It all started in London. More than fifty years ago, a generation of teens created something that would change the face of music forever.
London, Reign Over Me immerses us in the backroom clubs, basement record shops, and late-night faint radio signals of 1960s Britain, where young hopefuls like Peter Frampton, Dave Davies, and Mick Jagger built off American blues and jazz to form a whole new sound. Author Stephen Tow weaves together original interviews with over ninety musicians and movers-and-shakers of the time to uncover the uniquely British story of classic rock’s birth.
Capturing the stark contrast of bursting artistic energy with the blitzkrieg landscape leftover from World War II, London, Reign Over Me reveals why classic rock ‘n’ roll could only have been born in London. A new sound from a new generation, this music helped spark the most important cultural transformation of the twentieth century.
Key interviews include:
•Jon Anderson (Yes)
•Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull)
•Rod Argent (The Zombies)
•Chris Barber (Chris Barber Jazz Band)
•Joe Boyd (Producer/manager)
•Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown)
•David Cousins (The Strawbs)
•Dave Davies (The Kinks)
•Spencer Davis (Spencer Davis Group)
•Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention)
•Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (Solo folk/blues artist)
•Peter Frampton (Humble Pie, solo artist)
•Roger Glover (Deep Purple)
•Steve Howe (Yes)
•Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band; Monty Python)
•Kenney Jones (The Small Faces; The Who)
•Greg Lake (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
•Manfred Mann (Manfred Mann)
•Terry Marshall (Marshall Amplification)
•Dave Mason (Traffic)
•Phil May (The Pretty Things)
•John Mayall (The Bluesbreakers)
•Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds)
•Ian McLagan (The Small Faces)
•Jacqui McShee (The Pentangle)
•Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits)
•Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster; Emerson, Lake & Palmer)
•Jan Roberts (Eel Pie Island Documentary Project)
•Paul Rodgers (Free)
•Peggy Seeger (Solo folk artist)
•Hylda Sims (Club owner)
•Keith Skues (DJ: Radio Caroline, Radio London, Radio One)
•Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac)
•John Steel (The Animals)
•Al Stewart (Solo folk artist)
•Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things)
•Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues)
•Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention)
•Rick Wakeman (The Strawbs, Yes)
•Barrie Wentzell (Photographer: Melody Maker)
Stephen Tow teaches history at Delaware Valley University, specializing in rock n roll and twentieth-century America. He is the author of The Strangest Tribe: How a Group of Seattle Rock Bands Invented Grunge and resides near Philadelphia with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.
