The Jeremy Spencer Imposter

[dansven]

Hi

The Guitar Magazine Vol 5 No 6 (June 1995) has an informative article about the Egg and Potato Man. The word about this "Peter Green" started in 1992.

Patrick Hinfen (Essex farmer, purveyor of eggs and potatoes) started hanging around guitar shops, introducing himself as "Jimi Hendrix" and "Beetroot". After a while people started thinking that it might be Peter Green....

David Edwards, then guitarist with the band National Gold and also manager of KME Guitars (guitar shop in Ilford) was contacted by "Peter Green", who was interested in guitars and guitar sounds. Edwards had met the real Peter in the early 80s, and says that Hinfens hands were very similar to Peter's: "....his hands were unusually large and porcelain-like."

Hinfen and Edwards started to visit the Gibson A&R Centre in London's Denmark Street, and the manager there, Jamie Crompton, says that Hinfen had "the same toothy smile as Peter - the shape of his mouth and teeth were very similar - and he had the big hands as well. It all seemed plausible." Gibson A&R Centre offered "Peter Green" to loan a red dot-neck 335.

Hinfen then wrote the foreword to the Gibson book "'Burst 1958-'60 Les Paul Standard."

Even Neville Martin (ex-Guitarist editor) was also fooled. Hinfen said that he would play with the National Gold on their new album. Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Queen's Roger Taylor were also contacted and asked if they wanted to play on the album with "Peter Green", but only Roger Taylor were available. So Taylor donated studio time....

Hinfen's wierd appearance was accepted, as it was well known that the real Peter Green had psychological problems.

The recording sessions went on with Edwards doing most of the solos .. Hinfen did a poor version of "Jigsaw Puzzle Blues"!!! Hinfen also expressed interest in playing at Gibson's "Night Of 100 Guitars" centenary gig which Crompton was co-ordinating), but stressed that he had to be home and in bed by 9!!!

In the end Peter's brother Michael was contacted, and could confirm that Peter hadn't been playing with anybody. (In fact the real Peter was at Michael's home at the moment.)

So later Michael phoned Hinfen asking to speak to Peter. "Speaking", Hinfen replied. "You aren't Peter", said Michael. "I'm his brother". Hinfen told him then that he was just a fan of Peter.............. THE END.

Daniel