Ali strums up support for Hendrix solo record bid

But his latest gig threw up something completely different as he found himself instigating a world record attempt.

Ferguson, from Leith, is currently on tour in Poland with former Genesis singer and Stiltskin frontman Ray Wilson.

The group are popular across eastern Europe, but on Saturday the musician – widely regarded as one of the finest lead guitarists in Scotland – found himself part of a performance like no other.

His job was to help lead a world record attempt for the largest ever number of people to participate in a guitar solo.

Taking place at the Thanks Jimi festival in Wroclaw – an annual tribute to legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix – the attempt brought together 5,000 people, all playing along on their own guitar to his hit Hey Joe.

Unfortunately the bid fell just short of the previous record of 6,000, which was set at the same festival a few years ago.

Ferguson, 35, also plays with Folk singer Dougie MacLean and a range of Edinburgh bands who can be regularly heard throughout Edinburgh pubs.

He told the Evening News from the tour in Poland: "It was really surreal, like nothing I've ever done before.

"Unfortunately in the end it turned out more like 5,000, I think, so we didn't quite manage the record.

"It is an annual festival celebrating the life and work of Jimi Hendrix in Wroclaw and I happened to be playing there that night with Ray Wilson and the rest of the band.

"As a result we were invited on to the stage for the world record Hey Joe attempt during the day.

"Given there were thousands out there in front it really was a wall of noise. It was good fun and pretty amazing to hear 5,000 guitars strumming away to a spot of Jimi. They made for quite an orchestra."

Ferguson and the rest of the Ray Wilson band will spend much of 2010 touring Poland and Germany as their popularity there builds.

He added: "It was a really good day before the rain came on and we left to play the full gig at night."

Hey Joe is one of the world's best known rock songs, and tells the story of a man on the run to Mexico.

There has been some debate as to who wrote it, and among those who claim to have a hand in it is Len Partridge, a Capital-based musician, who said he wrote it along with copyright holder Billy Roberts when they played together in city pubs in the 1950s.