Guy,
My first guitar was a Freshman 5800, second hand from Selmer’s shop in Charing Cross Road together with a Little Giant amp; this would have been about 1964. Like most of us from this era I was in a group at school, The Stylists. As I am left-handed I had to re-string the guitar but I was never very comfortable with it and within about a year Roger across the road decided guitar playing was not for him and he sold me, for £75.00 his, by then, third or forth hand, left-handed, Burns Trisonic two pickup job which came with a beautiful, plush lined Selmer hard case. Sadly, over the years my mum saw fit to dispose of all my gear but after many vicissitudes I now have a Selmer Zodiac Twin-Tone 30 watt amp, a Watkins CopyCat, (valve type) and two guitars, both left-handed, a Fender Telecaster, sunburst finish and a 50th anniversary sunburst Stratocaster which I have fitted with Custom 54 Fender pick-ups. The Telecaster is my favourite. I am now in what you might call a Shadows tribute band with my mate Ron from work. He plays lead and I play rhythm we also have a drummer who is quite a bit younger than us, we all work on the buses and a school teacher who plays bass.
Ron, who hails from Dartford, plays a pink Mexican Strat through a modern amp and a solid-state Watkins CopyCat (although I have a second Selmer, a Twin Selector-Tone which is being rebuilt at the moment.) His first guitar was a Vox Soundcaster and he has a picture of him playing it taken in the early sixties.
Well, that’s all for now, great site, kindest regards,
Chris Sullivan.