(Vocal/instrumental group, 1969–84, 1996–2001, 2004–present) This Irish hard rock band were led by the charismatic Phil Lynott (bass, vocals), with Brian Downey (drums) and, for the classic line-up, the twin lead guitars of Scott Gorham and Brian Robertson. The 1976 smash ‘The Boys Are Back In Town’ marked the start of the band’s golden period ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1963–present) Phil May (vocals) and ex-Rolling Stone Dick Taylor (guitar) formed this London R&B outfit in 1963. A long-haired reprobate image held instant appeal and they made the UK Top 20 with ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘Honey I Need’. A few minor hits later, they signed off the singles chart for ever in 1966, and ...
(Vocal/instrumental group, 1982–present) Ben Watt (guitar) and Tracey Thorn (vocals, bass) travelled a fascinating road, from the jazz-inflected indie of their self-titled debut in 1984 to the trip hop and drum’n’bass of Walking Wounded in 1996. This crossover was catalyzed by Thorn’s guest appearance on Massive Attack’s Protection in 1994, and DJ Todd Terry’s remix of ‘Missing’, ...
Blues and hard-rock guitarist Gary Moore was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1952. He began playing the acoustic guitar at the age of eight, acquiring his first electric model at 14. Moore learned to play right-handed, despite being naturally left-handed. In 1969, he joined Skid Row, an Irish blues-rock group that featured Phil Lynott on ...
Indie guitar legend Johnny Marr (b. 1963) was born John Maher in Manchester, England to Irish Catholic parents. He grew up in a household where music was a constant fixture, and he recalled, ‘I always had guitars, for as long as I could remember.’ Guitar technique came easily to young Johnny, and he quickly mastered ...
(Vocal group, 1967–74) This British blues rock outfit first found success in the States with the 1969 hit ‘I’m Going Home’ and an acclaimed appearance at the Woodstock Festival. Led by guitarist and singer Alvin Lee, with Leo Lyons (bass), Chick Churchill (keyboards) and Ric Lee (drums), the band reached the UK Top 10 with ‘Love Like A Man’ ...
Folk pop is often looked down on by connoisseurs of the music who believe that in its purest form it should have nothing in common with the charts and the commercial world. Yet folk has punctured the mainstream more often than most would imagine, and in many ways its popularity has been reliant on those who’ve broadened the market by ...
The clarinet is a wooden instrument with a cylindrical bore and a single beating reed. Instead of being a kind of flattened drinking straw wedged on to a thin metal tube, as in the case of the oboe and bassoon, it is more like a thin spatula tied on to an open-topped recorder mouthpiece. A single-reed woodwind instrument called ...
The clavinet is essentially an electric version of the clavichord. Designed in the 1960s by Ernst Zacharias of the German company, Hohner, the clavinet evolved from the Cembalet, an instrument Zacharias had developed some years earlier as an electronic counterpart to the harpsichord. Construction Hohner produced several models of clavinet over the years, including the legendary D6. ...
Cymbals are thin metal discs played by being struck together or placed on a stand (suspended) and hit with sticks or beaters. They are made from beaten metal and so are distinct from crotales or antique cymbals, which are tuned cast metal discs. Turkish and Chinese Cymbals Suspended and crash cymbals used in western orchestral music, rock, pop ...
Goblet and hourglass drums are commonly found in Africa, the Middle East and the Far East. They are not normally tuned to a specific pitch, although the heads may be tightened to create different sonorities. The djembe is perhaps the best-known of this type of drum. Goblet and Hourglass Drums Goblet drums are single-headed drums shaped like a wineglass ...
At its simplest, to make a double reed the end of a piece of reed or similar plant tube is flattened so its sides nearly touch. Putting this flattened end into the mouth and blowing causes the two sides to briefly close against each other then spring back, hundreds of times a second. This causes a regular stream of ...
Cut a clean end to a length of bamboo, reed or other tube, place it near the mouth and direct a narrow stream of breath at its edge, and with a little practice, a pitched note can be produced. Blow a little harder and that note will jump to a series of ascending harmonics. It is not ...
Fiddles, generically, are bowed lutes. The term ‘fiddle’ denotes a stringed instrument with a neck, bearing strings that are sounded by the use of friction rather than plucking or striking. Playing the Fiddle In almost all fiddles the world over, friction is provided by a bow strung with rosined horsehair. The hair is tensioned by the springiness ...
The birthplace of free reeds seems to have been eastern Asia. There, it is typical to place a small free reed, made of metal or bamboo, into a bamboo tube cut to the appropriate length so that its air column resonates at the reed’s frequency, increasing the volume and allowing the player to allow it to sound ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.