A newly launched guitar factory and shop in Sunderland is already resonating with a host of well known musicians.
Cloud 9 Guitars is the brainchild of entrepreneurs Keith Robson and Mark Lamaq and aims to bring British-made instruments direct to players. And The Charlatans star Tim Burgess is working with the firm to deliver a run of guitars inspired by the yellow and black jacket the singer wore in the band's 1996 video for How High.
Mr Robson had been working in the guitar industry for some years making high end hardware such as machine heads and bridges - the component parts of the instruments - for boutique brands and established names such as Paul Reed Smith Guitars. Together with Mr Lamaq - who has worked in the US and China overseeing multimillion-pound mass production of guitars - the pair decided the time was right for a British manufacturer.
