So sad to hear of Paul's passing. He was a great friend and mentor to me here in Portsmouth, encouraging me to buy a D10 and make headway on the "back deck" as he called it - "It's easy - just grab loads of strings!"
A man of great energy and positivity he was always enthusiastically immersed in projects - designing and building 8-string lap steels, oil painting (a fine artist), learning to play keyboards and most recently taking up Dobro.
It was so good to have a typically long telephone conversation a week ago with him - "Are you fed up of me blathering on yet ?"- was a frequent interjection from him. He had a store of great stories from his years in music, his first job being
barman at the famous Eel Pie Island Hotel during its heyday as the birthplace of British R'n'B - "I can still remember what Mick Jagger used to drink!"
A great player he had a natural feel for swing and many's the time I would mess up on guitar when we performed as a duo purely through listening and being blown away by his playing and forgetting my own part!
He was an inspiration and I'll miss him greatly.
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