McIpedia
My Aunty Doreen & Led Zeppelin
My Aunty Doreen, whom God preserve, was a mature student at Manchester University in the 1970's. Knowing that her 15-year old nephew was mad keen on music she readily acceded to my request to buy 2 tickets to see Led Zeppelin at the university's Kings Hall in 1971.
Arriving on the night full of anticipation, I and my pal Roger were rather anxious at the sight of doormen checking people in at the main entrance. Rog went in first and being a truthful and well-brought up lad, replied honestly when asked his age. 'Seventeen'. 'Sorry son, you're not old 
enough, its over-18's only'. Roger, ashen-faced, graciously stepped aside as I went to try my luck. Doing the only decent thing in the circumstances, I lied about my age and got in.
From Ricky to Ritchie
People of a certain age such as myself may remember the frisson of excitement in the 1970's at the appearance on Top Of The Pops, amongst the seemingly endless parade of Peters and Lee, Pickettywitch and the Rubettes, of rock bands such as The Who, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple. The fact that they were all miming barely took the edge off their performances as it was such a treat to actually see bands one would otherwise only hear on Radio 1.
Perhaps one of the best known of the singles by these bands that charted was Deep Purple's 'Black Night', with Ian Paice's thunderous drumming, the impassioned vocals of Ian Gillan and best of all, Ritchie Blackmore's wild guitar playing.
Rock & Roll Accompaniment
A Potted History by Steve Peters
THE EARLY DAYS
Rock ‘n’ roll in the USA went through several stages. Firstly the pre-drum stage. Bill Haley’s 1952 recording of ‘Rock the Joint’ and Elvis’s 1954 ‘That’s all right mama’ were both devoid of drums. These were the days when drummer Buddy Harmon was hidden behind a curtain on the Louisiana Hayride – a bit like pianist Ian Stewart was treated on ‘Stones’ gigs or how drummer Bobby Graham was alleged to have been treated on Dave Clark Five gigs. Drums gradually crept in. 'Crazy Man Crazy’ by Haley (1953) and ‘I’m left, you’re right she’s gone’, by Elvis (1955) had drums added.
On the Origin of Species
As recording technology evolved, more specific terms for various types of phonographic records came into use, usually derived from some aspect of their production - either the correct rotational speed ("162/3 rpm" (revolutions per minute), "331/3 rpm", "45 rpm", "78 rpm") or the material used in manufacture, "vinyl" to refer to records made of polyvinyl chloride, or the earlier "shellac" records (the main material found in 78rpm pressings).
