Pete Stevens contributed this excellent article about The Clash and their guitars. I urge you to read part one before tucking in to the conclusion below - thanks Pete over to you.

I don’t post too much guitar stuff online at the risk of boring the arse off most people ! I rarely play my black Les Paul Studio or my Olympic White USA Stratocaster, but the Telecaster still gets a decent plonk or two every day. The vintage neck profile is much more comfortable to play for a middle aged photographer with carpal tunnel syndrome in his left wrist ! My own Telecaster started life as an original Fender Joe Strummer artist model, and has been personally customized by various methods, but it now has a great story attached.

A couple of weeks ago I went back to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Public Library for a second session of photography. The displays were still evolving, with Mick still moving objects around. I decided to take my own Telecaster for Ade to play and also to show Danny, who is shooting a new Clash documentary. I really didn’t expect Mick to be there, but he was and came into the ‘Carbon Casino’ lounge area to play MY Telecaster. There have been one or two very surreal moments in my life, but this was surely the ‘top of the shop’. Perhaps in hindsight I shouldn’t have tried to teach Mick how to play the intro to The Who’s ‘Substitute’…But hey ! What the f**k !!

Ever the gentleman, he was very complimentary about the guitar. He’s got relatively small hands and I can understand his switch from Les Paul to Telecaster, partly from the body weight – a big difference too – and partly due to a better/easier neck profile. He cuts a really slight figure these days and slinging around a Les Paul is very definitely hard work !!

Image Courtesy of Peter Stevens

He did tell me that evening, although I already knew, about Joe being left-handed and forcing himself to play right-handed, which lead to his distinctive playing style. If you dig out old 101′ers live performances you will already hear that familiar style of Joe’s.

I’ve stolen one of my own images from the internet….Mick is playing the black Thinline Telecaster and Tony (James) is playing one of Mick’s old Les Paul Juniors….

The Rude Boy footage shows Mick with either a black Les Paul Custom – the RAR in Victoria Park or the majority of other footage with his sunburst Les Paul Standard, which is the orange/yellow Les Paul guitar from the ‘Police & Thieves’ at Barbarella’s, Glasgow Apollo footage – ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’, ‘I’m So Bored With The USA’, ‘Janie Jones’ and ‘White Riot’…..’The Prisoner’ at the Civic Hall, Aberdeen, ‘Tommy Gun’ from The Kinema, Dunfermline. It also features in ‘Complete Control’, ‘Safe European Home’ and ‘What’s My Name’ from the Music Machine (now Koko) in Camden, London and the famous footage of ‘I Fought The Law’ from The Lyceum, London.

I really should have asked about that sunburst Les Paul Standard when we were chatting, but I was attempting to not be too much of an guitar anorak ! We could go on about Mesa Boogie, Roland Space Echo and a whole host of other stuff but life’s too short !!

Hanging up the anorak, but if anyone could tell me about that red, possibly a Gretsch, semi-acoustic from the Rude Boy footage of ‘Garageland’ then……

*an old vintage Fender Bassman 4 x 10″ tweed amp is in the RnRPL at the moment. This is still considered by many guitarists to give THE best ‘Fender’ sound of all.

Pete – an odyssey – thanks for all the research, the expertise, and the moments that you shared!!