"I was not gifted with enormous speed on the guitar.

There were years, when I was younger, when I thought I could improve and become faster if I practiced enough. But in reality, it never happened."

Accepting that he would never be a top-level fretboard gymnast, he looked to other influential guitarists, such as Hank Marvin, the Stratocaster-loving guitarist of The Shadows, for inspiration. "In the '60s, Hank would just play a melody, and I think I come from there," he says. "I just want to play a beautiful melody!"

David Gilmour