I recently had the pleasure of meeting David Gilmour, the upshot of which was that he borrowed the SB-1 production prototype for a week or so\u2026 and liked it!<\/p>\n
It all came about when my friend Chris<\/a> got wind of rumours that David was going to be present at a book reading by Polly Samson (his wife) at Saltdean Library – which seemed like a not-to-be-missed opportunity to show him my guitar and hopefully get some (verbal!) feedback from him. So off we trotted, Chris, Julia<\/a> and I \u2013 and sure enough, the rumours were true.<\/p>\n Actually I\u2019m glad we went in any case, as Polly\u2019s reading was fantastic, and very entertaining \u2013 I hadn\u2019t read her books previously, but was prompted to order them as soon as I got home. They\u2019re very good \u2013 thoroughly recommended.<\/p>\n After the reading, most of the audience hung around for tea and cakes (this is the sort of thing British libraries do, which is all the more reason not to cut their funding). I wanted to speak to Polly, as she had said a few things that caught my interest, but there was already quite a queue for her \u2013 so instead, I turned to the back\u2026 and there he was.<\/p>\n Now, anyone who\u2019s ever met their guitar hero (or any other hero for that matter) can probably imagine how I was feeling at this point. This is a man whose music I\u2019ve grown up listening to, whose solos I played at pub gigs with my band at school, whose videos I\u2019ve worn out watching over and over again\u2026 (yes kids, it was VHS back then ;-)) A formative influence, you might say.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure I was nervous per se, but certainly anxious \u2013 of making a bad impression, coming across as a spluttering fool, or just getting off on the wrong foot. None of which was helped by the chap in front of me having his request for an autograph gently rebuffed: \u201cNo, this is Polly\u2019s event.\u201d<\/p>\n So I suppose it was inevitable that my \u201cHello David, could I show you this guitar I designed?\u201d was met with \u201cNo, not really.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh.<\/p>\n Bugger.<\/p>\n (Now it\u2019s only fair that I say at this point, that David was not in any way being off-hand \u2013 quite the opposite in fact. I was struck by the way he has this wonderful ability to say \u2018no\u2019 in the most charming, polite and disarming manner, such that it\u2019s almost impossible to be disappointed.)<\/p>\n \u201cObviously not right now,\u201d I hastily added. \u201cThis is Polly\u2019s event after all. [Yes, I know. Cough. Ahem.] Maybe we could arrange something for another time?\u201d<\/p>\n (I\u2019m getting my card out at this point.)<\/p>\n \u201cHmmmm\u2026.\u201d But he does at least take the proffered card.<\/p>\n \u201cHave a look at the web site when you get a moment,\u201d I suggest, \u201cand drop me a line if you\u2019d like to have a go with the guitar.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, OK.\u201d<\/p>\n Which I thought was probably the best I could hope for really \u2013 I didn\u2019t want to come across as pushy, after all. I\u2019m very conscious that there\u2019s a fine line between gentle persistence and aggressive pushiness, and I\u2019m not really into the whole hard-sell thing – I firmly believe that, in business and life in general, long-term goodwill is far more important than a quick \u201cclose the deal, make the sale, thank you very much, see ya!\u201d\u00a0So I left David alone and went back to join the queue for Polly.<\/p>\n Some while later, I spotted him standing in the corner chatting to Phil Manzanera and, no doubt emboldened by the cherry flapjacks, cheekiness got the better of me – I sauntered over with a cheery \u201cAre you sure I can\u2019t show you this guitar now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUm\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n (I\u2019m taking the guitar out of its case as we speak, which leads to some \u2018oohs\u2019 and \u2018aahs\u2019 and general murmurings along the lines of \u2018ooh, that looks interesting\u2019, and a brief discussion of its salient points\u2026).<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll tell you what I\u2019ll do,\u201d David offers. \u201cI\u2019ll borrow it. If you\u2019re happy to lend it?\u201d<\/p>\n Wow, I wasn\u2019t expecting that! Seriously \u2013 I\u2019d thought at most he\u2019d take a quick look there and then and give me a few words of first impressions.<\/p>\n I actually hesitated briefly at first, because there was a chance I\u2019d need it at short notice for a possible TV appearance. But David was very understanding and gave me his contact details should I need to get in touch in a hurry (with strict instructions not to divulge – so no, sorry, you can\u2019t have them. Ner! ;-))<\/p>\n And then cheekiness once again got the better of me\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re Phil, aren\u2019t you?\u201d I said to, er well, Phil, obviously. \u201cWould you like to have a go when David\u2019s finished with it?\u201d<\/p>\n Cringe.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll have a look at it together this afternoon,\u201d he replied. Which was rather decent, I thought. Considering he could justifiably have told me where to shove it.<\/p>\n \u201cOK, well,\u201d (addressing them both now), \u201cI\u2019d better not take up any more of your time. Would you like to take the guitar now or shall I hold onto it until you\u2019re ready to leave?\u201d<\/p>\n David suggested the latter and that he\u2019d collect it on his way out, so I took it with me back to rejoin Chris and Julia. And true to his word, a short time later he came over, and with a smile and a \u201cShall I take that now?\u201d left the building, guitar in hand\u2026<\/p>\n Yay.<\/p>\n I let a week or so pass, then dropped him a quick note to ask how he was getting on and whether he had any questions. Some correspondence ensued and we arranged for me to collect the guitar from him.<\/p>\n So at the appointed time, I went to David\u2019s house, and was invited into his hallway, where he returned the guitar and we chatted briefly (he was very amiable, by the way, full of smiles and happy to chat, although he was clearly busy so I didn\u2019t want to overstay my welcome). His verdict? \u201cIt\u2019s nice \u2013 very well put together and very nice to play.\u201d (I\u2019m rather proud of that \ud83d\ude09\u00a0Thank you, David!)<\/p>\n He wished me good luck as he showed me out, so hopefully I managed not to annoy or offend him. After all, the last thing I wanted was to come across as (wait for it) all in all, just another prick in the hall\u2026*<\/p>\n *Sadly I can\u2019t take credit for this wonderful piece of punnery \u2013 thanks must go to Jamie Freeman<\/a> for that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I recently had the pleasure of meeting David Gilmour, the upshot of which was that he borrowed the SB-1 production prototype for a week or so\u2026 and liked it! Continue reading