Gone Shopping...

Neville Martin attempts to seek out a quality acoustic 12-string, but ends up salivating over a sunburst single-cut instead

- Neville Martin

I have an imminent acoustic gig that involves playing Kim Wilde's big hit Kids In America with her dad, Marty, at his annual Society Of Distinguished Songwriters (SODS) dinner. American readers might not know Kim or her dad. Marty had 17 UK Top 20 hits in the late 50s and early 60s, while 80s superstar Kim remains hugely successful here and across Europe. She topped the Billboard Hot 100 with her cover of The Supremes' You Keep Me Hangin' On, too. Marty co-wrote Kids... with his son Ricky.

The aforementioned 'do' is at a posh London hotel, where a who's who of British songwriting legends will be in attendance. The idea is that each member gets up and delivers one of their top compositions. As an example of the calibre of writers there, last year Van Morrision regaled us with Brown Eyed Girl on his Martin dreadnought. And he was, by some margin, not the most successful songsmith there.