130 Years Of Gibson130TH Gibson ANNIVERSARY
Scott Gorham is in his element. Holding court at London’s Gibson Garage, surrounded by the tools of his half-century trade, with a wicked-uncle twinkle and an e-cigarette on the side that represents his last unkicked habit, the Thin Lizzy veteran remains the very best company in rock ’n’ roll.
You sense it’s a relief for Gorham to be back on home turf, having struggled in recent weeks with a nasty case of imposter syndrome. The official reason for our interview is the 73 year old’s unveiling of his historic artwork (pictured on page 79): a series of wild, fantastical pencil sketches that he worked up while on tour with Lizzy, then hid under the bed for decades. But even after the successful launch of his collection at the Karma Sanctum Soho Hotel in April, the guitarist still flinches at the ‘A’ word.
“I can’t call myself an ‘artist’,” squirms Gorham. “I figure there’s all these brilliant men and women who were at art college for years – and here comes some slob like myself and I just step right into it. I feel really guilty with that.”
Music, though, he can talk about all day. The band that made his name in the mid-70s now moves at a more leisurely pace, eschewing studio albums since the death of talismanic frontman Phil Lynott in 1986, while touring sporadically with a patchwork quilt of members.
