Mellotron: The Machine and the Musicians that Revolutionised Rock

by Nick Awde

Meet the world s first true sampler. The Mellotron stunned the music world when it was launched in 1963 by offering any sound you wanted, from a symphony orchestra or church choir to samba combo or rock n roll drums. Featured in this volume are some of the musicians (not all of them keyboardists) who spotted its potential and ran with it, many of them confessing to having a love-hate relationship due to the Mellotron's extremely eccentric mechanics. Featured Tony Banks (Genesis), Mike Pinder (Moody Blues), Ian McDonald (King Crimson, Foreigner), Woolly Wolstenholme (Barclay James Harvest), Greg Lake (King Crimson, Emerson Lake & Palmer), John Wetton (King Crimson, UK, Asia), Nick Magnus (Autumn, Steve Hackett Band), Martin Orford (IQ, Jadis), Roine Stolt (Flower Kings, Transatlantic, Tangent), Jakko Jakszyk (Level 42, 21st Century Schizoid Band, Tangent), John Hawken (Renaissance, Strawbs), Doug Rayburn (Pavlov s Dog), Tony Clarke (Moody Blues), David Cross (King Crimson), Dave Cousins (Strawbs), Blue Weaver (Strawbs, Bee Gees), Robert Kirby (Strawbs), Robert Webb (England), Dave Gregory (XTC), Andy McCluskey (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark). Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson) provides a drummer s view of working with four classic Mellotron bands, and there are perspectives from Geoff Unwin, the first Mellotronics demonstrator, John Bradley & Martin Smith of Streetly Electronics, the original makers of the Mellotron, and Planet Mellotron's Andy Thompson.

592 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2008

Reviews

[Frederick Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been obsessed with the mellotron for many years and loved this book. A lot of great interviews with members of Yes, King Crimson, Genesis, the Strawbs, etc. There's a lot of great information about the golden years of progressive rock as well as reminiscences from great musicians such as Greg Lake, John Wetton, Tony Banks, etc.