Dave Sweetmore - 29th August

Tameside's Steve Clarke may not be a known name to music fans generally, but in the world of music he is one of the most sought after and highly respected guitar technicians and valuers in the world.

He's the go to man for London's Bonhams and Sotheby's auction houses whenever they have a guitar come in, and has worked on guitars owned by the likes of George Harrison, Marc Bolan, Peter Green, Francis Rossi, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, Paul Kossoff, Dave Hill, and Hank Marvin, to name just a few. Almost every great guitarist in popular music.

Steve started his life and career in music at an early age, by helping out with local bands from the age of 15. By the time he was 19 he was playing in bands including The Drones and Taxi, featuring on four albums and eight singles with Taxi. He became intrigued by the workings of the guitar, and became obsessed with collecting guitar magazines and books to learn more. He became involved with bands such as The Smiths and Buzzcocks, before moving to London to join a band. Whilst there, thanks to a handwritten advert on a rehearsal room noticeboard, he quickly became known as the man to go to when a guitar needed fixing.

It was whilst out in London one day he walked past Bonhams, and saw a Marc Bolan guitar in the window. He was sure the details on the information slip were incorrect, and decided to go in and tell them. Bemused, the staff told him to come back if he could prove that his information was correct, which he did, and from that moment on he became the point of contact whenever a guitar came into the world renowned auction house and needed autenticity. His career as a valuer had started, and along with his work as a guitar technician, his reputation would rapidly grow. Since then he has had an amazing career, being unique in the way he not only has an incredible knowledge of guitars and their history, he can also repair them. He travels worldwide doing his job, and there are not many people in the world who can say they have had their hands on as many iconic guitars as Steve has.

Last month he released his second book, entitled ' Steve Clarke's Famous Fret Foto's Volume One, an incredible coffee table style book which features pictures and information from many of the guitars he has worked on. It is a must for all guitar music fans. Steve Clarke has some amazing stories to tell, a Podcast with his life story will be in the making soon. Visit www.famousfrets.com to order the book and to find out more about the man himself. Steve also joined me on Tameside Radio on Monday night, you can listen back to the interview on the OnDemand section of the website, or on YouTube by searching 'Dave Sweetmore with Steve Clarke Famous Frets'. It  was a really enjoyable interview and well worth a listen.