Way back in 1986 I was living with my young family in Armidale, NSW, and drove to Tamworth in January to have a look at the festivities of the Country Music Festival. One of my daughters, aged almost 4 at the time, looked into the window of the local music shop, where Fender Australia was having a display.

"Look, Dad!" she shouted. "A girl's Telecaster!" I was amazed - and proud - that my 3-year-old daughter knew what a Telecaster was, and also that Fender had re-issued the Paisley Teles and Strats. The one on display was a brand new 1985 Fender Japan instrument, and I negotiated through Fender Australia and the Tamworth music shop to purchase the guitar when the display ended.

Fender in the USA had ceased production in February 1985 following the withdrawal of CBS from Fender. The Fender concern was purchased by an investment group led by Bill Schultz, but the Fullerton factory was not part of the deal, so Fender Japan, which had been established in 1982, effectively took over all Fender production until the new Corona factory was established. It has been estimated that as many as 80% of the Fenders sold in the US between late 1984 and mid-86 were sourced from Fender Japan.

That 'girl's Telecaster' I purchased new in early 1986 was kept in mint condition, but a difficult financial and personal situation some 13 years later saw me having to sell the guitar, something I have always regretted. During the following 12 years I inspected any Paisley Telecaster I tracked down, but they were either not from the crucial 1985 year (or even the Made in Japan, rather than Crafted in Japan series), or were abused and chipped. The pearl pink and clear-over-aluminium-foil-wallpaper finish is very prone to chipping and damage, so it's next to impossible to find a good example.

Then finally, in May 2011, I found that elusive Telecaster. 1985, serial number A028288, in truly mint condition. Exactly like the one my very young daughter had seen in the shop window a quarter of a century ago. I purchased it from a dealer in the USA and now takes pride of place on a stand in my home.

not for sale