Who’s played with , Bryan Ferry, and The Wombles? As one of the world’s most versatile guitar heroes, Chris Spedding has defied easy categorisation over his storied 60-year career. His eightieth birthday rolled around in May, but the Derbyshire-born virtuoso with the silver quiff still enjoys recording and touring, adding tasty, understated licks to whatever project comes his way. “I always try to inject some Spedding element, to make it different,” he says with a smile.

I grew up in a household where opera was always on the radio. My mother sang in the local choir, my father played organ in church. That’s why I chose violin.

I had an aptitude for it, but my heart wasn’t in it. When I was twelve I heard skiffle, and singing . I thought: “What am I doing with this rubbish violin?” Girls talk to me when I play the guitar.

Listening to rock’n’roll would be the same as if your precious young son suddenly decided to listen to gangsta rap. So people in my town would say: “We’re very worried about Chris” [laughs]. I might do a session for some middle-of-the-road artist like Petula Clark in the morning, then play with John Cale in the afternoon.

I could take the lick of the day – whatever guitar thing I was working on – and fit it into both. Nobody would know. Who was going to buy Petula Clark’s record and John Cale’s record, and say: “Hey, I recognise that lick!” So when people say: “You’re very versatile, playing with all these different ar.