The ‘Mello’ sound that ... and was made in Birmingham
IT was the ground-breaking instrument that defined progressive and heavy rock in the late 1960s and 1970s.
And, like some of the biggest bands in Britain at the time, The Mellotron was made in Birmingham.
The machine, which practically provided an orchestra at your fingertips, was embraced by such legends as Black Sabbath, Moody Blues and Genesis – but was probably most famously employed on The Beatles Strawberry Fields Forever.
But more recently the complex kit has been revived, with artists such as Radiohead, Oasis and Paul Weller keen to get back to the unique 60s sound. It is no wonder bands who were pushing the envelope musically wanted to get their hands on a Mellotron. Fifty years ago, it was considered positively sci-fi.
The concept was, in fact, dreamtup by American musician and inventor Harry Chamberlin, from Wisconsin, back in the early 1950s.
In the days before computers, he crafted a keyboard that used a network of pre-recorded tapes of various musical instruments. To select the desired instrument – perhaps a brass section – the player flicked a switch, then pressed the keys.
His first model provided 14 drum loops, making it the very first drum machine. Later designs included violins and flutes.
Chamberlin christened his invention “The Chamberlin” – but few were made. Those that were created were simply too bulky and complex and electrical failure was a common problem.
In a bid to iron-out glitches that plagued The Chamberlin, salesman Bill Fransen, representing the inventor, travelled to Birmingham in 1962 in search of a manufacturer who could make parts for the music machine.
He struck a deal with Bradmatic Ltd, an electro-mechanical company. Fransen took the latest design, the Chamberlin Model 600 Music Master, to the brothers behind the business, Leslie, Frank and Norman Bradley and the trio immediately saw the potential.
They did not, however, envisage the kit becoming an essential part of the rock scene, believing the soon-to-be- renamed Mellotron would be a musthave, home entertainment item, a kind of Hammond organ for the wellheeled.
Backed by Fransen, the brothers launched a new company, Mellotronic, at 338, Aldridge Road, Sutton Coldfield, and began producing the Mellotron. One backer in the new business venture was popular TV magician David Nixon.
The brothers named the Mellotronic manufacturing side of the business Streetly Electronics – but the Mellotron was almost scuppered before it went into mass production.
The Bradleys believed Fransen invented the sound machine and the venture had the blessing of Chamberlin. But it did not – the American was furious and took legal action.
Thankfully, a deal was hammered out, with reports Chamberlin was paid £32,000 – a fortune back then – for use of the technology. And so a new sound was born. The Mellotron Mark I, costing a whopping £1,000, featured two keyboards, capable of mimicking strings, brass and choirs. The Mellotron was, allegedly, snapped up by Princess Margaret, Peter Sellers, King Hussein of Jordan and even crackpot Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
The BBC also bought two, in 1963 and 1964, for backing sound effects.
By 1965, the depth of sound provided by the world’s newest instrument was beginning to excite professional musicians. The first ever hit to feature a Mellotron, the Mark II, was Baby Can It Be True by R&B multi-instrumentalist Graham Bond.
The Mellotron received an impor-