With 9 albums, a swag of accolades to his name and 26 years writing, performing and recording, Lloyd Spiegel is an artist at the forefront of Australian Blues.
A driving force in Australian blues and one of most respected guitarists in the country, he was named in Australian Guitar Magazine’s list of the top 50 Australian guitarists of all time.
Ahead of his appearance at the Melbourne Guitar Show (alongside Steve Hackett, Nick Johnston and Alex Hutchings) this weekend, Lloyd shares 5 guitars he wishes he owned. "For me, a guitar is more about the history and sentimentality than what it's made from, its pickups or how old it is," Lloyd says.
"With that in mind, here are the five guitars I would truly love to own in no particular order."
1. Lucille (any of them)
If BB King busted a string on stage, he would pull a string from his pocket and change it right there. For a roadie to bring out another Lucille would be all together wrong because the connection the two of them had was like that of a marriage. It was a special kind of magic. Hell, she's just about as famous as the King himself. I wouldn't play it. It would never belong to me.... and I wouldn't want to spoil the delusion that playing it would give me Mr King's tone. His tone was in his fingers.2. Bo Diddley's homemade guitar
Early on before Gretsch made his guitars, Diddley made his own. Must be a lot of mojo in those things. The Bo Diddley groove is my all-time favourite and if one per cent of it rubbed off into my hands I would consider that guitar a great purchase at any price. Plus, it's rectangle. I mean... you gotta have one. Right?3. Geoff Achison's 69 Les Paul
I spent every Sunday as a kid at the Station Hotel watching Dutch Tilders at the blues club. Achison was his guitarist for many years and I would perch my 10-year-old self on a milk crate next to his amp and watch him sweat all over that gold top. He'd drop his pick from time to time and never bothered looking down for it coz it was already in my pocket.That was the single, biggest influence on me becoming a blues guitarist. So to have my hands on that guitar would be truly special.
4. Dutch Tilders' Noyce acoustic
Dutch was more than a musical mentor to me. He was family and an enormous part of my life. He played a Noyce acoustic just about the entire time I knew him and I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it come up on eBay last year. A friend of mine bought it and I've been able to get my hands around it a few times. I'm happy knowing it's safe nearby.5. Cole Clark Fat Lady #1
Cole Clark has helped shape my sound and performance for 15 years. I've been kind of a blueprint (or guinea pig) for a lot of their designs and technology so I feel an emotional attachment to every guitar that comes out of the factory. My involvement there is a true passion.Every prototype, every new idea, I test it first so my home looks like a Cole Clark museum. The only thing missing would be the first fat lady model.
Melbourne Guitar Show 2017 takes place at Caulfield Racecourse 5-6 August.
