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Lot Essay
A PROTOTYPE VOX 'KENSINGTON' GUITAR MADE FOR THE BEATLES AND USED BY BOTH GEORGE HARRISON AND JOHN LENNON IN 1967
The Beatles had been using Vox amplifiers exclusively since mid-1962 when manager Brian Epstein first struck a deal with Vox’s parent company Jennings Musical Industries (JMI) for the provision of AC-30 amps in exchange for free promotion by the burgeoning beat group, who were then still largely unknown. As the Beatles became invaluable to Vox’s promotional efforts, JMI would keep the band up to date with the latest Vox gear and prototypes. According to Vox design engineer Mike Bennett, he received a verbal instruction from JMI’s founder Tom Jennings in 1966 to design a guitar “different in style to anything currently on the market” as a commission for George Harrison, while JMI’s chief design engineer Dick Denney maintains that the guitar was built as a speculative prototype to be sent to the Beatles in the hope that either John or George would use it, thus encouraging orders for the new model. Bennett hand-crafted the mahogany and walnut body of the guitar at Vox's Dartford Road workshop, while Denney worked on the electronics. I designed the body shape with the headstock mirroring that and always thought it looked like a Ram's head with horns, says Bennett. We exhibited it once or twice then Dick added the push button effects that were his latest thing at the time. It was soon after that it went to the Beatles. According to Andy Babiuk, who interviewed Denney in 1997, Vox had intended to call their new guitar the “Kensington” model. Bennett said much the same in an interview conducted by Martin Kelly on July 2, 2003, and confirmed that the Kensington name came much later.
Fitted only with single volume and tone controls and a three-way selector switch, the prototype was first exhibited on the Vox stand at the British Musical Instrument Trade Fair at the Russell Hotel, London, 20-24 August 1966, as pictured in Beat Instrumental magazine, October 1966. The guitar was then brought back to the factory where Denney's additional controls and special effects were added before being presented to the Beatles. Six white push button electronic effects were added to control treble, bass, top boost, mid boost, fuzz and repeat, powered via an additional knob which switched on the battery, while the volume and tone controls were replaced with fuzz sustain and repeat speed knobs. An additional rotary control was added to switch between three midrange boost frequencies. Dated 23 October 1966, an insurance document illustrated in Babiuk’s comprehensive tome Beatles Gear suggests that the guitar was in the Beatles’ possession by this date. Made out to The Beatles Limited, the document listed over 30 pieces of Vox equipment owned by the band at that time, including One Special effect Guitar. A photograph of the Vox/Jennings stand at British Musical Instrument Trade Fair at the Russell Hotel, London, 20-24 August 1967, shows the Vox with the additional switches in place a year after it was first exhibited, presumably having been recalled from the band temporarily for exhibiting at the fair - a large Beatles poster is visible on the stand's back wall.
Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, who had unfettered access to both EMI’s archives and the studio’s ex-employees while researching their comprehensive 2006 reference book Recording the Beatles, report that the Vox Custom was available in the studio from 1966 through 1967, although there is no evidence of its use in 1966. Several photographs taken by photographer Koh Hasebe during the Beatles’ recording session at EMI Studio Two on 25 September 1967 for the Japanese magazine Music Life, showing the Vox Custom laid against a chair next to George Harrison’s hand-painted Fender Stratocaster “Rocky”, indicate that the guitar was in use during the Magical Mystery Tour sessions from 5 September to 7 November 1967, although it is not known whether the guitar made it onto any released recordings. Certainly, no electric guitar was recorded during the 25 September session for ‘The Fool On The Hill’. Also recorded during these sessions were the non-album single ‘Hello Goodbye’ and its B-side ‘I Am The Walrus’. According to Mark Lewisohn, Harrison’s electric guitar parts for the tracks were laid down at EMI Studio One on 19 October and 5 September respectively. While it’s generally accepted that Harrison used either his Epiphone Casino or Fender Stratocaster for these recordings, it’s notable that the Vox Custom would make a reappearance when it came time for the group to film mimed performances for the two songs.
Harrison was pictured playing the Vox Custom on the runway at West Malling airfield in Kent during rehearsals for filming a performance of ‘I Am The Walrus’ for the Beatles’ made-for-television musical film Magical Mystery Tour between 19-24 September 1967. When the photograph was published in Beat Instrumental, November 1967, the magazine caption noted that George’s guitar was a custom-built model from Vox. Harrison plays his psychedelic Stratocaster “Rocky” in the final cut of the film. Later that year, John Lennon was seen playing the Vox prototype when the Beatles hired the Saville Theatre in London to film a promotional video for the forthcoming release of ‘Hello Goodbye’ on 10 November 1967. Directed by Paul McCartney, the band shot performance footage for two versions: the first wearing their Sgt. Pepper uniforms against a psychedelic backdrop; and the second in their everyday attire in front of a stage backdrop depicting a rural scene. A third sequence was filmed of the group dancing around the stage. Photographs from the shoot show Lennon in a white pinstripe jacket and black trousers, playing the Vox guitar during filming for the second version. Although three different promotional videos were cut from the footage for broadcast on both UK and US television, Lennon is seen playing his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar in the final edits.
Not long after the ‘Hello Goodbye’ shoot, Lennon gave the guitar to Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas, a member of the Beatles' inner circle from 1966-1969. Acclaimed as a science prodigy from his teens, Mardas had moved from his native Greece to England in the early 1960s. After meeting Brian Jones in around 1963, he was commissioned to design a revolutionary new system to link lights with sound for the Rolling Stones’ stage performances. When introduced to Mardas in 1966, Lennon was so impressed by his scientific skills that he dubbed him “Magic Alex” and often referred to him as his “guru". The Beatles hired Mardas in the early stages of forming their Apple empire and by early 1968 he had been installed as the head of Apple Electronics, continuing his experiments with audio-visual technology until the company was shuttered as part of Apple's cost-cutting crusade in 1969. Mardas was one of Lennon's closest friends during this period, accompanying the Beatles and their entourage on many of their global adventures, including their trip to study transcendental meditation in India and their Magical Mystery Tour. Together with Scottish folk singer Donovan Leitch, who had also joined the Beatles in India, Lennon acted as joint best man at Mardas’ wedding. According to Mardas, the guitar was a birthday gift from Lennon and the date of the plaque 2-5-1967 refers to his 25th birthday earlier that year, rather than the date the guitar was presented to him. Presumably on loan from Mardas, Donovan was the last to be seen playing the prototype Vox during a performance on a BBC television show around the time that he released his psychedelic single ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ in May 1968. Thereafter, the guitar’s whereabouts became a mystery until Mardas sold his collection at Christie’s in 2004.
The Beatles had been using Vox amplifiers exclusively since mid-1962 when manager Brian Epstein first struck a deal with Vox’s parent company Jennings Musical Industries (JMI) for the provision of AC-30 amps in exchange for free promotion by the burgeoning beat group, who were then still largely unknown. As the Beatles became invaluable to Vox’s promotional efforts, JMI would keep the band up to date with the latest Vox gear and prototypes. According to Vox design engineer Mike Bennett, he received a verbal instruction from JMI’s founder Tom Jennings in 1966 to design a guitar “different in style to anything currently on the market” as a commission for George Harrison, while JMI’s chief design engineer Dick Denney maintains that the guitar was built as a speculative prototype to be sent to the Beatles in the hope that either John or George would use it, thus encouraging orders for the new model. Bennett hand-crafted the mahogany and walnut body of the guitar at Vox's Dartford Road workshop, while Denney worked on the electronics. I designed the body shape with the headstock mirroring that and always thought it looked like a Ram's head with horns, says Bennett. We exhibited it once or twice then Dick added the push button effects that were his latest thing at the time. It was soon after that it went to the Beatles. According to Andy Babiuk, who interviewed Denney in 1997, Vox had intended to call their new guitar the “Kensington” model. Bennett said much the same in an interview conducted by Martin Kelly on July 2, 2003, and confirmed that the Kensington name came much later.
Fitted only with single volume and tone controls and a three-way selector switch, the prototype was first exhibited on the Vox stand at the British Musical Instrument Trade Fair at the Russell Hotel, London, 20-24 August 1966, as pictured in Beat Instrumental magazine, October 1966. The guitar was then brought back to the factory where Denney's additional controls and special effects were added before being presented to the Beatles. Six white push button electronic effects were added to control treble, bass, top boost, mid boost, fuzz and repeat, powered via an additional knob which switched on the battery, while the volume and tone controls were replaced with fuzz sustain and repeat speed knobs. An additional rotary control was added to switch between three midrange boost frequencies. Dated 23 October 1966, an insurance document illustrated in Babiuk’s comprehensive tome Beatles Gear suggests that the guitar was in the Beatles’ possession by this date. Made out to The Beatles Limited, the document listed over 30 pieces of Vox equipment owned by the band at that time, including One Special effect Guitar. A photograph of the Vox/Jennings stand at British Musical Instrument Trade Fair at the Russell Hotel, London, 20-24 August 1967, shows the Vox with the additional switches in place a year after it was first exhibited, presumably having been recalled from the band temporarily for exhibiting at the fair - a large Beatles poster is visible on the stand's back wall.
Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, who had unfettered access to both EMI’s archives and the studio’s ex-employees while researching their comprehensive 2006 reference book Recording the Beatles, report that the Vox Custom was available in the studio from 1966 through 1967, although there is no evidence of its use in 1966. Several photographs taken by photographer Koh Hasebe during the Beatles’ recording session at EMI Studio Two on 25 September 1967 for the Japanese magazine Music Life, showing the Vox Custom laid against a chair next to George Harrison’s hand-painted Fender Stratocaster “Rocky”, indicate that the guitar was in use during the Magical Mystery Tour sessions from 5 September to 7 November 1967, although it is not known whether the guitar made it onto any released recordings. Certainly, no electric guitar was recorded during the 25 September session for ‘The Fool On The Hill’. Also recorded during these sessions were the non-album single ‘Hello Goodbye’ and its B-side ‘I Am The Walrus’. According to Mark Lewisohn, Harrison’s electric guitar parts for the tracks were laid down at EMI Studio One on 19 October and 5 September respectively. While it’s generally accepted that Harrison used either his Epiphone Casino or Fender Stratocaster for these recordings, it’s notable that the Vox Custom would make a reappearance when it came time for the group to film mimed performances for the two songs.
Harrison was pictured playing the Vox Custom on the runway at West Malling airfield in Kent during rehearsals for filming a performance of ‘I Am The Walrus’ for the Beatles’ made-for-television musical film Magical Mystery Tour between 19-24 September 1967. When the photograph was published in Beat Instrumental, November 1967, the magazine caption noted that George’s guitar was a custom-built model from Vox. Harrison plays his psychedelic Stratocaster “Rocky” in the final cut of the film. Later that year, John Lennon was seen playing the Vox prototype when the Beatles hired the Saville Theatre in London to film a promotional video for the forthcoming release of ‘Hello Goodbye’ on 10 November 1967. Directed by Paul McCartney, the band shot performance footage for two versions: the first wearing their Sgt. Pepper uniforms against a psychedelic backdrop; and the second in their everyday attire in front of a stage backdrop depicting a rural scene. A third sequence was filmed of the group dancing around the stage. Photographs from the shoot show Lennon in a white pinstripe jacket and black trousers, playing the Vox guitar during filming for the second version. Although three different promotional videos were cut from the footage for broadcast on both UK and US television, Lennon is seen playing his Martin D-28 acoustic guitar in the final edits.
Not long after the ‘Hello Goodbye’ shoot, Lennon gave the guitar to Alexis “Magic Alex” Mardas, a member of the Beatles' inner circle from 1966-1969. Acclaimed as a science prodigy from his teens, Mardas had moved from his native Greece to England in the early 1960s. After meeting Brian Jones in around 1963, he was commissioned to design a revolutionary new system to link lights with sound for the Rolling Stones’ stage performances. When introduced to Mardas in 1966, Lennon was so impressed by his scientific skills that he dubbed him “Magic Alex” and often referred to him as his “guru". The Beatles hired Mardas in the early stages of forming their Apple empire and by early 1968 he had been installed as the head of Apple Electronics, continuing his experiments with audio-visual technology until the company was shuttered as part of Apple's cost-cutting crusade in 1969. Mardas was one of Lennon's closest friends during this period, accompanying the Beatles and their entourage on many of their global adventures, including their trip to study transcendental meditation in India and their Magical Mystery Tour. Together with Scottish folk singer Donovan Leitch, who had also joined the Beatles in India, Lennon acted as joint best man at Mardas’ wedding. According to Mardas, the guitar was a birthday gift from Lennon and the date of the plaque 2-5-1967 refers to his 25th birthday earlier that year, rather than the date the guitar was presented to him. Presumably on loan from Mardas, Donovan was the last to be seen playing the prototype Vox during a performance on a BBC television show around the time that he released his psychedelic single ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ in May 1968. Thereafter, the guitar’s whereabouts became a mystery until Mardas sold his collection at Christie’s in 2004.