13. Manitas De PlataLa España De Manitas
His name means little hands of silver. He was like the Jimi Hendrix of flamenco guitar. I have a little cottage in Majorca, which I’ve had for many years, which I sometimes go to to escape. I don’t get there as much as I’d like, unfortunately, but I’ve got an old Clark and Smith record player there – the ones they used to wheel into school classrooms, very chunky and utilitarian. I bought one and I took it over there, but I didn’t have much vinyl. Then a painter, David Templeton, a good friend of mine in a neighbouring village, gave me a pile of old Spanish vinyl LPs.
And amongst them was La España De Manitas by Manitas De Plata. I didn’t know what to expect when I put it on, as I’d never heard of him before, and I was absolutely mesmerised. It inspired me to investigate a bit more, and he was incredible and considered possibly the greatest flamenco guitarist of all time. Picasso used to go and see him play quite a lot apparently, and he said: "That man is a greater work than I am". And he drew all over Manitas De Plata’s guitars for him. He was very prolific, brilliant, and very unusual. And I think early in his career, he was criticised because he used unorthodox techniques for his rhythms.
Again, it became a soundtrack. There was a period of time where I was in this little cottage in Spain for a month, and it was a very reflective period of my life. And it became my constant companion, looking out over the mountain, with a glass of wine as the sun’s going down, just listening to it on repeat. It’s absolutely beautiful. And again, it’s one of those albums that stayed with me.
