His playing had an intensity and drama that even Eric Clapton admired – and it all started with classical guitar: Paul Kossoff was a rare genius with a vibrato to die for

Paul Kossoff wails on his Les Paul Standard in front of some NMV Marshall stacks, playing live with Free at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival.

Paul Kossoff’s story is regrettably short, but it’s packed with classic songs and great guitar playing. Starting out on classical guitar, Paul gravitated to electric after seeing Eric Clapton with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers as a teenager.

It’s clear from his earliest recordings with London-based act Black Cat Bones in 1967 to his final recordings with Back Street Crawler in 1975 that ‘Koss’ was intensely passionate about music, regarding the guitar as his voice, rather than a vehicle for showboating.