Vox Pop: How Dartford Powered the British Beat Boom

Background: Vox Pop

The Beatles, the Stones, the Shadows, the Dave Clark Five and the Yardbirds have one thing in common: they shared the platform with Vox amplifiers.

Brian May and other music legends help tell the story of how a small music company based in Dartford defined the sound of Britain in the 60s.

Some of the nation's top musicians, including Brian May, Bruce Welch of the Shadows, Justin Haywood, and Francis Rossi, and Vox workers of the time, tell how a small company in Dartford, Kent, hit the big time.

Contemporary bands including The Horrors tell how the Vox sound influences their music today.

Vox Pop: How Dartford Powered the British Beat Boom, presented by Iain Lee, recounts the story of how in the 1950’s the owner of a small music company in Dartford - which specialised in importing accordions -spotted that there was a rising interest in new-fangled electric guitars.

But there was a post-war trade embargo on American amplifiers such as Fender and Gibson, so he made great sounding British amps to fill the gap in the market.

New up-coming band The Beatles loved them and Vox became part of their sound and their stylish on-stage image.

The Rolling Stones, who also came from Dartford, loved their innovative guitars as well as the amps.

Suddenly everyone wanted Vox equipment and the company hit the big time.

The programme tells the compelling untold story of how Vox drew the attention of the pop world to Dartford; made a fortune and then lost it all by 1967.