A Life In Music: The Men Who Make Mellotrons

In a workshop not too far away from you, magic is being made (and recreated). 

John Bradley and Martin Smith have been involved with Mellotrons all their lives. 

What is a Mellotron? Well, please read on, and listen to the companion podcast. 

John is the pragmatic engineer who can look at a piece of kit and know exactly what to do. Martin was and is a superfan of 60s, 70s and 80s music with a decided taste for Progressive Rock. The Mellotron simply reeled him in. John's dad ran the original Streetly Electronics, based in a small building just to the north of Birmingham. They made Mellotrons. Musicians beat paths to their door. It was John and Martin who revived the current business. And now the musicians are calling on them. 

The Mellotron was key to 60s and 70s pop. Then it sort of fell out of fashion. But the sounds on countless Beatles, Genesis, Moody Blues and Barclay James Harvest tracks, and tons more are still in demand. So much so that John and Martin's order book is full for the next two years. And as for their stellar client list...

Be warned: there's one teeny little swear word; it's so funny, I couldn't bring myself to cut it out. I travelled to the workshop for the Lives in Music interview. Copious amounts of tea were consumed. Followed by copious amounts of editing. 

The podcast has now been published: go here to listen, subscribe and/or download... or go to the player at the bottom of this post. 

Background

If you are still not entirely sure what a Mellotron is, read the exhaustive details on Wikipedia here...

Some samples

Here's a YouTube link for Strawberry Fields Forever...
This is a Link to one of the earliest recorded uses of the Mellotron ...
or how about this Moody Blues cut?

Other Links

Streetly Electronics website
Streetly Electronics on Facebook

Listen to the podcast

Lives in Music 

Lives in Music celebrates people who have spent a lifetime in music. They may be famous; they may be people who have simply spent their lives working at their craft for the love of it. They all have stories. Lives in Music is a Radio To Go production.

Also published in Lives In Music 

all with show notes and music links

1 - Ruby Turner 
2 -  Steve Ajao
4 - Mike Hatton 
5 - Horace Panter
6 - Jasper Carrott
7 - Sam Slater
8 - John Patrick
9 - Gordon Giltrap
10 - Jim Simpson

The theme music for this series is by local band Big Q Fish. 'Boksburg Jive Toon' was written by Brian Neil, and recorded at the Jam House, Birmingham, in 2017.

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Your 10 Radio To Go most-read posts of 2014

This past year, as in previous years, I wrote, wrote and wrote, aiming for a post each week, sometimes more. It's a good exercise. 

Three years ago, I opted for music and music business as core topics, specifically from the West Midlands. There are a lot of dedicated people who work to better our local music scene. Their work and the challenges they face are fascinating. They deserve our support.

I do stray away to write about radio and broadcasting, of course. But thinking in that area, unlike in music, still evolves at a glacial pace. I think and hope that will change: soon and fast. New platforms are due to emerge out of left field. Unless the existing platforms can adapt, they will wither and die. This is nothing new.

The most-read about musos in 2014

While there are a lot of solid numbers for music posts, and these are trending up steadily, it's really interesting to see just which musicians get the big numbers. These four made the grand most-viewed top ten, which you'll find further down the post

1  Old Punks don't die: Neon Hearts go big in Japan 

Big numbers for an obscure 35-year old Wolverhampton punk band, rapturously received in Japan. Lots of numbers scored in the land of the Rising Sun.

2  Terry and Gerry

They came back, to a lot of love. Post-punk nostalgia, and an exclusive live recording. 80s loyalty rules.

3  The Other Campbell Brother 

While Robin and Duncan keep on with UB40 and Ali snarls at them with his rival band, brother David Campbell continues their father's grand tradition of old-school left-leaning folk.

4  Miles Hunt and Erica Nockalls - The Stuff Of Wonder

What a team. Whoda thunk it?

After these four, the next six most-read music posts were:
5  Goodnight Lenin on Record Store Day
6  Electric Swing Circus go pro
7  Beat Goes Bang - all about the three Beats we got now
8  Simon Halsey - the CBSO Chorus Master, ahead of Crowd Out
9  Erica Nockalls - her new album and how she does business
10 Boat To Row - telling figures for a much-loved band

The basic conclusion? score one for the guys who build their audience relationships; score another for happy memories. 

The most-read media and business posts in 2014

So, having split the musicians out, it made sense to do the same for the rest of the topics. Interestingly, although I didn't write that many posts on broadcasting and the media, some did really well. These made the top ten

1. The Desolation of Smug

The biggest numbers of the year by a country mile, commenting on the BBC's hideous local underspend of license fee revenue collected from the Midlands. There is some movement, but the imbalance is still massive. If you haven't read it yet, do so now. Please. Then tell your MP.

2. BRMB: 40 Years ago

Launch day at the old BRMB in February 1974

3. The Wireless Festival in Brum

A chat with the man who ran the biggest music fest Birmingham has ever seen.
4. Thursday 21 November 1974

The night they bombed Birmingham city centre. I was live at the old BRMB when it happened.

5. Mellotrons

The men who still make Mellotrons. Midlands rock history.
6. Don't It Always Seem to Go: The Old Crown A lament for yet another historic music venue which used to grace the city centre.

And the next four most read were 
7  The Local YouTube Top 50 chart, February. I do this every six months.
8  Peaky Blinders - made in Brum? Er, no.
9  Promoting and how not to make money. With Bohemian Jukebox's Ben Calvert
10  How much is your music worth? Ever tried asking? Bluebeat Arkestra and their online honesty box.

I can't draw any great conclusions here - but my thanks are due to the many people who sat down with me and chewed the fat so interestingly.

The most-read posts of 2014

Finally, here is the top ten for the year, irrespective of categories.

1. The Desolation of Smug

2. BRMB: 40 Years ago

3. Old Punks don't die: Neon Hearts go big in Japan 

4. The Wireless Festival in Brum

5. Terry and Gerry

6. Thursday 21 November 1974

7. Mellotrons

8. The Other Campbell Brother

9. Miles and Erica - The Stuff Of Wonder

10. Don't It Always Seem to Go: The Old Crown 


I wish you a peaceful and optimistic 2015.

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Mellotrons: the men who (still) make them

Chains, tape loops, springs, lots of odd moving parts, and a lot of love. Two gentlemen boomers keep a key sound of Progrock alive.

If you're any age at all, you'll have heard the mellotron. The Moody Blues used it constantly. There it is at the start of the Beatles' Strawberry Fields Forever; it's all over the White Album. King Crimson fans? There it is at the Court of the Crimson King.

The mellotron sounds... weird. That's partly its appeal. Inside, it's a mishmash of bicycle chains, springs, recording tape and, depending on the age of the machine, more or less tech wizardry. It was built in Streetly, a suburb of North Birmingham which can't decide whether it's dead posh or dead rough. There's a blue plaque marking the original factory site in Aldridge Road. That was nearly fifty years ago. Now, the resurrected Streetly Electronics, creators of the first mellotron, have a thriving business. They make new mellotrons; they fix old ones; they even sell digital samples to add to your range of keyboard sounds.

The miracle is that it was invented in the first place; a second miracle is that mellotron use continues to thrive.