Jeff Beck interview: no regrets from reluctant guitar god

Telegraph.co.uk

A phone rings in the middle of my interview with Jeff Beck. “F--- off!’ he snarls, comically. But then he looks closer at the digital display. “Oops, sorry, it’s Eric, I better take this.”

It is Eric Clapton, Beck’s fellow guitar god, calling to discuss a planned performance together. “It’s in D, Eric. Nah, don’t worry about that, I’ll do all the riffs,” chatters Beck. “You just play fills and solos. I’ll do everything else. We’ll give it a shot, anyway, if it doesn’t work, heave ho.”

It is a fascinating glimpse into the private world of guitar heroes. Not least because, at 65, remarkably fit, muscular and alert, it is Beck who appears to be calling the shots with arguably his more celebrated peer, giving some indication why he is so often referred to as the guitarist’s guitarist.