LISTED: 24/08/2020

BOOK - LIMITED EDITION OF 100 COPIES.   I HAVE ONE LAST COPY - SIGNED  BY THE THREE AUTHORS. 

TITLE: "BACK STREET GENIUS"

AUTHORS: DAVE CLEMO, ROGER KINSEY AND MAVIS TOMPKINS.

SELF PUBLISHED:

FORMAT: A5 FORMAT, BLACK AND WHITE - 248 PAGES WITH MANY IMAGES.

Derek Tompkins owned and ran Shield Studios in Kettering, UK.  Bernie Marsden, Queen's John Deacon and Trevor Horn were among the many artists who worked and recorded with Derek at Shield Studios.  Those Old Records released two 7" singles that were acetates recorded there - Spell and John Williams (Maureeny Wishful).  This is a detailed account of the studio, the musicians who performed, and the music scene in and around Kettering and beyond.  Highly recommended.

Question, What do record industry moguls David Foster and Trevor Horn have in common with Queen's bass player John Deacon and Whitesnake's guitarist Bernie Marsden?  Answer - they all began their recording career at a recording studio in  a former factory in Kettering (Northants), owned and run by Derek Tompkins. 

Derek was a radar technician in the army in the 1940's.  During the 1950's he worked as a television repair man.  Around 1960 he took a drum kit in lieu of payment and taught himself to play.  He formed a band that went on to be one of the best semi pro groups in the area and started to record local groups in the back room of his shop, before setting up the studio in his father in law's former factory.   Derek Tompkins also built PA systems that were widely acknowledged as being the best available at the time.

This meticulously researched book is profusely illustrated and draws upon reminiscences from family, friends and acquaintainces, contemporary newspaper articles and adverts, to build a comprehensive account of the man, his work and the times in which he lived.

"Back Street Genius" will appeal to all those who were there and those seriously into the history of music as it developed in the 60's and 70's.  There is Mod and Freakbeat appeal as well as Classic Rock and Psych.  A detailed account of the times - Highly recommended.

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