Guitar

You might have seen him on TV, collecting a Best Newcomer award at the Brits. Fresh from the X-Factor... The kid with the big eyes and the guitar and the old-yet-somehow-new songs -Jon EX, he's called. He'll be gone in a year or two, replaced by some other fresh-faced newbie.

Except that he won't just "disappear", he'll really disappear. As in "without a trace". I've done some research... There has been a succession of stars like him. One after the other. With no overlap. And all with something about the eyes...

Before Jon EX, there was "jonz" (all lower case and brooding) in that Boy Band that it was somehow acceptable to like - in an ironic way, obviously. And in the 90s, it was Britpop Jonny. Who appeared not long after that synthesiser Johnny from the 80s went off the radar. You'll remember the footage of Johnny Vomit and your mum probably mooned over Jonathon whatever-his-name was from the singer-songwriter Seventies. The sixties had its beat group John in one of those generic bands that wasn't quite The Beatles or The Kinks. And, before that, there was, of course, Johnny Guitar with the twangy Rock'n'Roll sound. And I've even seen YouTube footage of John "The Guitar" Debrett playing with Henry Marshall's Big Band Playboys.

Before that? Who knows? A ukelele player in a minstrel band? A genuine minstrel, complete with lute? But make no mistake, whilst Jon EX may be gone soon, he'll be back.