“In the beginning, I was a terrible rhythm player. I avoided it like the plague”: Martin Barre once distanced himself from rhythm playing – but some Steve Lukather wisdom changed his mind

Martin Barre of Jethro Tull photographed at home in front of his bookshelf, with his pristine Gibson ES-330TD.

Former Jethro Tull lead guitarist Martin Barre has reflected on his relationship with the art of rhythm guitar, saying he avoided it like the “plague” until some sage wisdom he heard from Steve Lukather made him rethink his stance.

“In the beginning, I was a terrible rhythm player,” he tells Guitar World. “I sort of avoided it like the plague. But Steve Lukather famously has said that most of his sessions were playing rhythm guitar, and that made me sit up and take notice.”