember Radio Luxemburg, the much loved radio station.
Back in the 1960's we had a lot of radio stations available to us, and many of them were stationed in offshore ships. I have been trying to remember some of their names but I can't, so if any reader can remember any of the names I would appreciate hearing from you.
Although I loved listening to Radio Luxemburg I cannot remember whether this was a radio station which was based on land, or at sea. Can anyone help me here?
It was while I was listening to the music from these radio stations that my love of the guitar first came to fruition. The sound just seemed right to me.
It was only after a rather curious event took place that I thought about the possibility of playing the guitar myself.
If you are at all familiar with driving in the UK you will have noticed that we have an abundance of roundabouts, literally a large circle in the middle of the road, sometimes with grass on it. The road experts tell us that they aid the flow of traffic, but I am not so sure.
This unusual thing happened to me when I was out one day, passing one of these roundabouts, and there right in the middle was a friend of mine sitting down on the grass and happily strumming on his guitar.
Every motorist that went round the roundabout could not help but see my friend. He had created a sort of stage on the roundabout effect.
I sat with him there for an hour or so, and I just wished that I had a guitar to take out and start playing.
But that started me on the path from which I have never turned back. I saved up furiously until I had enough money to go out and buy my own guitar, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Although my guitar playing has taken me to all sort of places all around the world, I have never forgotten how it all started - on the roundabout.
And I am showing other people now how to kick start their guitar career by having a roundabout experience.