Just call me Shell....everyone else does.

Not telling you. Guess!

Calne, Wiltshire. Also known as the epicentre of the universe.

Its always been the songwriters that have done it for me, people like Elvis Costello, Neil Young and the Finn brothers from Crowded House fame. Their ability to turn out special songs, time after time, leaves me amazed.

My favourite guitarists are numerous so here is my top five:

Billy Gibbons - ZZ Top, Jeff (Skunk) Baxter - Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers, James Taylor, The Edge and Keith Richards

The Bends, Radiohead.

Plumb by Johnatha Brooke and The Story. Check it out it will change your life.

You're right its almost impossible, but Born To Run by Bruce Springsteen is right up there.

Withnail and I (Thanks Mike).

Calne Youth Club in 1974 with my first band Stone Broke. It was great, well not musically, but it had it all Sex, Drugs and Rock n' Roll. Ahh, they were the days!

Electric Warrior by T Rex, from Hawkins electrical shop in Calne for the princely sum of £2.11p.

Elvis Costello. What that man does with words is beyond belief. He's no slouch on the guitar either.

Have been playing since I was 14 and have played in many bands covering most styles of music. I was heavily involved in the music scene in and around Calne, Wiltshire from the mid seventies until 1983 playing in several bands such as The Scratch Band and The Generals with my cousin and local rock god Phil Smith. And then of course there was The Motivators, the hard hitting Britt R & B outfit who enjoyed a short spell of fanatical local fame.

Other bands of note along the way were Footloose, a very busy cabaret band, Gogs and the Reefers, featuring the legendary Malc Connors, Kept In The Dark and now the subliminal About A Girl which is an absolute joy to be part of and un-mistakenly the highlight of my musical past to date.

My main squeeze at the moment is a Godin LGXT which I play through a Peavey Bandit and a Marshall AS50 acoustic amp.

A pint of Wadworths 6X followed very closely by another. Oh and can I have a Woods with that please.