Nick Drake's Guild M20

wileypickett · Feb 6, 2015

An impressive new 445-page book, *Remembered For A While -- The Authorized Companion to the Music of Nick Drake*, was published recently, which among many things, recounts the details behind the album cover shoot for ND's *Bryter Layter*.

The shoot took place at the flat of photographer Nigel Waymouth in early March, 1971.

From the book, page 225:

"Contrary to popular belief, the guitar on the cover was not one of Nick's. It is an early 1960s Guild M20, formerly the property of Eric Clapton who left it in his flat in The Pheasantry, Kings Road, as Nigel Waymouth moved in. It was given to Nigel who sold it in 1973 to Nick Laird-Clowes (later of the Dream Academy) for £100. The chair was reputed to have once belonged to Charles Dickens and the shoes were Nigel's own."

AcornHouse · Feb 6, 2015

So now they'll have to invoke Clapton's name when selling an M-20?:chuncky:

Westerly Wood · Feb 6, 2015

LOL. Love this ongoing tall tale. So clapton must have really loved his M20

. I heard that he wrote Layla on a small bodied all hog guitar, Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

wileypickett · Feb 6, 2015

AcornHouse said:
So now they'll have to invoke Clapton's name when selling an M-20?:chuncky:

No, no, they have to invoke Charles Dickens' name when selling the chair.

jcwu · Feb 6, 2015

Who is Nick Drake and why is there a 445 page book on him?

adorshki · Feb 6, 2015

jcwu said:
Who is Nick Drake and why is there a 445 page book on him?

Nick Drake
Achieved icon status here due to the presence of a Hoboken M20 on the cover of one of his albums.
Well, ok, I guess the boy had a touch of talent, besides.
Ever since then, all Guild M20's achieve a minimum of 50% over market asking price by sellers who are keenly aware that Mr. Drake once owned every M20 on the planet at one time or another.
Sadly, that myth has now been busted and we must acknowledge that the true holy grail, Clapton's M-20, is still out there somewhere, awaiting eventual discovery.

twocorgis · Feb 6, 2015

jcwu said:
Who is Nick Drake and why is there a 445 page book on him?

In addition to what Al said, Nick Drake was fairly obscure until this ad put him on the radar:

Westerly Wood · Feb 6, 2015

I remember that commercial. Thought the guitar was cool.

adorshki · Feb 6, 2015

twocorgis said:
In addition to what Al said, Nick Drake was fairly obscure until this ad put him on the radar...

And is it any wonder VW sales here are in a tailspin, when they went with that, instead of this:

Westerly Wood · Feb 6, 2015

Al, yhat is hilarious. Knee deep in my 2nd cold beer, that is hysterical.

adorshki · Feb 6, 2015

Westerly Wood said:
Al, yhat is hilarious. Knee deep in my 2nd cold beer, that is hysterical.

:happy:
And veering right off the tracks here, that little snippet was from this episode of Top Gear:
http://www.streetfire.net/video/top-gear-season-13-episode-7-full-episode-l_part-1_699174.htm
There's 3 more in there as well as the complete backstory for how each one came to be...
it helped cement my enduring loyalty to the show, but my alltime favorite is this one:
[video]http://www.topgear.com/uk/videos/74643591001[/video]
spoiler alert: Make sure you watch that one to the end!
:wink:

twocorgis · Feb 6, 2015

I like it when Top Gear wrecks caravans (britspeak for motor homes) and tips over in Reliant Robins (three wheeled cars) the best Al. Also memorable was the indestructible Toyota pickup truck, which is still on a plinth in the studio. Mrs. Two is a huge fan, and she's not even into cars! Series 22 just started a couple if weeks ago. Might be the greatest TV show ever!

5thumbs · Feb 7, 2015

twocorgis said:
I like it when Top Gear wrecks caravans (britspeak for motor homes) and tips over in Reliant Robins (three wheeled cars) the best Al. Also memorable was the indestructible Toyota pickup truck, which is still on a plinth in the studio. Mrs. Two is a huge fan, and she's not even into cars! Series 22 just started a couple if weeks ago. Might be the greatest TV show ever!

...and don't forget the piano falling on the Morris Marina. Classic!

"How hard can it be?"

Manic Manager · Feb 7, 2015

but still....Drake or not the M20 is a cool guitar. I love small bodies and that flavor of wood be it Martin or Guild.

adorshki · Feb 9, 2015

twocorgis said:
I like it when Top Gear wrecks caravans (britspeak for motor homes)

Speaking of which, is it just me, or is there something distinctly "Floyd-ian" about this whole concept?:

Manic Manager said:
but still....Drake or not the M20 is a cool guitar. I love small bodies and that flavor of wood be it Martin or Guild.

NO arguments there but I got a suspicion that Layla was written on Clapton's go-to acoustic guitar of the era, an F50:

mavuser · Feb 9, 2015

I havnt got a clue who Nick Drake is but a 1962 M-20 might be my favorite Guild I've played so far (tough call between that and the 1970 F-20). The 62 M-20 is a beast that stands alone in its own right, however.

Bigdog409 · Aug 3, 2015

Hey Mavuser, I have to agree with you. I love the guitar sound in Pink Moon, regardless if Nick Drake played an M20 or not, my 64 M20 has the sweetest tone of any guitar I've played or owned. It will be with me till the end.

mavuser · Aug 3, 2015

Bigdog409 said:
Hey Mavuser, I have to agree with you. I love the guitar sound in Pink Moon, regardless if Nick Drake played an M20 or not, my 64 M20 has the sweetest tone of any guitar I've played or owned. It will be with me till the end.

Nice! I see you also own a flat back mahogany top D-25. Another of Guilds flat-backed finest. Sweet!To me, those 2 are "Martin killers." But, I see you also own a Martin...why choose? Cheers!

Quantum Strummer · Aug 3, 2015

mavuser said:
I havnt got a clue who Nick Drake is…

Here's "River Man," from a John Peel session recorded in 1969. IMO the best version of the song extant. The master tape was erased by the BBC but the broadcast was fortunately recorded by somebody.

http://youtu.be/Z1kPyXQzMxM

-Dave-

mavuser · Aug 4, 2015

Quantum Strummer said:
Here's "River Man," from a John Peel session recorded in 1969. IMO the best version of the song extant. The master tape was erased by the BBC but the broadcast was fortunately recorded by somebody.

http://youtu.be/Z1kPyXQzMxM

-Dave-

thanks Dave. that recording/upload was a little rough but i checked out the album Pink Moon, which is quite excellent. It does sound a bit like an M-20...HA! the plot thickens

Eric

Nick Drake's Guild M20

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