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Kossoff strat info ?

bramley

bramley

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Koss was a regular at Top Gear Music in Denmark Street and while searching for info to post on the page https://www.facebook.com/Top-Gear-Music-London-289183784906634/

I came across this snippet in a book review but can no longer find the link :

a bill of sale for “one used Fender Stratocaster 29912, £300” from Top Gear (Music) Ltd, Denmark Street, London WC2, dated July 2*...


Hoping someone here has the Koss book and can confirm it contains a pic of the bill of sale described above ?
 
4string

4string

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bramley said:
Koss was a regular at Top Gear Music in Denmark Street and while searching for info to post on the page https://www.facebook.com/Top-Gear-Music-London-289183784906634/

I came across this snippet in a book review but can no longer find the link :

a bill of sale for “one used Fender Stratocaster 29912, £300” from Top Gear (Music) Ltd, Denmark Street, London WC2, dated July 2*...


Hoping someone here has the Koss book and can confirm it contains a pic of the bill of sale described above ?
Click to expand...

The text from the Kossoff bio as follows (reprinted without permission):

Fender Stratocaster (1958), maple neck, tremolo unit, s/n 29912

Unearthed from the vaults of FAS Towers in 2010 and seen by this writer, a bill of sale for "one used Fender Stratocaster 29912, 300 pounds" from Top Gear (Music) Ltd, Denmark Street, London WC2, dated July 2, 1975.

The receipt is made out to Oak Management, John Glover's management company for Paul Kossoff and Back Street Carawler, in partnership with Rob Winn from Island Records. The serial number 29912 ascribes the guitar's year of manufacturer as 1958, so denoting a a maple neck. The color is not known.

Nothing else is known about this instrument.

 
chasenblues

chasenblues

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If that is the serial number on the bill wouldn't that put the guitar around a 1958?
 
bramley

bramley

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Thank you folks SO much . Any mention of the strat on the cover of of Back Street Crawler ? It was was released in '73 so obviously not this guitar . Koss was around Top Gear a lot, I remember him nodding off on a few occasions while trying guitars out.
 
Last edited:
4string

4string

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bramley said:
Thank you folks SO much . Any mention of the strat on the cover of of Back Street Crawler ? It was was released in '73 so obviously not this guitar . Koss was around Top Gear a lot, I remember him nodding off on a few occasions while trying guitars out.
Click to expand...

Chapter 16 of Kossoff's biography (available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Kossoff-Right-Guitars-Music/dp/1785898817/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1531970480&sr=1-1&keywords=Kossoff) goes into some detail about this guitar.

There have to be more than a dozen people quoted (including Kossoff and someone from the LPF) about the guitar but buyer beware on some of the accuracy. The author does a good job creating a narrative from multiple sources but in some instances it's really down to someone's recollection and little to substantiate the claim. Throw in the passage of time and how people recall specific details and ... well, you get the idea.

The instrument in question is serial number 72102 (circa 1957 according to the author). It was refinished blonde at some point (not clear who did this or when) and seems to have had multiple parts (specifically the pick guard and knobs) swapped out from Strats circa 1962 - 65. There are copies of a receipt, some photos including the guitar with current owner Dave Murray of Iron Maiden taken some time back and a fairly extensive discography where the guitar was used by Kossoff, including Wishing Well.
 
Xpensive Wino

Xpensive Wino

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4string said:
Chapter 16 of Kossoff's biography (available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Paul-Kosso...e=UTF8&qid=1531970480&sr=1-1&keywords=Kossoff) goes into some detail about this guitar.

There have to be more than a dozen people quoted (including Kossoff and someone from the LPF) about the guitar but buyer beware on some of the accuracy. The author does a good job creating a narrative from multiple sources but in some instances it's really down to someone's recollection and little to substantiate the claim. Throw in the passage of time and how people recall specific details and ... well, you get the idea.

The instrument in question is serial number 72102 (circa 1957 according to the author). It was refinished blonde at some point (not clear who did this or when) and seems to have had multiple parts (specifically the pick guard and knobs) swapped out from Strats circa 1962 - 65. There are copies of a receipt, some photos including the guitar with current owner Dave Murray of Iron Maiden taken some time back and a fairly extensive discography where the guitar was used by Kossoff, including Wishing Well.
Click to expand...

Good points. Provenance is tricky sometimes, and documentation may not be what it seems.

For example, I recall a certain "business card" with "Peter Greenberg" on it that was "discovered" in a Les Paul control cavity.

:hmm
 
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