LOCAL HISTORY

Pic: Barry Rivett Pic: David Jackson

Wired for Sound turns up the volume with Marshall Amplification

Following the success of last year's Wired For Sound music exhibition at the Museum, we are delighted to announce a second show celebrating one of the biggest names in the industry – Marshall Amplification. The display will bring you closer to many rare items from the company's collection, as it celebrates its sixth decade anniversary. Wired For Sound will also be bringing back its growing selection of artefacts and rare images from The National Bowl. The show begins a three week stay at the Museum on April 9. Here's a taster of what you can expect...

Linkin Park tour itinerary

Linkin Park famously recorded the last date of their Projekt Revolution tour at The National Bowl.

Last year we added to the collection with a fascinating selection of Milton Keynes related paraphernalia; including passes, plectrums used at the performance, schedule times and even the backstage dinner menu (spinach and feta cheese pie and grilled salmon with buerre blanc were among the choices).

The so-called '2008 European Pocket Rocket' also detailed every date, flight time and hotel and other necessary info to ensure a smooth journey.

It's a fascinating little insight into the military style operation that goes to make sure these huge shows run like clockwork.

Foo Fighters

They've visited Milton Keynes three times and by their own admission have played some of their favourite ever shows at our venue.

When Dave Grohl and co. played in 2011, they flew their families over and put on a bit of a special deal for VIPs backstage – their very own pub, Ye Olde Fighters Arms.

Guests quaffed from special glass tankards emblazoned with the pub logo and the show dates. Unsurprisingly, these are now collectors items.

T-shirts

What a lot we've got. Some are faded and well-loved donations, others we've splashed out on at the shows, and they are fantastic way to sweep your eyes over the A-listers who have held court at The Bowl; from Guns N' Roses to Michael Jackson to Metallica, Bowie, Erasure, Black Sabbath, Queen, U2 and many others.

This Genesis shirt mightn't look super fancy, but if you want to get your hands on one of them now, you'll be paying £100s of pounds...

Photos

Our archive is full of fabulous shots from Bowl shows – including never before seen images of David Bowie, Michael Jackson, AC/DC and Black Sabbath. We'll be sharing some of these at the show.

Releases

Plenty of artists have recorded their dates at the venue for DVD releases, or used audio tracks on single and EP releases, and our music archive includes Bowl moments from artists including Status Quo, Queen, Linkin Park, Bon Jovi, Green Day and Gary Moore.

> If you have memorabilia from The National Bowl – or from any shows in Milton Keynes – that you would donate to the Milton Keynes Music Archive, please visit FB @miltonkeyneswiredforsound

Some of the highlights from the Marshall Amplification collection that you will be able to see...

Paul Weller signature amp 1987X-PW

Paul Weller is best associated with a rather rare Marshall, the Lead and Bass 2100. Only available via mail order for a short period in the 70s, these 50W combos are now very much sought after. To celebrate Paul Weller’s 50th birthday, Jim Marshall decided to do a limited run based on the original amps’ schematics. The crowning glory of this limited run was the white vinyl covering and Royal Air Force roundel, tying the amp in perfectly with the Mod-Father’s style. Only fifty 1987X-PWs were ever made, with proceeds being donated to Childline.

Kerry King signature amp 2203KK

This is a clone of Kerry King’s favourite JCM800, which was nicknamed ‘The Beast’. It turns out the amp was completely stock, apart from the addition of KT88 valves. To get his signature sound, he also used an external EQ pedal to boost his mids and gain. Marshall replicated this by adding the ‘Beast Mode’ switch to the amp, which also included a studio quality noise gate. In addition to this, we added the Celtic lettering on the front panel and Tribal ‘flames’ based on Kerry’s tattoos.

On this page: 30th anniversary half stack (top) Reproduction of 8x12" cabinet (Middle) Jim Marshall's black satin bomber jacket (bottom) Paul Weller signature amp (below) Reproduction of 8x12" cabinet

Since Jim had released the JTM45 in 1962, customers were constantly demanding more power, with one of these customers being legendary guitarist Pete Townshend. Pete came into Jim’s shop and demanded a bigger cabinet with 8x 12” speakers. Jim knew that this cabinet would be incredibly heavy but built it to meet the demand.

A few weeks later Pete returned, stating that his roadies had found it very difficult to move it. Pete’s suggestion was to simply cut the cab in half however due to the structure this was an impossible task. Jim went away to build a straight-fronted 4x12” cabinet that an angled 4x12” cabinet could sit atop of. And thus, the Marshall stack was born.

Jim Marshall OBE

Jim Marshall was awarded an OBE for "services to the music industry and to charity" in 2003.

30th anniversary half stack

When the 30th Anniversary series was launched in 1992 it was met with huge critical acclaim. With blue or white vinyl finishes, all brass plated panel and Marshall script logo, this was an amp that screamed glamour. The amp itself was a 100 watt beast with 11 valves and 3 independent channels, each with their own controls for EQ and volume and individual gain controls for Crunch and Lead channels. The amp was praised for providing almost all Marshall tones in one. Each channel featured different modes modelled after previous Marshall success stories. Whether you were after the sound of a JTM45 or a JCM900, this series would fit the bill. Black satin bomber jacket

The Black Satin bomber Jacket that belonged to the father of Loud himself. He always used to wear it and it was one of his favourites.

Milton Keynes Museum is one of the best interactive museums, a perfect outing for all ages, staffed by friendly volunteers, and highly recommended by visitors on TripAdvisor. This feature was written by Milton Keynes Museum. Find out more about forthcoming events and see our opening times at: miltonkeynesmuseum.org.uk

Choosing a Family Solicitor

Emily Pope Solicitor - Divorce and Family Law

Neves Solicitors LLP Aurora House Deltic Avenue Rooksley Milton Keynes MK13 8LW

01908 304560 www.nevesllp.co.uk I f you are approaching a solicitor about a family issue, the chances are you are probably going through a really difficult period in your life. When making any other purchase that you are likely to spend a lot of money on, like a new car or the latest phone, you would likely spend hours doing your homework. Would you spend the same amount of time choosing a solicitor?

A solicitor could end up being one of the biggest investments you make and so it is important that you are happy with your choice. So this month, rather than write about the reforms to divorce law, making arrangements for your children or some other aspect of family law, we have decided instead to give out practical advice to anybody who finds themselves in need of a solicitor and not knowing where to start looking.

First, ask for recommendations from family and friends. If nobody you know has personal experience of a family lawyer, check out independent feedback platforms such as Google reviews. These reviews are left directly by former clients for the benefit of others.

Do your research. Look at firms’ websites. Many law firms will offer lots of helpful resources on their website that could help you moving forwards.

Next, pick up the phone to any firms that catch your eye. See if you can speak to the solicitor who would be dealing with your matter when you make that initial call. Almost any family lawyer you speak to will have knowledge of the same practice areas and can give you similar advice, so concentrate on working out whether you feel you would trust and get along with your solicitor. A lot of information, sometimes personal and sensitive, will be exchanged during the course of your dealings with a solicitor and you need to make sure you are confiding in somebody who you feel you can trust. solicitor they would like to instruct. If you would like to deal with matters in an amicable fashion, consider instructing a solicitor who is a member of Resolution - a body of Family Justice professionals committed to resolving disputes in a manner that takes into account the needs of the whole family. There is a ‘Find a Solicitor’ feature at www.resolution.org.uk

Finally, the best way to decide whether you have made the right decision is to book in for an initial consultation appointment. Many firms will offer fixed fees but shop around to find out how much time you will get to spend with your chosen solicitor within that initial call. At Neves, we tend to find that offering a one hour initial fixed fee meeting gives our clients just about the right amount of time to run through their circumstances and get an initial steer as to what their options are moving forwards.

If you find yourself needing to consult a family professional, feel free to get in touch with a member of our team.