British Beat Groups of the 1960s
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Book Review: Seventeen Watts, History of the British Rock Guitar |
June 2000 |
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This book documents a piece of British history. The electric guitar developed,
initially at least, quite different from how it did in the USA. After the war
there were quotas on goods imported from the USA and, as a result of this, the aspiring
British guitarist did not have the luxury of Fenders, Gibsons or Rickenbackers
from which to choose. Instead they made do with cheaper UK or European or
frequently, like John Entwhistle, made them themselves. At the time there was
the skiffle boom encouraging many teenagers to learn guitar. And the same
applied to amplifiers where many a home-made guitar was plugged into the radio
or even the National Grid!
All over the country the likes of Hank Marvin, Jeff Beck and Andy Fairweather-Low and George Harrison were suffering from blisters on the fingers as they sought to shape out chords on their cheap or home-made instruments. But this changed. When the first Fender Stratocaster came into the UK, Hank Marvin, Bruce Welch and Cliff Richard stared at the instrument in its velvet-lined box and no-one dared touch it. "The guitar was the most beautiful thing they had ever seen." This book is a real eye-opener for those of us who were too young to appreciate the trials and tribulations of buying and learning to play guitar in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Nowadays, it's all too easy to buy a guitar with a credit card and what a range to choose from. Hank Marvin provides the introduction for this book and there are mentions of many of the UK's premier guitarists from the 1960s. Also, there are many more who were never heard of again! mp, May 2000 |
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Details |
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Published in 1997 by Black Bear Press ISBN: 1-86074-182-7 |
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Last Updated: 31 May 2000
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