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Start of something big ... Bert Weedon in 1960, left, whose basic guitar playing manual inspired Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and John Lennon. Photo: Getty Images

BERT WEEDON, the guitarist, who has died aged 91, inspired and influenced the first generation of British post-war pop musicians and, through his bestselling Play in a Day manual, showed them how to strum a tune, setting them on the road to stardom.

The teenage John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison all started off with Play in a Day.

An unassuming musician of the old school, Weedon played the guitar with great technical accomplishment but - in the view of some - with all the individuality of a speak-your-weight machine. Consequently not everyone was a fan of the Weedon way. Lennon, in particular, took a dim view of his twangy guitar sound.

Nevertheless, many famous figures in rock music - including Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, Pete Townshend of the Who and Eric Clapton - honed their guitar skills by studying Weedon's teach-yourself method.

Through his skimpy manual, which first appeared in 1957, Weedon introduced aspiring musicians to the three basic chords that underpinned most of the simple rock'n'roll hits of the Elvis era, and explained what to do next. As Clapton acknowledged: ''I'd never have felt the urge to press on without the tips and encouragement that Play in a Day gave me.''

With its red cover, illustrated with a photograph of Weedon with his big white Hofner guitar, the manual sold about 2 million copies.

Classically trained by a music teacher in the East End of London, Weedon could sight-read, which meant he was called in to provide guitar backing for clueless young stars.

In 1959, he had his own chart success with Guitar Boogie Shuffle, which launched him on a life of touring with singers and groups a generation his junior, many of whom came to regard him as a father figure.

Telegraph, London