Intro That Was The Year... 1974 Abba, Akkerman and Autobahn

FRAMUS SPARKs OFF SOME

interest with its new Jan Akkerman semihollow guitar designed by the man himself and combining the classic Gibson and Gretsch features that the Focus guitarist loves. The solid spruce carved archtop body is bound with a single f-hole and a sharp, chamfered cutaway. It features twin Bill Lawrence humbucking pickups (made to Akkerman’s specs) but only two rotary controls. The pickup switch is a standard three way selector but this soon changes to a six-way rotary.

INFLUX OF MUSICAL TALENT ARRIVES

including: Imelda May, Eric Gales, Robbie Williams, James Blunt, Madeleine Peyroux, Andrea Corr, Chad Kroeger, Danny Goffey (Supergrass), Adam Wakeman, Spice Girls Victoria Beckham and Melanie C, Jewel, Ryan Adams, Alanis Morissette, Meg White (White Stripes) and Nicholas McCarthy (Franz Ferdinand).

THROWING IN THE TOWEL are:

Duke Ellington, ‘Mama’ Cass Elliot, Nick Drake, Graham Bond, Robbie McIntosh of The Average White Band and singing cowboy Tex Ritter.

AT THE DOME IN BRIGHTON, Waterlo is

the winning song performed by the unknown Swedish pop group ABBA for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Happy Days and the $6 Million Man premiere on ABC TV in America; Yes sells out the first night at New York’s Madison Square Garden without any advertising; Mick Taylor quits The Rolling Stones and Jeff Beck abandons Beck, Bogert and Appice.

HARMONY’S H619 SILHOUETTE GUITAR

is something of a throwback design with an element of the ‘50s for this twin-cutaway offering. It’s mainly due to the scratchplate and the curious ‘moustache’ pickups with adjustable pole pieces. Its solid rosewood body is a substantial weight and sports a rosewood, heightonly-adjustable bridge and a vibrato arm. The controls are individual volume and tone for each pickup and a three-way selector switch..

THE ENERGY CRISIS forces the government

to introduce the three-day working week and British miners react with a strike; the maximum speed limit on the Autobahn in Germany is reduced to 100 kph; Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris; and New Years Day becomes a public holiday.

FENDER PULLS THE PLUG on its Bandmaster

amp and cabinet pairing. The amp is better known as the Piggyback Silverface, having taken over from the Blackface version in 1968. This 40-watter with vibrato and a pair of 6L6GC output valves has sadly experienced a lack of demand. The Bassman 50 however, receives an upgrade with a master volume being added to the control panel. It’s what today’s players are wanting.