Editing Rick Laird (section)

==Early life==
Laird was born in [[Dublin]] on 5 February 1941 to a musical family. His mother played the piano in a variety of styles and his father played the ukulele; Laird started playing both instruments when he was three.<ref name=GP80/> At around five years of age, Laird started formal tuition in the guitar and piano, and he had already started to read sheet music. He soon quit the piano as he did not perform well, which led him to take up painting and drawing. At twelve, Laird began lessons in Spanish guitar, but his teacher used books that he felt were too difficult, so he quit. He then discovered jazz from his mother, who bought her son a pair of drum brushes and made him play along to records.<ref name=GP80/>