Mick Flynn

I grew up in England and was a teenager in the early 60’s. I was fortunate to have lived in England at the most exciting time in rock music history. It is then that I fell in love with the guitar. First, it was Hank Marvin’s Fiesta Red Stratocaster and then, Keith Richards Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. I was hooked, and knew there and then that I wanted to play the guitar. I would go to see every band I could. We were lucky in that every week we had some of the great British bands and entertainers come to the clubs. One week it was the Searchers, then The Animals or Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames. What a great time to be introduced to music

Then in the summer of 1965, we moved to Seattle, Washington. I didn’t have many friends, so I went to see all the bands I could. Not realizing at the time what a great scene the NW was, The Wailers, Sonics and many other wonderful NW Bands. Again, I had fallen into another great moment of time for Rock and Roll.

By now, I had owned several guitars. My first guitar was a Stella, then an Italian Rosita Lucky6, I had picked up in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. When we moved to the States, the selection was much better and I started going to Joo’s Music in Lynnwood after school, checking out ALL the guitars they had stashed in cases along the walls. I talked my Dad into getting me a new guitar; I got a new Supro Solid body for $95! Couldn’t talk my Dad into getting the Blond maple neck Stratocaster for $125, it was just too expensive...

After High school I started playing seriously. The first band was Meatball, then Child. It was during this time in the late 60’s early 70’s that the guitar addiction really kicked in. I was buying, trading and selling guitars. Not to collect, but to play. It was a great time, because they were fairly cheap and you could find the old guitars in pawn shops and in the classifieds in the Newspapers.

In 1980 I decided to open the guitar shop “Mick’s Vintage Guitars,” at this time music stores were not interested in used guitars and players were the only people looking for them. I was really the only game in town besides the Pawn Shops. Just after I opened the doors to Mick’s Vintage Guitars “The Who” came to town, I contacted them about the instruments I had and was invited to meet them backstage at the show. They bought all the guitars I brought them to see!

I knew I was on to something

This also put me in contact with many a Rock Star looking for guitars. Before long I was selling to the greatest guitar players and collectors in the world.

Eventually word got out about investing in rare and collectable guitars. That’s when my years of knowledge started to be tapped to appraise their value and condition.
I have since closed Mick’s Vintage Guitars and conduct by business online as www.GuitarArcheology.com finding new (old) guitars every day.
I have bought, sold and traded the rarest and most collectable guitars in the world. I still see my guitars in Videos, on recordings, in collections and in Museums.