An Appointment to see The Doctor!
 By Chris Wilson,
Skelmersdale.
Yes! And you can be quick about it too” were the words of our jovial Editor when I offered to write an article about my latest transatlantic exploits. So here I am - comfortably ensconced in my penthouse in Upper Skelmersdale (the fashionable Wigan end) wearily pushing my ball-point across acres of snowy white paper. As you are all no doubt aware, a Gallagher guitar is quite an exclusive instrument so that would make any one who owned and played one an exclusive fellow too, wouldn’t it? (Groans all round!). So when I found out they would be celebrating 32 years of building guitars on the 16th and 17th of May, it seemed like a good idea to go and join in the fun. A quick run down to the local travel agent secured the tickets (“How much luv? I only want to fly on the plane, not buy the bloody thing!”) and post a letter to mine host, Don Gallagher, to make sure he knew who I was and that I was desirous to attend. Just over a week before I was due to fly out I was awakened at some ungodly hour (about 10.30 a.m., I think) by the dull thud of a heavy object landing on the floor. Leaping out of bed I found a large envelope addressed to yours truly. With trembling hands I picked it up, but then noticed the ‘Airmail USA’, so it wasn’t from the Council about the rent, the Gas company or the ’leccy - phew! Calmness descended over me so I tore it open - it was from Don Gallagher. “Dear Mr. Wilson, we are delighted, etc.”, even telling me where I could stay. Well, that’s nice of him; mind you, loads of people tell me where to stay back home here in England - or should that be telling me where to go? Anyway, I went.
Flight out to Nashville, followed by two nights stay in music city, Wednesday morning found me bowling along the interstate in a Greyhound to Shelbyville. Welcome to small town America son. The heat was baking after the air-conditioned cool of the bus and, as I made my way along crumbling sidewalks and past large empty grassy weed filled areas of land, I wondered if this was the right place after all. Yes it is, advert in the hairdressers window - bingo!! Doc Watson’s coming to town - yippee!!! After the bustle of Nashville, Shelbyville was amazingly quiet and picturesque - courthouse on top of the hill, ‘olde tyme’ shops and a laid-back life style. This is Tennessee walking-horse country and the outlying areas are devoted to this with stud farms and stables for miles, in fact nearly everybody seems to own a horse, or have something to do with the livery business. Needless to say the scenery is very beautiful around there with wooded hills and ‘hollers’, as green as anywhere in England. I stayed in the Shelbyville Inn where Pinkie and the rest of the staff made me most welcome and introduced me to a local fiddle player, Ron Eldridge, who acted as my guide and mentor over the four days that I stayed there. At this point I must digress; anyone who hasn’t had breakfast in that neck of the woods hasn’t had a breakfast. They were simply superb, the ham tasted like it used to 40 years ago over here - hey I’m not that old am I? And they were big enough to stop a train. You didn’t need lunch, and could hardly eat tea - absolutely wonderful.
Friday noon started the proceedings with open house at the Gallagher workshop in Wartrace, about 10 miles from Shelbyville. The workshop consisted of two small shops joined together with just one entrance into the reception area with two other doors leading off into the luthiers shop proper. There was the usual collection of woodworking machines in there so it didn’t look a lot different from any normal woodworking shop. The whole of the Gallagher family were on hand to deal with any questions: Don, his wife Margaret, their two sons plus Don’s mum as well as the rest of the workforce. But what was of most interest to this visitor was the line-up of guitars in the reception area, just waiting for my hot, eager little hands. These included:- the Steve Kaufman, G70, G71, 72 Special, Ragtime Special and Doc Watson, plus a nylon strung that I didn’t recognise. Well, everybody had a whale of a time beating the living daylights out of all these beautiful new guitars and singing our little heads off. Being a celebrity from overseas, I was dragged away by Don’s wife Margaret to be interviewed by the local radio and T.V. (well, everyone’s famous for 15 minutes) and also to meet Mike Longworth - ex Martin Guitars guru, “J.W.Gallagher was a great friend of mine, that’s why I’m here”. Mike’s retired now and lives close by in Bell Buckle, so it was lovely to meet him. Fotos: Copyright © C.Wilson May be used if permission requested
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