Kee Marcello

Its the final countdown for the ex-Europe guitar man as he answers the 10 questions we ask everyone.

1 What was your first guitar and when did you get it?

“It was a Hagström, a Swedish guitar, and I got it when I was 13, as a Christmas gift. It all started when I discovered I wanted to be a guitar player. I went home and told my mum that ‘life ain’t worth living without a guitar…’ This is a form of psychology that can work on parents – you’re a kid and you get into all sorts of trouble and they don’t want you to be extra-troubled on top of that. So I got a cheap Hagström Impala, I think it was about 150 krona, the equivalent of about 15 quid, but this was in the 70s.”

2 Suppose the building was burning down, which guitar from your collection would you save? “

It has to be the Les Paul prototype that I have for my signature model, which is custom made with its own patents. I’ve been using it live for about five years, it’s my favourite guitar, but the way Gibson is going – they’re in a lot of trouble – is why we haven’t got around to doing a production model yet.”

3 What’s the oldest guitar you have in your collection?