With the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck transformed the sound of the guitar in pop music, experimenting with the fuzz box, feedback and distortion. He produced classic guitar riffs for the band on records like ‘Heart Full of Soul’ and ‘Over Under Sideways Down’ and, way ahead of its time, helped to shape psychedelic pop.

In 1967, following his departure from the Yardbirds, Jeff recorded ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ with Rod Stewart on backing vocals and Rak Records boss Micky Most as producer. It was a huge hit and made the charts again in 1972 and 1982 after being reissued. It earned Jeff just £40 in royalties and he famously hated the song, describing it as ‘like having a pink toilet seat around your neck for the rest of your life’.

That same year the Jeff Beck Group was formed with Ronnie Wood and Rod Stewart. By 1968, the band were flat broke and ready to pack it all in, but legendary manager Peter Grant persuaded them to go to America for a short tour. They were booked to support the Grateful Dead at the Fillmore East in New York and, by all accounts, they blew the Dead off the stage. By the end of the tour in San Francisco, Grant had secured the band a new album contract with Epic Records. They returned to England and recorded Truth, credited to just Jeff Beck. After their fifth tour of America, on the eve of the Woodstock Festival, the band broke up. Jeff said he had a love–hate relationship with Rod Stewart: ‘He loved me, and I hated him.’

In subsequent decades Jeff played with Eric Clapton, Brian Wilson, Roger Waters, Jon Bon Jovi, Kate Bush, and, with his old bandmate Rod Stewart, hit the charts with a cover of Curtis Mayfield’s ‘People Get Ready’. On 4 July 2009, Jeff finally got the ‘pink toilet seat’ off his neck with a triumphant performance of ‘Hi Ho Silver Lining’ with David Gilmour and Imelda May.

Following Jeff’s death in January 2023, I asked Mark Knopfler what hethought of him; he gave a simple four-word answer: ‘He was the best.’

Johnnie Walker