Turns out the lyrics to Bryan Adams‘ 1985 hit “Summer of ’69” aren’t exactly autobiographical.
In the lyrics he reminisces about his first guitar, singing about getting his “first real six-string” at the “five and dime.” Well, during an appearance on the I Never Thought It Would Happen podcast, hosted by Squeeze’s Chris Difford, Adams reveals his uncle actually got him his first guitar when he was 12.
“[I] told him that I wanted to buy an electric guitar, and he took me down to the music shop in Reading and I still have that electric guitar,” he said. “It’s an Italian thing. … It’s an imitation Stratocaster.”
And while Adams has that guitar today, that wasn’t always the case. He says he actually gave it to a neighbor when his family moved from Israel, but it eventually made its way back to him.
He explained that sometime in the ’90s he got a “random email” from someone saying they had the guitar, asking if he wanted it back. But after replying he never heard from them again.
Then 10 years later a man came up to him at a club in Berlin claiming to have it. Turns out he was a friend of the original emailer, who had died in a plane crash. That guy left the guitar to his friend, telling him he wanted to get it back to Adams.
“It’s the stupidest story, but I mean, it’s what happened. And so I got it back,” Adams said. “I tried playing it a few times, but I think it’s been modified in the neck. … I haven’t bothered to set it up again, it’s just there. Just a piece of history.”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
