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Frusciante tops guitar great poll
Red Hot Chili Peppers star John Frusciante has today beaten figures such as Johnny Marr and Jack White to be crowned the greatest guitarist of the past 30 years.
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The prodigious player, who first found fame when he was 18 and has a solo career as a sideline, was declared finger-picking good in a listener poll by BBC station 6 Music.
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Runner-up in the "Axe Factor" list of post-punk greats was British-born star Slash who rose to fame with rock giants Guns N'Roses.
More than 30,000 listeners to the threatened station voted from a choice of 40 top strummers.
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Frusciante, who announced he had quit the Chili Peppers in December, is known for his delicate melody lines as well as rock riffs.
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For many years the star disappeared from the Chilis' line-up after becoming mired in drug addiction, which led to his teeth rotting, and becoming a recluse.
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He cleaned himself up and rejoined the band in late 1997 after a five-year absence 1998, contributing to hugely successful albums Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium.
The top ten guitarists were announced this evening during the station's Steve Lamacq show which was co-hosted by breakfast show presenter Shaun Keaveny.
Only four Brits made the list, with Stoke-born Slash joined by Muse's Matt Bellamy (third place), Smiths star Johnny Marr (four) and Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood (seven).
Sony Award-nominated Lamacq said: "You have to be a little unhinged to be a true guitar hero. There's an underlying madness about their work but with the renewed interest in these guitarists, thanks to various computer games, this is a very timely and revealing litmus test of whom our audience really admire."
Keaveny said of Frusciante: "His range, from minimalist melody lines, through choppy Hendrixian chord voicings, all the way up to eleven with wailing metal tinged blues, gives him the edge over many in the list. For that I salute him."
BBC 6 Music, which is threatened with closure under the corporation's strategic review, is helping budding musicians with online guitar tutorials from presenters Huey Morgan and Tom Robinson at
www.bbc.co.uk/6music.
* The full top 10 is:
1. John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
2. Slash (Guns 'n' Roses)
3. Matt Bellamy (Muse)
4. Johnny Marr (The Smiths)
5. Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine)
6. Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
7. Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead)
8. Prince
9. Jack White (White Stripes)
10. Peter Buck (REM)
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