As Time Goes By with Echo

"The Spotnicks - the first 45 years", is a great documentary book ( 450 pages) by Lars Åkerström.

The story began 1958 in Gothenburg,...and during the time when the book was published (2004), the Spotnicks were still very active. With over 18 million records sold, many long lasting tours abroad, this is one of Sweden´s most succesful popularmuisc exports ever.

It was the first group managing to climb the charts in England (1963). Followed by France, Mexico, Japan... (Like the Beatles they had played in Germany for months, before...)

Many pictures in the book also covers up; the unique story, of how it just happened in some natural order. Just looking at the many colourful record covers, from different parts of the world is a pleasure.

Remarkably, it was possible in the 1960ties, for a (world)wide audience play melody rather strictly. The (electric guitar) sound was still new, that echo...., ( it was almost listening to soundtracks from movies....). In these times the electric guitar was still a kind of monster in the terms of classical guitar education, you just couldn´t study it in music high schools, and the conflict many places continued over decades.

Lead guitarist of the Spotnicks, Bo Winberg, was early (1957) inspired by the records of Les Paul (and met him in the spring 2004...).

As a kid myself, I thought that Les Paul had long fingers,... something spiderlike, - later I understood that he was one of the influential pioneers of the solidbody guitar, and new recording techniques. A few years later I heard the Shadows (with Cliff ) live. Still my brain gives some shady colour pictures of the occasion. Late spring, outdoors.

After that, not really my conscious part of the brain working, it was just that: "I wanna have guitar".

In that case I understand young people of today, ...you don´t really understand it, all the surroundings - but you want. Maybe it´s like sex...., excuse me, not technically, ...but maybe spiritually.