b'walking round it, filling in where needed andfaults and get a matt finish rather than gloss, but moving the work and the people around constantlyIve always regarded that as a cheap short cut. to get it all done. I couldnt keep people on the jobsEventually I chose one man, John Singleton, who they were best at, a job might be started by oneI thought would listen to me, talked it all through person and finished by another and skills didntwith him and left him to it. After a few weeks he build up. I was constantly thinking of new wayswas managing the whole process to a much higher and means, changing details to make everythingstandard than before, and with time to spare. Some work and to allow for what supplies were available.years later he joined the Fire Brigade and died in I took a deep breath and reorganised everyonea blazing building. I was the one who was called into teams of 3 or 4, each with the highest skilledout by his family and went to the fire scene that as team leader and tasked to produce a certainnight, and took his children onto the beach the next number of instruments each, while I spent most ofmorning. my time on tool making and training. In some waysAs I tried to expand more, the teams became it worked, but there were inevitable bottle necksunbalanced and I reorganised again, arranging when more than one team were at the same stage,the rest of the process along the same lines as I and it meant that I wasnt in direct control of everyhad with John. One man - one job, or at least one part myself, although it did release me for newgroup of jobs. To lots of people this sounds very projects like the Fylde Acoustic album.dull, but it works, and it really is a good way to The biggest problem was the lacquering andconstantly drive things forward. It is not mass polishing. Most guitar makers have this problem,production, we were not making enough for that, its the black hole - guitars go into the finishingit is work organised for the best possible outcome. shop, and never come out. No matter how manyEach person can take pride in the quality of what coats of lacquer were sprayed on, someone alwaysthey do, they know what part they have made, managed to polish them all off, right back toand can point to it. Skills and consistency build up bare wood, and we had to start again. None ofcontinually, no one can blame someone elses work, the teams could get it right. Some makers avoidand if something does go wrong, its easier to sort the problem by rubbing with wire wool to hideout. The end result is that you get the best person The Great Egg Race It was a long day, but very little work timetune Jesu Joy of mans desiring, and and a lot to do, and we had to do it allthe sound technicians blended our The prize for winning The Great Eggover and over again for the cameras.version into the real version as the credits Race on BBC in 1985 - two eggcups!At one point I almost lost my temperrolled.We were also allowed to keep theand said to Peter Skellern if you stay sweatshirts. much longer Ill give you a saw and you Tony Wilson, Eddie Green and myself, allcan help. They loved that, so I had to looking rather fed up, plus Peter Skellernsay it again and again until they had it and Heinz Wolff. Eddie won the beardrecorded, which made everything even growing competition. worse, but we still won. We played the 52'