The British Amp Invasion

The seminal British amps of the late '50s onward were always distinct from their American counterparts, which were generally designed for jazz, country, and dance-hall music. The British amps were designed to hit the ground running for rock 'n' roll. As that music gradually dropped its roll through the course of the '60s, these were the first amps that truly rocked too.

Not only did British-made amps by Vox, Marshall, Hiwatt, Orange, and others power the ground-breaking music of the major British guitar heroes—all three Beatle guitarists, plus Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Peter Green, and Yankee expatriate Jimi Hendrix, among countless others—but they also quickly became the premier choice for American arena stars. In just a short decade, as musical styles swung from British Beat to British Invasion to British Blues to Heavy Metal, British amplifiers ruled the day. You simply didn’t play anything else if you wanted that sound.

Through behind-the-scenes histories and compelling personal anecdotes, with liberal use of period imagery, The British Amp Invasion: How Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox, and More Changed the Sound of Music chronicles what should have been a minor also-ran offshore industry that turned quickly into a true world leader. This book charts the confluence of British industrial ingenuity and pop-culture evolving at breakneck speed and the symbiotic relationship that was born of this partnership.

Art inspired industry as industry influenced art, and together these elements produced the most powerful music ever known to mankind—a sound that still resonates today, in the most literal sense possible.