Nephew's guitar strikes chord with star Robbie

ROBBIE Williams's nephew came up with the perfect present for the man who really does have everything – a guitar in the shape of the singer's initials.

Eight-year-old Freddie Symonds presented Uncle Robbie with the beautiful hand-crafted pink RW guitar in time for Christmas Day.

It was built by Doug Wilkes, of Keele, a professional guitar-maker and technician who has toured with Pink Floyd.

Robbie's sister Sally, Freddie's mum, said: "I'm really thrilled with the guitar and I was amazed to find out that Doug lived almost on my doorstop.

"He's a really great guy and has a wealth of knowledge and expertise within his field.

"Rob was delighted with the guitar and I hope he gets a lot of pleasure from it.

"Maybe we'll see it on stage with him at a later date."

Mr Wilkes has now been asked by the family to build a copy of the RW guitar, but this time in green.

He was able to come up with the design after experimenting on a violin he was asked to make for renowned musician Jane Burgess, in the shape of her initials.

Mr Wilkes said: "I think I came up with the idea because I like sculpture and the instruments then become not only incredibly tactile, but almost like a personality in their own right.

"They also play brilliantly for a work of art.

"I transferred the same ideology to guitar-building, thus shaping guitars into RWs for Robbie Williams."

And when Robbie does pick up his new guitar on stage, it won't be the first time Mr Wilkes has seen one of his instruments used by a star to entertain the masses.

He has previously built guitars for the likes of Sting, Bananarama, Crosby Stills Nash and Young, Genesis and Pink Floyd's Dave Gilmour.

In fact, Pink Floyd were so impressed by his skills they asked him to join them as guitar technician on a world tour.

Mr Wilkes, aged 62, said: "Since I first started building instruments, I have always tried to put my personality into them.

"I have built quite a lot of quirky creations. Many people ask me to build instruments where the looks come first for them, but I still maintain a high level of build quality and always ensure that the playability is without equal."

The 62-year-old – who still tours with his own band, Hollywood Nites – first started building guitars in 1972.

He says he almost went into business with Richard Branson in the early 1980s, after the entrepreneur was impressed by his guitar-making, but he didn't want to see his work mass produced. He now makes one-off, bespoke instruments from a shed in his garden as a hobby.