Albert Upside Down (Albert the Tortoise)

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It’s utterly brilliant and charming and if you’re an upside down tortoise, essential reading.' – Paul Whitehouse, Gone Fishing, The Fast Show

King's first instrument was a diddley bow. Next, he built himself a cigar box guitar, and eventually he bought a Guild acoustic guitar. The instrument he is usually associated with is a 1958 Gibson Flying V. In 1974 he began using a Flying V built by Dan Erlewine, and after 1980 he also played one built by Bradley Prokopow. [30] After 1987, Albert played a custom Archtop Flying V, [31] built by Tom Holmes upon commission from Billy Gibbons, it was given to King for his 65th birthday. Around 2017, this guitar was sold by Gruhn Guitars [32] to an unknown collector. A great little story of coming together to help those in need & fantastically illustrated' – Joe Sugg, star of Youtube & Strictly Come Dancing I Get Evil" (1962) " Crosscut Saw" (1967) " Born Under a Bad Sign" (1967) " As the Years Go Passing By" (1969) " The Hunter" (1969) " The Very Thought of You" (1979)Paavo Berglund (A well known Finnish left-handed conductor who also played violin, often joining orchestra players for chamber music just for fun. Due to the value of his violin collection he did not want to change his instruments and had trained himself to play left-handed on violins with a standard set-up.) I’d say Albert was more competitive than some, certainly more so than the older folks out there, like [his blues contemporaries] Mance Lipscomb and Johnny Shines. As a person, though, Albert had a softness and kindness inside. But he kept it hidden a lot.” Having said that, if you want to sound like Albert King, I do believe there is a benefit in tuning down a half step to Eb. This is a tuning that a lot of blues players use – including Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix and more recently, Philip Sayce.

There are now four books in the series, including Albert and the Wind, Albert Supersize and new book Albert in the Air. Celebrity tortoise Albert, from Gravesend. Picture: Ian Brown People forget that great rhythm guitar will help make your solo sound better”: YouTube guitar guru Marty Schwartz on the biggest mistakes aspiring guitarists make – and how to fix them Ian Brown is a London-based writer and producer for television and former journalist. His TV credits include The South Bank Show, This Is Your Life, Top Gear, entertainment shows and documentaries. He has written or produced for the likes of Pierce Brosnan, Harrison Ford, Simon Cowell, George Lucas, Liam Neeson, Martin Scorsese, Jamie Oliver and Homer Simpson among many others. The Albert series are his first book titles for children.

From a practical perspective – Flying Vs are light guitars, especially when compared with Les Pauls. They also have great access to the upper frets. As Gibbons recalls: ‘Albert asked to play my guitar. He had it upside-down and played a little bit. Then he asked, “Why are you using these strings?” I told him because I wanted to have that bluesy sound. He said, “Why are you working so hard? Get something light!”