Tag Archives: music history

Book review: ‘The Rock and Roll Almanac’ by Andrew Craneman

Book reviews, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , ,

The Rock and Roll Almanac is a bumper compendium of facts, insights and snapshots in time covering events from the early days of rock and roll in the mid-1950s right up to the present day. Compiled by musician and music writer, Andrew Craneman, the book devotes a page to each day of the year, with every page containing a selection of historical rock snippets drawn from the past seventy years, along with notable births, notable deaths and a recommended single and album released on that same date.

It’s something you’ll dip into, rather than read in a single sitting but choosing a random selection of dates, I certainly got a feel for what the book has to offer.

Firstly, for my birthday (20th May) I’m interested to learn that on this day Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ was first released in 1954, the Rolling Stones unveiled their forthcoming new single ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ on a US TV show in 1966, Joe Strummer of the Clash is arrested but later cleared following an altercation with an audience member in 1980 and Finish rock band Lordi won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.

Turning to today’s date (4th August) I find that the Kinks released ‘You Really Got Me’ on this day in 1964, Pink Floyd released the Piper at the Gates of Dawn album in 1967, Jim Morrisson got arrested for public drunkenness in LA in 1970 and Eagle, Don Henley, reached an out of court settlement with a US Republican candidate after the latter used parody versions of two of his songs without permission in 2010.

Craneman provides just enough background to each historical entry to keep you engaged and informed but the events detailed in the book will often encourage you to explore further, particularly if its something that you were completely unaware of before.

Keep it on your coffee table to look at each day on the relevant day in question. I’m sure I’ll be dipping in and out of it throughout the year.

Published 4th April 2025 – order from Amazon here

Visit to the Eel Pie Island Museum, London

Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , , ,

I’ve read so many books over the years documenting the early days of British rock, it’s impossible to ignore what a pivotal role the Eel Pie Island Hotel played in the formative years of the careers of many important UK artists. In the mid-1960s, the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, Rod Stewart and David Bowie were all regular performers there. Prior to the rhythm and blues boom, it had also played host to many jazz bands, when the run-down nineteenth century hotel and ballroom became a hugely-influential venue during the 1950s trad jazz boom.

The nineteenth-century Eel Pie Island Hotel

The hotel itself has long been demolished but the Eel Pie Island Museum opened its doors in 2018, celebrating the fascinating musical and boating history of this tiny 8.9 acre island in the River Thames. The museum, itself, isn’t actually on the island but just a short walk away from the banks of the Thames at Twickenham.

Eel Pie Island today

As I was staying in London overnight for a recent trip to the O2, I thought I would pay a visit to this small museum for the first time. Staffed by volunteers and costing just £5 to enter, it’s well worth a visit for any rock or jazz fan or indeed local history enthusiast.

Display on the venue’s past as a jazz club
Acker Bilk’s iconic bowler hat and waistcoat in the jazz display
Trad Jazz gave way to rhythm & blues and rock
Display of rock instruments and memorabilia at the museum
The Eel Pie Island roll call

There’s fascinating display of musical memorabilia and historical archives, as well as a roll call of all the celebrated artists who played there. It’s not just music either and there are also displays dedicated to the island’s boatyard history and its role as a place for artistic creativity and technical innovation, including being the birthplace of the clockwork radio, invented by the late Trevor Bayliss who had a home on the island.

Keith Richards touts for donations for the volunteer-run museum

Given the seismic roll that London has played in the history of popular music, the capital has been behind the curve somewhat in celebrating its world-class musical legacy – particularly in comparison to cities like Liverpool or Memphis. But I’m pleased to say that this is gradually being rectified and the Eel Pie Island Museum is an important addition to the capital’s music tourism scene.

For more information visit: https://www.eelpiemuseum.co.uk/

Related posts:

Visit to the birthplace of British rock ‘n’ roll – the 2i’s coffee bar, Soho

Visit to the Hendrix Flat, London

Visit to the legendary Sun Studios, Memphis

Book review: ‘Top Of The Pops: The Lost Years Rediscovered 1964-1975’ by Peter Checksfield

Book reviews, Glam rock, Music culture & history, Rock music, , , , ,

A prolific author and archivist of music history and pop culture, the latest book from Peter Checksfield is a mammoth 650-page tome devoted to the Top of The Pop’s glory days – from its inception in 1964 through until 1975.

As a writer I’d already made use of Checksfield’s own meticulously-researched publication ‘Look Wot They Dun’ which chronicled the TV appearances of all the key figures from the UK’s glam rock scene in the early to mid- 1970s and it’s referenced in my own book ‘The Sweet in the 1970s’. Likewise, I’m pretty sure I’ll be making similar use of this latest volume.

It includes a complete episode guide stretching from the first ever show on New Year’s Day 1964 through to the Christmas Top Of The Pops edition that went out on 25th December 1975. Each entry includes a chronological run-down of the acts performing on that show, potted bios and relevant chart positions. This is no mean feat given that many of the episodes from this period no longer survive. Only five complete shows from the 1960s still exist and only two complete shows from 1972 at the height of the glam period survive – although many more clips (the handiwork of early home-taping, sneaky BBC technicians or overseas TV stations) mean the archive isn’t quite as empty as the official figures initially suggest.

While the book is a crucial reference work, what really brings it to life is a succession of anecdotes that Checksfield has garnered from various artists who appeared on the show. Ralph Ellis of the Swinging Blue Jeans recalls a scuffle with Keith Richards in the BBC canteen, surviving members of the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band recall their time on the show miming to ‘Urban Spaceman’ and Ray Dorset (Mungo Jerry) recalls arriving late for rehearsals when ‘In The Summertime’ hit the charts as he was still working at the Timex factory and had to ask his boss for time off.

There’s also plenty of little nuggets I learned for the first time. Who knew that for a few months in 1971 Top Of The Pops ran an ‘Album Spot’ where artists would perform three songs from a current album, for example? My own personal recollection from when I really remember looking up and avidly watching an episode of Top Of The Pops (rather than it just being on in the background as I coloured with crayons or whatever) was when that week’s presenter announced a brand-new single from Mud called ‘Tiger Feet’. What 7yo doesn’t love tigers?! On checking the episode guide I find that the episode in question went out on 3rd January 1974.

Thoroughly researched and with some fascinating personal insights together with a comprehensive index of each artist’s appearances on the show ‘Top Of The Pops: The Lost Years Rediscovered 1964-1975’ will appeal to any fan of the show and anyone with an interest in pop culture over that period.

Published: 2021

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‘Look Wot They Dun! – The ultimate guide to UK glam rock on TV in the 70s’ by Peter Checksfield