The Pretenders’ lead guitarist James Walbourne got his start in the music industry thanks to a job in a local guitar shop – a warm-up, if you will, to networking and navigating the personal and professional dynamics of being in a band.
“You need to be able to play well and with others – and I mean in a room with people,” he asserts in an interview with BOSS. “When I was growing up, there was no YouTube or social media, so you had to leave your bedroom to connect with other musicians.”
The best place to meet other like-minded musicians and brush shoulders with would-be rock stars? Guitar stores.
“Music shops were a good place to meet people,” he replies. “I met so many musicians in Angel Music. I worked there for a bit when I was 19 and 20. I took [guitarist] Gem Archer’s job when he joined Oasis.
“Robbo [Brian Robertson] from Thin Lizzy came in on Saturdays to work with me, and we’d just play. This guitar shop was the hub, and absolutely everyone would come in.”
It was so much of a musician's hotspot that Walbourne says it quickly earned a reputation as a “party guitar shop.”
“It was big for me growing up,” he reminisces. “It’s where I met a lot of people. That’s where I met Martin Kelly, my manager. It was a big community. But it’s gone now. The same thing is happening to music venues. It’s a shame there are fewer around these days.
“There was nothing better than going into a pub and watching a band. They could be the best or the worst band, but to just see actual humans getting together and playing music was great. I mean, that’s how I learnt. It’s massive. The whole community thing is not as prevalent now.”
In a double interview with Pretenders guitar wielders Walbourne and Hynde, the two discussed why founding member Jimmy Scott forever cemented the band’s guitar tone, Chrissie’s iconic Ice Blue Telecaster and the best Pretenders riffs.
