The 12-string guitar most associated with Lonnie in the last twenty or so years was his Guild. It's a large blonde-finish instrument - I can only recall him using it on 'I wanna Go Home' at his concerts, but I could be wrong.

Two slightly more obscure instruments he's known to have used:

On the cover of the EP 'Relax With Lonnie' ('58) he can be seen with a large ornate black flat-top 6-string. That was an Abbott - he got rid of it, but a friend of mine just missed a chance to buy the same guitar in London in the early-'60s. We don't where it is now.

The other? Another 12-string, but I'm afraid I don't know what it is! He's had it years (he used it briefly on the 'Putting On The Donegan' TV shows in the late-'50s. More recently, it resurfaced on the CD sleeve of 'Donegan Meets Leineman'. Do any of you German guys know more about this guitar? It's a distinctive shape, with rather narrow 'shoulders'. Any info would be gratefully received.

The aforementioned Guild was more high-profile, though - the Martin 000-28 remained his #1 guitar until two weeks before his death; the end of his final tour saw him playing the sunburst 'Lonnie Donegan' signature Martin 000-28LD.

Roger Rettig