Guitar Shack has had six different shops in Sheffield starting in Walkley in 2007
It all started in a quiet Sheffield suburb. Former musician Ross Jackson had just turned 50 and was desperately trying to get sober after struggling for years with alcohol.
Simon Thake
Guitar Shack, run by Ross Jackson and son Tom, has been a fixture in Sheffield for nearly 20 years
He had played in several local bands but he felt the only constants in his life were music and drink.
Speaking 18 years on, Ross says: “My therapist asked me what I wanted to do, and I said maybe something with guitars.”
He went on to set up Guitar Shack, originally in Walkley in 2007 before five relocations, and credits the business with saving his life.
“I would be dead if it wasn’t for Guitar Shack.”
Alcohol had had a huge impact on his health and family life. A doctor told him he was at risk of liver failure and he even found himself “smacked” by his son Tom one night when he returned from the pub “gobbing off”.
“I was losing my family. It made me change. I deserved it.”
Tom, now 32 and a former tearaway himself, helps his father run the guitar shop and Ross hasn’t drunk alcohol since that night.
Simon Thake
Ross Jackson, 68, teaches guitar in his shop. He says the business saved him after his heavy drinking nearly killed him.
The pair have moved into new premises on a cobbled street on the edge of the city centre and have rented several rooms to try and create a space for musicians to buy guitars, have lessons, rehearse, record and even perform live.
Ross, now 68 and sober for a decade, teaches the guitar to teenagers.
“Music therapy is the thing I do now. We’re all a little screwed up, us musicians.”
He also took a degree in psychology and therapy after giving up drinking, and now wants to show others the “healing powers of music”.
Simon Thake
Tom Jackson repairs guitars in his workshop at the back of Guitar Shack
Ross is Guitar Shack’s frontman, but Tom works behind the scenes repairing instruments in his workshop. He has an impressive collection himself, including a Fender Rhodes keyboard used by The Doors.
“We fix everything nobody else wants,” says Tom.
“People are too quick to throw things away these days. We bring it back to life. This is my passion.
Tom struggled at school, but loved woodwork and began making and designing his own guitars.
“I need a busy mind. I have to feel tired at the end of the day.
“I love getting ash wood, maple wood. I’ll plain it and square it off myself. It’s all about quality wood.”
‘Guitars saved me’ Sheffield Repair Shop
The love and care that Ross and Tom take over guitars hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Sheffield music scene. As they’ve moved premises their customers have loyally followed them.
Jon McClure, the lead singer from the Sheffield band Reverend and the Makers, recently purchased “an old-fashioned English bandstand guitar” from the new shop.
McClure said he enjoyed the shop’s ethos, describing it as “something of a different era”.
Simon Thake
Ross Jackson, 68, was a Sheffield musician struggling with alcoholism before he opened Guitar Shack
Guitar Shack’s future includes finishing a rehearsal room and opening a studio.
“We’re not businessmen. We definitely should be making more money than we are but it’s not about that,” says Ross, who is starting to think about taking a step back.
“Tom’ll take over now. It’s his time.”
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