“If Twitter tells me there is a better guitarist than Gary Moore I will delete my account and eat my pets”

Well. It was a pretty usual run of the mill Thursday evening, half a bottle of wine down and sharing my weekly watch of Question Time with Twitter. I love how Twitter can either enhance a televisual experience or completely distract from one. With Question Time it is the former, for sure. However this week, it turned into the Kelvin MacKenzie show, he was being far more wanky than usual. I think I lost it when he said “Even weird countries like Finland have serious problems with gun crime”. What’s weird about Finland?!

I turned the tv down at that point and stuck my headphones on, and probably poured some more wine. Parisienne Walkways came on and I was in my own little musical heaven. Kelvin MacKenzie didn’t exist, it was the perfect moment. That was when I updated my Twitter with the title of this blog.

I didn’t realise that 84 characters (plus spaces) would lead to some great debate and culminating in what may be the best most honest cross-section vote of people, not to mention more writing than I have done since I did my A level Law. Plus about 8 hours sleep over three nights.

As you started gracing me with your replies of your own favorite artists I thought rather than just fanny around as usual I could do something useful, because your suggestions and reasoning were some of the best twitter discussion I have ever had. So I opened a poll, and oh boy you enthusiastically played along!

The poll closed at 5pm Friday. Then it got drunkenly reopened at 11.45pm Friday when the late nighter’s realised they had missed it. I kept it open for most of Saturday too. Then it got reopened at 1.20am Sunday for even more drink sodden, wonderful contributions.

Since then I have been catching up with sleep and collating all the information. I’m no genius at computers so it was old fashioned paper and pen and lots of retracing conversations.

So. All in all you named a staggering 107 guitarists as your personal favorites. 214 votes were cast. What I loved about this is it really showed what a diverse bunch we are. This fact is proved in the results, which, I’m trying to get too. (I like talking, you see).

The out and out winner, obviously was The late Great Jimi Hendrix. He got 23 votes.  Second was Johnny Marr. He was put forward by 10 of you. And in 3rd place, was Slash. With 7 votes. In joint place also on 7 was Prince.

I was more than happy with this top three, 40 votes, you have to accept the public’s choice. Im as far from a music snob as you can get, although I do find music snobs quite sexy when you get them into a debate, and I like doing this often. Most of my morning tweets are generally a verse or chorus of whatever I’m listening to on my ipod (predominantly Bowie/The Cure/Kasabian/Stone Roses/The Ramones, with some 80’s pop thrown in) and  I like doing that. Unfortunately Alan Davies didn’t like this, and he unfollowed me and called me a dullard. ON MY BIRTHDAY. (Honestly, I am over that).

I enjoyed every minute of this, and enjoyed the lively discussions I had with each and every one of you, it certainly provoked a lot of excitement from most. The full list of each artist nominated will follow below. I can’t name you all, although I do have the handwritten results complete with your usernames incase anybody wants to challenge me (you fucking dare!).

Things I have learnt:

1. Twitter is diverse, colourful, intelligent, daft, lovely.

2. I will probably never do a poll again, unless I am paid a princely sum.

3. I’ve learnt to do a basic blog! (I’m not yet sure if this is a good or bad thing).

4. I need a new Ipod to fill with all the new music I have discovered through this poll.

So, with that, I will shut up and leave you to browse the results:

1st. Jimi Hendrix (23 votes)

2nd. Johnny Marr (10 votes)

3rd. Slash (7 votes)

”     . Prince (7 votes)

4th. Eric Clapton (6 votes)

”      . John Squire (6 votes)

5th. Dave Gilmore (5 votes)

”      . Mark Knopfler (5 votes)

”      . Gary Moore (5 votes)

6th. Robert Fripp (4 votes)

”      . George Harrison (4 votes)

”      . Mick Ronson (4 votes)

”      . Stevie Ray Vaughn (4 votes)

”      . Rory Gallagher (4 votes)

7th. Django Reinhard (3 votes)

”      . Carlos Alomar (3 votes)

”      . Graham Coxon (3 votes)

”      . Tom Morello (3 votes)

”      . Jimmy Page (3 votes)

”      . Brian May (3 votes).

The following all in a massive joint 8th received 2 nominations each:

Jeff Beck, Roy Buchanan, Wilco Johnson, Matt Bellamy, Keith Richards, Carlos Santana, Johnny Greenwood, Chuck Berry, Pete Townsend, Buddy Guy, Eddie Phillips, Ritchie Blackmore, Steve Cropper, BB King, James Dean Bradfield, Les Paul, Bo Didley, Jack White, John Martyn, Joe Santriana.

And lastly this sexy 69 got 1 nomination each:

Foy Vance, Frank Zappa, Danny Gatton, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, James Jamerson, Tom Verlaine, Lol Creme, David Bowie, Pete Shelley, Nile Rogers (who I have since found on Twitter and he is BRILLIANT), Richard Thompson, Stevie Vai, Lou Reed, Billy Corgan, Davey Graham, Burt Weedon, Ian Griffiths, Derek Bailey, Dave Grohl, Jeff Healy, Dave Navarro, Will Seargent, Peter Bucks, Angus Young, Mark King, Bruce Springsteen, Charley Patton, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie Johnson, Jim Heath, Nigel Tufnell, Joe Strummer, Dave Mustaine, Sonny Sharrock, Wendy Melvoin, Vicky Peterson, Jack Johnson, Neil Schon, Tony Lomi, Eddie Van Halen, Angus Young, Kirk Hamnett, Joe Perry, Porl Thompson, Robbie Robertson, Joey Santiago, Janice From The MUPPETS, Walter Trout, Jerry Garcia, Jose Feliciano, Mike Campbell, Ronnie Wood, Steve Craddock, Hank Marvin, Sheryl Crowe, Ritchie Sambora, Phil Collen, Lindsay Buckingham, Flea, Paul Simonon, Archer Prewitt, Candice Marie Pratt, Brian Setzer, Tracy Chapman, Luke Crowther, Kevin Shields, Angus Young, Johnny Greenwood.

Look at them all, One Hundred and bloody seven guitarists. And I didn’t have Suggs or Al Murray to fight nobodies corner. Watch and learn Wossy, watch and learn.

Thanks for playing along, listening, and generally being a good bunch. I will now delete my account and get the dog out of the oven, she should be nice and rare by now. Bye!

P.S. Stop the press! A graphical analysis has now been added:

Graphical analysis courtesy of RedEaredRabbit, Chief Statistician to Sharongooner’s blog.