Prelude

GRACIOUS GREETINGS GENIAL GENTLEFOLK. Here we are again. A warm and wonderful welcome to the shiny new Gregorian year of two thousand and twenty six, albeit almost a month old at the time of writing. I hope the lavish lustre hasn’t been tarnished too soon. The ebullient optimism ignited by the prospect of New Year doesn’t last anywhere near long enough, resulting in the inevitable anti‑climax of the dreaded January blues. One might believe that a new year and a new quarter century should hold a whole host of opportunity and potential. The trick is to find where that opportunity and potential can be tapped into, in order to achieve whatever goals one might set oneself. Simple?! No. Not really. Shame. Don’t you think?

So, what objectives does CRAVE Guitars have in store for the start of 2026. To be honest, given punitive previous experience, it makes sense to be selective within an external environment of prevailing global uncertainty and volatility. There are several personal ‘projects’ from which I have selected four priorities. The first and probably most obvious is to acquire some more cool and rare vintage gear to share with everyone. The second is to publish ‘The Distortion Diaries’ at long last. The third is to develop further the stalwart stories of ‘el jefe’, The CRAVEman. The fourth and least likely to succeed is to make some progress on the much‑needed, much‑delayed CRAVEcave – to convert the house’s cold, dark, damp cellar into a warm, lit and dry CRAVE Guitars emporium of sorts (showcase, not retail). So, that is four declared objectives. I think that three of the priorities are achievable and one is a tad over‑ambitious, so I don’t think they are unreasonable as aspirations for the next eleven months.

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This Month at CRAVE Guitars…

The subject matter for the first gleaming, glittery article of 2026 is to celebrate an achievement that will have gone totally unnoticed. The topic this month comprises a cursory retrospective of CRAVE Guitars’ articles (a.k.a. Musings) so far and what that might mean for the future. The rationale underpinning this exemplary epic episode is hitting the milestone of 100 articles published on the web site. Even though CRAVE Guitars has been around in some form or other since 2007, blog articles published on the website only began seven years later in 2014. Even then it wasn’t all smooth sailing, as we shall see.

This month’s ‘quotes of wisdom’ are, perhaps unsurprisingly, about the achievement of life’s milestones. For alliteration aficionados, all perfectly present and passionately precise! Very few images this month I’m afraid, as this is another one for avid list‑o‑philes. As usual, no AI was used in researching or writing this article just Real Stoopid (RS) hooman ‘blood, sweat and tears’ (NB. although widely attributed to Winston Churchill’s speech in 1940, the idiom derives from, “’tis in vaine to dew, or mollifie it with thy teares, or sweat, or blood,” appearing in the poem, ‘First Anniversary: An Anatomy Of The World’ (1611) by John Donne (1571‑1631)).

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The First 100 Articles

I am sure that it wasn’t at all obvious to readers that CRAVE Guitars’ December 2025 Musing was the 100^th article published on the web site but it was.

It all started so very innocent and naïve, way back in November 2014, eleven years and two months ago at the time of typing. The embryonic web site had just gone live and the first blog was just two introductory paragraphs and a paltry 186 words. December 2014 wasn’t much stronger, still two paragraphs and just 263 words. At that time, I had no idea where this was going, if anywhere. The catalyst for writing blogs was simply a result of the IT platform used – WordPress – which began as a blogging tool before it also became a web site design tool. WordPress required a ‘blog’ post page at the time. One thing that was clear right from the start was that I couldn’t blog continuously, like many others do. In 2014, I was in full time paid employment, as well as an unpaid carer; I simply could not commit to the pressures of a blogger’s traditional online presence.

“Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments” – Rose Kennedy (1890‑1995)

Over the years, the length and complexity of articles grew significantly. There were multi‑part articles, like ‘A Potted History of the Guitar’ (9 parts – March 2018 to November 2018) and the even more ambitious ‘The Story of Modern Music in 1,500+ Facts’ (14 parts – March 2019 to May 2020) – the longest series so far. Both of these series have unfortunately since suffered from the imposed retroactive removal of illustrative images (see ‘Things I Have Learned’ below for more on that).

Some while later, came CRAVE Guitars’ shortest blog in September 2020, the ‘Hiatus’, a heart‑breaking statement at just one paragraph and 62 words. I only intended for there to be a short break but it lasted three years (!) until August 2023 when abnormal service was resumed with, perhaps my favourite article so far, ‘Dub Reggae Revelation’.

As a result of the hiatus, it has taken much longer to reach the 100 mark than originally intended. Since the hiatus, I have kept up the discipline of publishing monthly articles covering a diverse range of subject matter. I have tried very hard to vary the material over the years to keep things fresh and interesting.

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence” – Helen Keller (1880‑1968)

I haven’t regretted anything I’ve written so far, whether agreeable or not. That is, I think, called integrity. I am certain that I could have done things better but that benefit results from hindsight, evolution and learning (see below). I have enjoyed some articles more than others. I’ve already mentioned, ‘Dub Reggae Revelation’ as the zenith and the extremely short, ‘Hiatus’ (also aforementioned) as the nadir.

Up to now, there has been no comprehensive list of CRAVE Guitars’ articles in one place. The only other way to catalogue them is to wade through nine pages of Musings. In order to correct that particular shortcoming, here – without further ado – is ‘The First 100 Articles List’ (each link opens in a new tab)…

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2014 (articles 1-2)

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2015 (articles 3-14)

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2016 (articles 15-26)

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2017 (articles 27-38)

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2018 (articles 39-50)

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2019 (articles 51-62)

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2020 (articles 63-71)

The Hiatus – There were no articles published between October 2020 and July 2023 inclusive.

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2023 (articles 72-76)

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2024 (articles 77-88)

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2025 (articles 89-100)

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This ‘directory’ will probably re‑appear in due course under the CRAVE Guitars’ web site’s ‘Resources’ pages as an easy reference.

“Remember to celebrate milestones as you prepare for the road ahead” – Nelson Mandela (1918‑2023)

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Things I Have Learned

After 11 years and 100 articles (and goodness knows how many tens of thousands of words), you’d think I should have learned something, right? I also would hope that my skills as an author should have improved somewhat over last decade or so. Whether my abilities have indeed improved or not, I have no idea. Sometimes, though, it can be productive to take a step back, review, assess, reflect, learn and develop. The general rule is that incremental improvement is better than radical change.

The length and complexity of articles varies considerably. I have learned that more doesn’t always mean more and that brevity is something that I should seek to improve. However, I just can’t help my naïve, inexpert verbosity and tendency for pretentious flowery prose. Sorry.

“It’s when ordinary people rise above the expectations and seize the opportunity that milestones truly are reached” – Mike Huckabee (1955‑)

The content does need to have its prime focus on vintage guitars, although I have learned that focusing more and more forensically can be a rabbit hole down which it is difficult to retain objectivity and interest. There is only so much geekiness in nerd city that one can write about vintage gear before it becomes, well, dull and boring. American philosopher Nicholas Butler (1862‑1947) once said, “An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less until he knows absolutely everything about nothing”. I have regarded that as sage advice, so I try to nurture a broad intellect as a result. The mix of subject matter, I hope, counteracts the risk of dry factual content and inevitable repetitiveness. Did I mention repetitiveness? LoL. Variety also makes things a bit more interesting for me as well.

CRAVE Guitars’ approach has been, and still is, to publish one in‑depth article per month. Many bloggers publish much shorter excerpts far more frequently. My methodology is a personal preference and, therefore, a conscious choice. It is the way I work… and it is serious work as far as I am concerned, albeit unpaid. It is not a trivial hobby and it is not an idle pastime. I would, however, struggle to do anything more prolific.

For high frequency posts, CRAVE Guitars is active on social media, with at least one relevant post every day (except during the 3‑year hiatus). CRAVE Guitars’ social media presence kicked off in December 2014, shortly after the web site went live.

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as it is ever so on the road” – Jack Kerouac (1922‑1969)

The multi‑part series approach is one way to present a large volume of material in a digestible format. However, it also takes up a huge amount of time and energy to research, corroborate and write. Internet resources are – surprise, surprise – notoriously unreliable and inaccurate. Sometimes it is easier (but not necessarily better) to write a lot and to split it into a series. The problem with brevity for its own sake is that some potentially interesting material has to be omitted. Balance is therefore important. Duh! Splitting material over several articles is a matter of pragmatism as well as a concern for readers’ patience… and my own sanity.

I much prefer to use images in my articles. It breaks up the narrative and looks far more inviting to prospective readers. However, one component of the perfect storm that resulted in the hiatus was the aftermath of using images from Google Images to illustrate articles, only to fall foul of using copyrighted material. As a result, all non‑CRAVE produced images were removed from the web site and, retrospectively, from all CRAVE articles. This is not ideal but it is a harsh reality of 21^st Century litigatory culture and a key learning point. As ‘they’ say, ‘once bitten, twice shy’. (NB. A phrase that first appeared in the novel, ‘The History of Miss Betsy Thoughtless’ (1751) by Eliza Haywood (1693‑1756))

“Life isn’t about finding yourself. It’s about creating yourself” – George Bernard Shaw

Regular readers will know that I also like to use credible quotes from wise people to help illustrate the narrative. I think this works well and adds some colour to an otherwise monochrome palate. Contrary to what you might think, it isn’t just an immature tacky expedient.

Regular readers will also know that each article ends with a CRAVE ‘Quote of the Month’. These are my own original pontifications on life, the universe and everything (thank you Douglas Adams). The first CRAVE quote appeared in November 2015 and one quote has been present in every article since (making 89 in total including this month – another 11 to go before that particular list also gets to 100). I hope that the quality of these amateur observations has also improved over the years. I particularly like this month’s quote btw. Some snippets may be controversial but, then again, aren’t the most insightful observations about the human condition often provocative and potentially divisive? I will continue to poke ‘the hornet’s nest’ (NB. A term first documented in ‘A Compleat History of Europe’ (1705) by David Jones) when I believe that a positive prod is needed.

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit” – Harry S. Truman (1884‑1972)

Arguably, one of my most irritating tendencies is probably my peculiar penchant for pathetically puerile alliteration. It is one of my go‑to literary techniques and I will continue to be childish and silly. Sorry again.

Possibly also irritating are my frequent nota bene (NB. Latin, literally meaning ‘note well’) references, often relating to obscure European literature. I find words and their etymological derivations fascinating, so I try to litter articles with random interesting non sequiturs (NB. from the Latin, ‘it doesn’t follow’). Sic! (NB. from the Latin adverb, ‘so’ and meaning in English ‘intentionally so written’, dating from c.1856). There ya go.

“Learning never exhausts the mind” – Leonardo da Vinci (1452‑1519)

Another irritating tendency for readers is probably my very robust opinions about the need to improve civilisation, society and our environment, which I strongly believe is essential for the longevity and prosperity of mankind and our dependency on the planet’s finite and fragile natural ecosystems. When will humanity come to its senses and establish a civilisation with a strong future that is peaceful, just and sustainable? I cannot come to terms with the utter insanity of destructive global geopolitics at the start of 2026 and, sadly, I can’t see it getting better any time soon. If there is one thing in this irrational world that I could possibly influence, that would be it.

Back to writing; some general structural, presentational and consistency needs improving, such as title capitalisation, blog format and grammatical style. These have evolved over time and are much better than they used to be. Probably best described as work‑in‑progress. My late wife (her passing was another contributor to the hiatus) used to proof read articles before publication. Sadly, that last‑minute check & balance is no longer available to me, so errors may well be present.

“Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life” – Steve Jobs (1955‑2011)

I hope that one thing comes through loud and proud is my unwavering passion for music – playing it (badly!), listening to it, amassing music CDs and attending live music events. The vintage guitar gear collection manifested directly from these cravings (sic!). While my main hankering for music collecting is roots and dub reggae, my contemporary musical listening tastes are very diverse.

One thing is for sure, I have learned a great deal from all the in‑depth investigation that goes into compiling content for the articles. That includes the process as well as the outcome. So, even if no‑one else reads anything, I now have a much better understanding of many things that are of interest to me and hopefully to readers. It has also made me think quite profoundly and fundamentally about a wide range of things. The result is that I have become a bit of a ‘jack of all trades’ (NB. an expression dating from the 16^th Century, regarded as a negative abbreviation of the more balanced ‘jack of all trades, master of none but oftentimes better than master of one’, suggesting a more versatile and adaptable skillset – the origin dates back at least to 1592 and Robert Greene referring to William Shakespeare as a ‘Johannes factotum’). I regard ‘generalist’ and ‘expert’ as opposing ends of a continuum and, arguably, the ideal position being at some point along the continuum depending on context – they are not mutually exclusive.

“The best way to predict the future is to create it” – Peter Drucker (1909‑2005)

AI will undoubtedly impact on all forms of creative industry in the future, including writing, music and art, either directly or indirectly, whether we like it or not. I covered the implications of the evolving technology in the 3‑part series, ‘Artificial Intelligence Takes on Vintage Guitars’ (March to May 2024). That is the only occasion where I have used AI narrative to prove a point – AI doesn’t give a flying fig what the subject matter is – it is a process tool but nothing more at the moment. AI, for instance, has no idea and doesn’t care what a vintage guitar is, what it is used for, why it is valued or its relevance to anything else. AI algorithms can manipulate data but it has no real insight – it does not have original ideas about anything at all – it can harvest data and output information but it cannot provide knowledge. All other CRAVE articles are the hard work of my inadequate, fallible, spongy hooman brainium.

I have, however, used AI for images, particularly for The CRAVEman articles, as this is the only way that I can bring him to artificial ‘life’ and produce artwork about him, even with all its inconsistencies and errors. Also, copyright currently resides with the end‑user (‘the creator’) inputting prompts that are then interpreted by AI algorithms (‘processing’) to produce static images, video, text, audio, etc. (‘output’). So, for the time being at least, I am on safe ground copyright‑wise. Once again, I have learned that judicious balance is the key here.

While on the subject of The CRAVEman; he has become the outward looking face of CRAVE Guitars while the author’s identity remains private and intentionally enigmatic. Who I am matters not. No‑one wants or needs or cares to know who I am.

Wow! That is quite a lot of learning. I hope, though, it gives a bit of an understanding into the process of bringing content to the customer. So, will these learning points change CRAVE Guitars’ articles going forward? Probably not a great deal because of the inescapable, finite, common constant and constraint – the human element, i.e. me. That, I am afraid, you are stuck with, like it or not. Apologies again.

“Sometimes milestones are not measured by the accomplishments of society, but by those of integrity” – Tamara Ecclestone (1984‑)

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The Next 100 Articles

When it comes to future articles, I usually try to work on ideas about three months in advance, if possible. I also try to get around to drafting at least one article ahead of schedule while still editing the imminent article to be published. This takes a lot of the deadline pressure off writing. Sometimes, I run into a blank and have to come up with something I wasn’t expecting, often at short notice, which can actually prove to be quite satisfying. Sometimes, the material prescribes an agenda, for instance, the aforementioned 14‑part ‘Story of Modern Music’, which effectively dictated subject matter for more than a whole year.

One of the problems of not buying much in the way of ‘new’ vintage guitar gear recently is that I don’t have a great deal of topical vintage gear acquisitions to write about at the moment, which is a shame. Writing a web site feature is one thing. However, it tends to take things out of context and sometimes it is nice to write about vintage gear within a broader canvas.

“The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today” – Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882‑1945)

I have stated on many occasions that the work involved in writing comprehensive articles means that I do not have sufficient time to write/edit, ‘The Distortion Diaries’. I still haven’t been able to balance the workload to enable both in a way that I feel comfortable about. The pressure of deadlines mean that monthly articles tend to get priority over the novel, which is very, very, very frustrating. I must try to simplify and streamline article writing, so I can finally publish the fictional novel. Unfortunately, temporal manipulation (time travel) isn’t within my skill set to affect.

Some regular thematic content will prevail, such as alliteration, quotes, campaigning for a better world, musicology, etc. Some subject matter will prevail, such as The CRAVEman adventures and annual end‑of‑year reviews. When there is some vintage guitar gear to write about, that will take absolute top priority.

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” – John F. Kennedy (1917‑1963)

I still have a question, which I kinda covered in my October 2024 article, ‘CRAVE Guitars Writing: An Introspective Inquiry’, so apologies for the reprise. Does anyone read the articles and are they worth doing? Now that is a very difficult pair of questions to answer. As far as stats go, it seems as though the volume of readership is very, very small. So, if the audience is so tiny, why bother? Ultimately, I do it because I want to write about these things, not because I want other people to read them (believe it or not) – there is a distinction, honest. As for the perceived intellectual or entertainment value deriving from the process, that is really not up to me to judge. I am self‑critical and I set myself very high standards but that doesn’t mean that what I write has any merit. Fundamentally, whether the content is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ has absolutely nothing to do with numbers reading something and, ultimately, valuing it. I don’t believe that there is an undeniable correlation.

Article writing is not ‘fun’ and it requires a substantial amount of work for zero return but, for some unknown reason, I feel compelled to do it anyway. I have tried over and over again to fathom where that compulsion comes from and, so far, I have failed to quantify the subjective cost/benefit attributes of doing it. I view writing in all its forms as work, regardless of whether the output is woefully under‑appreciated (Ed: a bit like paid work then!).

Will I run out of material? Yes, I will. Eventually. At which time, I will admit scraping an empty barrel (and mixing metaphors), accept it, and stop writing, rather than labour the point with disappointingly diminishing returns. Until then, it is business‑as‑usual. Whether the famine of inspiration dries up before article 200, we’ll just have to wait and see. At the current rate of one article per month, 100 articles takes 8 years, 4 months. That equates to mid‑2034 for article 200 ceteris paribus, so you might have to wait awhile to be certain. Having just passed one milestone, it is time to move onto the next goal; the journey starts here folks, with article (not room) #101 (NB. Room 101 was the torture chamber within Oceania’s Ministry of Love in which a prisoner’s worst fear was manifested, as described in the classic dystopian novel, ‘1984’ (1949) by George Orwell).

“Without a plan, even the most brilliant business can get lost. You need to have goals, create milestones and have a strategy in place to set yourself up for success” – Yogi Berra (1925‑2015)

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Final Thoughts on the First 100 Articles

I want to stress at this point that I am not in any way an ‘influencer’ and I do not want to be whatever one of those is. I am not trying to be clever or to influence anyone and have zero ambition to be thus labelled. Unlike many is such a role, I do not have the right to preach. Just to be clear.

So then, one might ask, what am I? Just a regular nerdy old dude is the answer. Oh, and with the hurly‑burly The CRAVEman as my alter ego, guitar god and all round superhero. Duh! (NB. Hurly‑burly is an English ‘reduplicated phrase’ originating in the 16^th Century, as in the translation from Latin of, ‘The Despisyng of the Worlde’ (1532) by Christian theologian, Erasmus (1466‑1536)).

I believe I have two fundamental contrasting outputs. One is diligently researched factual objectivity regarding vintage guitars, basses, effects and amps, as well as a passion for contemporary musicology. The other is subjective flights of fanciful fictional escapism. ‘The CRAVEman’ and ‘The Distortion Diaries’ both fall into the latter category.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step” – Laozi (6^th Century BCE)

The writing process varies considerably depending on what is being covered. Frequent short social media posts, infrequent long monthly blog articles, feature pages for vintage gear on the website and, of course, the long-gestating fictional novel. I strive very hard to be adequately competent at all four, which can be quite challenging while also attempting to eke out an everyday existence in this inexplicably irrational world. Ever the idealist.

Some of this I’ve mentioned before; so please forgive the repetition. So, what is my motivation? Why do I work SO hard at CRAVE Guitars et al? It certainly isn’t for pecuniary reward – there is none. Nada. Zilch. Rien. Nichts. Well, I’d like to be remembered for something, in terms of a lasting legacy. Such a legacy, however, requires sufficient numbers of people to recognise something to differentiate someone from all the other someones, who are possibly seeking similar somethings (if you get my intentionally convoluted drift!).

Will CRAVE Guitars ever realise some recognisable measure of success? I’m not getting into a definition of ‘success’ here. It hasn’t yet. Nothing happens overnight, right? Well CRAVE Guitars has been around for nineteen years and online for twelve. I don’t think it’s going to take off now, so I am resigned to a modest profile, which is OK, as I don’t actually sell anything. I am ambitious but I also recognise when something has reached its practicable equilibrium. Ever the optimist.

“We are what we do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit” – Aristotle (384‑322BCE)

I am, sadly, not privileged with an abundance of wealth, which is something that so many worthless people rely on to make themselves visible (and vacuous). It is SO hard to be good at something different, as there is SO little original thought or action these days. Hard work does ≠ appreciable success. I do not seek fame and the idea of ‘celebrity’ status is a total anathema to me. It would be nice, though, if there is some hard‑earned recognition for my efforts. I certainly do not want to be like everyone else and I am content with my harmless and unique misanthropic deviance from societal norms. However, all that is simply not enough in 2026, with nearly 9 billion souls on the planet, all wanting ‘more’ of everything. Greed and avarice are repugnant traits of innumerable immoral individuals. Ever the humblest.

One thing is for sure, I have every intention to carry on writing articles until the time comes when I can no longer do so, for whatever reason. I hope you’ll find that encouraging. I would like to understand what readers would like to see in terms of content. If anyone wishes to suggest relevant material, I would welcome it and, perhaps, even see whether I can do a good job at it, as a challenge.

I don’t usually believe in coincidences but publishing the 100^th article just happened to coincide with publishing the 200^th page on the web site.

“Listing your personal milestones is like storing a pocketful of sunshine for a rainy day. Sometimes our best is simply not enough…. We have to do what is required” – Winston Churchill (1874‑1965)

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A Short Update on ‘The Distortion Diaries’

Reflecting on the past decade of article writing for CRAVE Guitars got me thinking again about my work‑in‑progress side project. With ‘The Distortion Diaries’, (TDD for short – not the International Airport Code for Trinidad), I have only latterly come to realise just why the novel is dissimilar from my other writing and why it has become so important to me. It may be blooming obvious but it simply hadn’t occurred to me.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished” – Laozi (6^th Century BCE)

Until now, excepting all my past writing as part of my paid profession, my unpaid amateur writing over the past decade or so has been available entirely via Internet‑based channels, such as web site features, blog articles and social media. Surprise, surprise, they are all digital media, only accessible on that thar hinterwebby thingummy. Thus far, nothing actually tangible.

‘The Distortion Diaries’ is, I believe, different. I want TDD to be read (primarily) in traditional physical book form, something palpable for people to hold, printed with ink on paper, one of mankind’s oldest means of widely sharing ideas, imagination and knowledge. TDD has the potential to become an expression of my creative spirit. Somehow, more ‘real’, genuine and authentic simply because of its physicality. Perhaps, this explains why I do not want TDD to become just another random record of an online opus made up entirely of binary ‘1’s and ‘0’s. How very ‘old school’ (NB. The term, ‘old school’ may originate from a pamphlet, ‘The Reply of the Country Gentleman to the Answer of His Military Arguments’ (1758) by Thomas Potter).

“The goal, and the ultimate achievement, is to make people feel as well as think” – Saul Bass (1920‑1996)

I desperately hope that someone, somewhere may (eventually) get to read The Distortion Diaries and it may even have the power to change their life, just a tiny little bit. This is an earnest wish. This epiphany is very recent and quite illuminating (and possibly a touch conceited). Apologies (again) for the soul bearing.

As final editing of TDD edges closer, any external assistance guiding me through the self‑publishing process that results in an actual physical book would be very gratefully received. A production run will be very low numbers, at least initially.

“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803‑1882)

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CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Album of the Month’

Much has been said in CRAVE Guitars articles about my predilection for reggae, particularly roots and dub reggae. Most of the genre derived from the small Caribbean island of Jamaica during the 1970s. However, the ‘Windrush Generation’ (NB. named after the passenger ship HMT Empire Windrush in 1948) resulted in immigrants from the West Indies arriving in the UK from the 1940s to the 1970s. This influx meant that a significant Caribbean influence was present in the communities of major British cities such as London, Birmingham and Bristol. This vibrant culture led to a surge in British reggae built on the back of Jamaican popularity and the global phenomenon that was Bob Marley. Often overlooked, British reggae at its best was on a par with reggae from further afield. Consequentially, this month’s accolade goes to…

Pablo Gad – Trafalgar Square (1979):

Pablo Gad was born in Jamaica (date not known) and moved to the United Kingdom in 1974. He toured regularly with the London‑based reggae band Black Slate, becoming one of the most socially conscious and often outspoken UK‑based roots reggae singers. In 1979, he released his debut solo studio album, ‘Trafalgar Square’. The current CD release of the album on Secret Records comprises 11 tracks over 50 minutes including his most well‑known track, ‘Blood Suckers’ in both vocal and dub versions. It’s not a challenging listen and it may not be an exemplar of the genre but it stands out to my ears.

Pablo Gad may not be a familiar name to those whose interest lies mainly in mainstream pop reggae. However, ‘Trafalgar Square’ is, in my opinion, a hidden gem of the effervescent British reggae movement in the 1970s and 1980s. There are plenty of UK reggae artists and bands to discover, should you be so inclined. There is a growing interest in conserving the important musical heritage of that period with several homespun record labels dedicated to the task. Great stuff, worth checking out as complementary to the wealth of authentic Jamaican reggae.

BELIEVE IN MUSIC!

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams” – Eleanor Roosevelt (1884‑1962)

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Tailpiece

Well, that’s the first article of 2026 done and dusted. For next month, I think I will be returning to a back‑to‑basics article. That will rely on some preparatory work to be done before I can confirm. I hope you’ll come back to visit at the end of February to find out what’s in prospect. In the meantime, the nagging ‘call of stuff’ beckons.

“The moon is the first milestone on the road to the stars” – Arthur C. Clarke (1917‑2008)

Truth, peace, love, and guitar music be with you always. The CRAVEman, signing off for now. Until next time…

CRAVE Guitars’ ‘Quote of the Month’: “I don’t pray for a miracle. I pray that we become wise enough that we do not need miracles”

© 2026 CRAVE Guitars – Love Vintage Guitars.

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