30 Greatest British/Irish Guitarists of All Time
by Supertramp093 | created - 22 Aug 2017 | updated - 27 Feb 2023 | Public
1. Eric Clapton
Soundtrack | Lethal Weapon 3
Eric Clapton was born in Ripley, Surrey, England, on March 30, 1945. His real father was a Canadian pilot but he didn't find that out until he was 53. When he was 2 his mother felt she was unable to look after him, so Eric then went to live with his grandparents. When he was 14 he took up the ...
2. Jimmy Page
Soundtrack | The Song Remains the Same
Jimmy Page was born on January 9, 1944 in Heston, Middlesex, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Song Remains the Same (1976), Godzilla (1998) and The Adam Project (2022). He was previously married to Jimena Gomez-Paratcha, Patricia Ecker and Charlotte Martin.
3. Jeff Beck
Soundtrack | Pirate Radio
Jeff Beck was born in Surrey in 1944. He grew up in a suburban street in Carshalton. When he was about 10, he wanted to play the guitar. His mum, however, wanted him to play the piano because she didn't approve of the guitar. When he was in his late teens, he joined "The Tridents" on lead guitar. ...
4. Tony Iommi
Soundtrack | Iron Man
Tony Iommi was born on February 19, 1948 in Birmingham, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Iron Man (2008), Suicide Squad (2016) and Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000). He has been married to Maria Sjöholm since 1999.
5. Peter Green
Soundtrack | Frequency
Peter Green was born on October 29, 1946 in London, England, UK. He was a music artist, known for Frequency (2000), 6 Underground (2019) and Jerry Maguire (1996). He was married to Jane Samuels. He died on July 25, 2020 in Canvey Island, Essex, England. UK.
6. Brian May
Soundtrack | Flash Gordon
Brian May is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential, innovative, technically gifted and recognisable guitarists in the history of rock. He is also a prolific songwriter, responsible for writing or co-writing many international hits with Queen. He was educated at Hampton Grammar School ...
7. Ritchie Blackmore
Soundtrack | Point Break
Ritchie Blackmore was born on April 14, 1945 in Weston Super Mare, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Point Break (1991), Twister (1996) and Almost Famous (2000). He has been married to Candice Night since October 2008. They have one child. He was previously married to Amy Rothman, ...
8. David Gilmour
Soundtrack | Pink Floyd: The Wall
David Jon Gilmour was born on 6th March, 1946, in Grantchester Meadows, Cambridge. As the lead guitarist of Pink Floyd, he is by many considered one of the most influential guitarists on the rock stage. Right up to "The Dark Side of The Moon", Dave wrote his own songs, but from then up to "The ...
9. Keith Richards
Soundtrack | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Keith Richards is an internationally recognized iconic figure in contemporary culture and popular music as a singer, guitar player, songwriter, film actor, and public figure. He was voted 10th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine, and was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of ...
10. George Harrison
Actor | A Hard Day's Night
A master musician, a film producer and actor, best known as the lead guitarist and occasionally lead vocalist of The Beatles, George Harrison was born February 25, 1943, in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. He was also the youngest of four children, born to Harold Harrison and Louise Harrison.
Like ...
11. Pete Townshend
Music_department | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Born in Chiswick, London just ten days after the German surrender in 1945, Townshend grows up in a typical middle-class home. His parents, Cliff and Betty Townshend, are both musicians, and as a child he accompanies them on dance band tours. Townshend starts playing guitar at 12. He goes to art ...
12. Rory Gallagher
Soundtrack | Last Night in Soho
Blues guitarist Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon, Ireland, in 1959 (his brother Donal Gallagher is also a blues musician). He began his career in the 1960s in Ireland, playing in a variety of show bands. In 1965 he formed his own band, Taste, a blues-based rock trio. They had some success ...
13. Mick Taylor
Soundtrack | The Man Who Fell to Earth
Mick Taylor was born on January 17, 1948 in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England, UK. He is a producer and actor, known for The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Freight (2010) and The Last of the Finest (1990).
14. Mark Knopfler
Soundtrack | Local Hero
Mark Knopfler recorded his first single at age 16, but it was never released, He started the band Dire Straits in 1977, they were signed to Vertigo Records in 1978 and recorded the album "Dire Straits", which featured their first major hit single, "Sultans of Swing". Their follow-up albums include ...
15. Dave Davies
Composer | Village of the Damned
Dave Davies is the brother of Ray Davies, the lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks, of which he was the lead singer up to 1964, when Ray joined. He was also the lead guitarist and backup singer for the Kinks. As children, both brothers were immersed in a world of different musical styles, from ...
16. Paul Kossoff
Soundtrack | Almost Famous
Paul Kossoff was born on September 14, 1950 in London, England, UK. He is known for Almost Famous (2000), The Ice Storm (1997) and Demolition (2015). He died on March 19, 1976 in New York City, New York, USA.
17. Robert Fripp
Soundtrack | Children of Men
Robert Fripp was born on May 16, 1946 in Dorset, England, UK. He is a music artist and actor, known for Children of Men (2006), The Big Boss (1971) and Power Rangers (2017). He has been married to Toyah Willcox since May 16, 1986.
18. Mick Ronson
Soundtrack | Fright Night
Michael "Mick" Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success while working with David Bowie as the lead guitarist and band leader for Bowie's backing band, the Spiders From Mars. Ronson was also a session ...
19. Gary Moore
Soundtrack | Winter's Bone
A brilliant blues and rock guitarist and successful singer-songwriter, Gary Moore has nevertheless always been rather underrated, especially in the United States, where he was never a major artist and rarely gets ranked highly in the usual "best guitarist" lists. He was born and raised in Belfast ...
20. Steve Howe
Soundtrack | Apollo 18
Steve Howe was born on April 8, 1947 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Apollo 18 (2011), Almost Famous (2000) and Toys (1992). He has been married to Janet Osborne since January 1975. They have three children. He was previously married to Patricia Stebbings.
21. Johnny Marr
Music_department | Inception
Johnny Marr made his name as lead guitarist with the cult British rock band, The Smiths, regarded by some as one of the most influential bands of the 1980s. Along with Morrissey, Marr created some of the most memorable and acclaimed songs of that decade, with Morrissey's witty, satirical lyrics and ...
22. The Edge
Soundtrack | Gangs of New York
One of the most instantly recognizable and influential guitarists in rock history, The Edge was born David Howell Evans, in Barking, Essex, in 1961. When he was two years old the family moved to Dublin. During his childhood he learned how to play the guitar and the piano. In 1978, the Edge became ...
23. Albert Lee
Actor | Cous-cous
Albert Lee was born on December 21, 1943 in Lingen, Herefordshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Cous-cous (1996), The Heart of Country: How Nashville Became Music City USA (2014) and Knees-Up (1982). He is married to Karen. They have one child.
24. Ronnie Wood
Soundtrack | Almost Famous
Ronald David Wood is an English rock musician, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, artist, author, and radio personality best known as a member of the Rolling Stones since 1975, as well as a member of Faces and the Jeff Beck Group. Wood began his career in 1964, when he joined the Birds on guitar.He...
25. John Squire
Soundtrack | Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Grew up on Sylvan Avenue in Sale (Manchester, England) - the same street the Gibb brothers of Bee-Gees fame grew up on twenty years before. Worked as animator of Cosgrove Hall who made Wind in The Willows and also the Dangermouse cartoons. After a number of aborted bands in the early eighties, ...
26. Jonny Greenwood
Soundtrack | The Master
Jonny Greenwood was born on November 5, 1971 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for The Master (2012), There Will Be Blood (2007) and Phantom Thread (2017). He has been married to Sharona Katan since 1995. They have three children.
27. Matt Bellamy
Soundtrack | World War Z
Matthew Bellamy was born in Cambridge and grew up for much of his life in Devon. While attending school there, he decided to turn to music and, after going through a number of band lineups, finally came to the one that is today known as Muse. Matt's fellow band members are Chris Wolstenholme (Bass) ...
28. Stephen Clark
Soundtrack | Rock of Ages
Guitar player and one of the original members of Def Leppard from 1977 until his death in 1991, Steve Clark was considered to be lightning in a bottle. He auditioned for the band wearing his guitar two notches too low, playing the guitar solo from Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Freebird". He adored the audience...
29. Steve Hackett
Soundtrack | Det store flip
Steve Hackett was born on February 12, 1950 in London, England, UK. He is a composer and actor, known for Wild Flowers (1997), The Old Grey Whistle Test (1971) and Planet of the Humans (2019). He has been married to Jo Lehmann since June 4, 2011. He was previously married to Kim Poor.
30. Peter Frampton
Soundtrack | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Peter Frampton was born on April 22, 1950 in Beckenham, Kent, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978), Almost Famous (2000) and Dazed and Confused (1993). He has been married to Tina Elfers since January 13, 1996. They have one child. He was ...
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