CLEAN CUT

“I’ve been into Fenders since I can remember,” says Martin Kelly, co-author of Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970 (Cassell Illustrated). “I only got a real job because I wanted to play more guitars!” he jokes, with just a hint of irony. While shooting for success in the late 80s and early 90s with cult indie band East Village, Martin decided to start up the Heavenly Recordings label with co-founder Jeff Barrett and has been working in the music industry ever since. An avid researcher, his passion for collecting Fender instruments began as a teenager in the early 80s, when offsets could be regularly snapped up for a fraction of their current price.

“Fender offsets were always my thing,” continues Martin. “There was a shop in Leytonstone called Holiday Music and it was like a Mecca for me and my brother [Paul Kelly, also co-author of Fender: The Golden Age 1946-1970]. They used to import guitars from America by the container-load and I remember seeing well over a dozen custom colour Jags in there. They were priced between £160 and £250, and £250 would get you a Shoreline Gold Jaguar in absolutely pristine condition.”

At the time of writing, there are two 1964 Shoreline Gold Jaguars for