Who owns it..Hank or Bruce?? read on ..

[dusty fretz]

Regarding Hank's first Fender, Cliff is pictured with a red Strat in the August 22nd 1959 issue of Melody Maker, so presumably that's his present to his employee!

I'm currently preparing a major piece for Guitarist magazine regarding the UK electric guitar scene 1958-62. Much has been written about the artists and music from this pioneering period, but until now there's been very little about the tools employed for what was very much an embryonic trade in that early era.

I've accordingly been amassing back issues of Melody Maker for those years and these are a real goldmine of information, supplying some very startling facts that often contradict much of the content currently contained in websites or previous magazine articles etc. Black and white print from the actual time tends to be far more accurate than 50-year old memories or unresearched opinion, internet or otherwise!

[George Geddes]

Look forward to the article, Paul

George

[rogera]

That should make for some very interesting reading!

[Amanda]

Presumably if Cliff insisted on having it back
Bruce would respray it white so that Cliff got it
back in the same condition he gave it in!

[cockroach]

Hi Paul,

Regarding your upcoming article, for your information, there was a similar piece in UK Guitar & Bass magazine- May 2007 issue- Hank and red Strat on the cover. Mind you, I think a lot of the facts and quotes came from earlier sources (such as '17 Watts?')

[dusty fretz]

Thanks John for reminding me about that article in Guitar & Bass magazine. Like others that have previously been written on the period in question, this feature contains quite a few 'facts' I now know to be false, thanks to indisputable evidence provided by perusing Melody Makers from 1958-62. These old issues allow a much more correct chronology to be determined, including confirmation concerning what really was the first British-built solid electric and when it actually appeared.

Such historical details may seem trivial to some, but I'M fascinated by the story of this country's six-string scene back then. It was way behind what was happening in America of course, but unlike over there, Great Britain was still recovering from the direct ravages of WW2, so priorities were very different!

Using these old Melody Makers and other equally informative fresh research, I'm able to shed a lot more light on the primitive and pioneering origins of the UK electric instrument industry. Collating all the facts and compiling a cohesive chain of events is proving to be quite a major task, but I'm getting there and the end result will definitely appear later this year. Hopefully a few people apart from me will find it interesting reading!

[cockroach]

Hi again Paul,

I look forward to reading your article- although magazines from the UK take still about 3 months to reach retail newsagent outlets in Australia!

I have your book 'The Guru's Guitar Guide' from quite a few years back- any likelihood of an updated version ever?

The early history of electric guitars from anywhere always interests me!!....are you hinting that the Dallas Tuxedo may not have been the first available British solidbody electric?!! I suppose the Hofner solids (Colorama, V series 1 ) etc would have been some of the earliest imports from Europe, along with the Futuramas from Czechoslovakia?

Some of the earliest solids here in Australia were made by Maton in about 1958 by the way, as far as I am aware- (I migrated from the UK to Oz in early 1963)

I liked the picture of you and your group, with you playing your Burns Vibra- Artiste in '17 Watts?'- I had a red one here in Adelaide in 1967- a pawnshop prize purchase!

[dusty fretz]

Hi John,
I've done a few books since, but I'm glad to hear you still have The Guru's Guitar Guide. It certainly is way out of date, although with the current on-going economic crisis, I have a feeling values could be heading back down to those levels of old! No chance of a new edition I'm afraid, as there's little interest in publishing guitar books these days - sadly it's yet another diminishing market.

Despite what's frequently been said elsewhere, the Dallas Tuxedo definitely wasn't the first British-built solid electric, nor was the Watkins Rapier, nowhere near in fact. Unfortunately, memories can often play tricks, but those ancient Melody Makers confirm a very different story!

Maton was actually started in 1946 by Bill May, who was born in Oz, but the son of British parents. The first electrics appeared three years later and solids certainly followed in the late '50s.

Well done for spotting me in Mo Foster's book, even I find me hard to see! I managed to re-acquire that actual Viba Artist in 2008, courtesy of eBay, having sold it 43 years earlier! All I need to do now is restore it to original, albeit modified glory.

[RayL]

Paul,

Is it just guitars you are writing about or are you including amps and pedals? Although I went through my catalogues for Burns-related items when you were writing 'The Burns Book' back in '78/'79, I've got all sorts of other things stashed away. For example, the 'Topaz' pedal (1962) made in Bognor Regis and "endorsed by Malcolm Mitchell". The Topaz offered Top Lift or Tremolo and must pre-date just about any other UK-made pedal. Or the Shaftsbury 77 amp from Lee Products of London EC2 (4/6 watts, 19gns, operated by 2 PP8 type batteries). The Stentor Super 18 must be from about the same time (Price 31 guineas, "made for the Stentor Music Company by the Electronic Experts (sic) of Automation Telephones Ltd., London"). Ah, where are they now, those wonderful bits of kit?

Oh, and in case you haven't got one, there's a 1961 Bell Music guitar catalogue with "Revised prices showing slight increase due to Purchase Tax increases in July Budget, 1961.

Ray L

ps did you ever find those Fenton-Weill catalogues, the ones in colour? There was one with the post-Burns guitar range and another with things like the 'Stereo Reverberator'.

[dusty fretz]

Hi Ray,
Although concentrating on guitars, I do intend to round out the article by also including related products from the period, especially the more idiosyncratic ones that typify the time.

I do have the literature on the Topaz effects unit and I actually used one 1963-65, attached to my guitar strap! I wish I still had it or could find another these days, as I'm trying to amass the equipment I had back then to once again partner my Burns Vibra Artist, having re-acquired this after a 43 year absence. The Topaz has long been long forgotten in the mists of time - except by me, and you too obviously. This add-on accessory first appears in a November 1960 Melody Maker, which must make it the earliest UK-made effects unit, as you say. The back issues of this paper are full of adverts for such oddball stuff and make fascinating reading, which is why I want to share the experience via this forthcoming feature.

I also possess all the Bell Music catalogues, likewise a full complement of Fenton-Weill literature, including the colour edition. I may have disposed of many guitars, but the cabinets full of catalogues aren't going anywhere, as they're much more useful than actual instruments! The snag is, I've already run out of room and I'm way behind on my filing. I doubt if I'll ever catch up now and just hope my memory holds out so I still know where things are!