The songs are roughly chronological, some are out of place because I found them later and sometimes they fit in with a theme of what was going on in The Story of Rock and Roll at the time. Every now and again I will put in more than one clip to emphasise a point or show a contrast. The video’s included are all here for a reason, some of them should get you covered in goose bumps, some of them may get you putting your hands over your eyes saying ”How did we think this shit was cool”. In the early days everything was analogue, it was transistor radio’s, vinyl records, one or two camera angles, lots of trippy hippy effects with lighting and some pretty terrible miming. I want to get across the feeling of the times when I first heard these songs. I haven’t necessarily chosen the highest quality video’s because that’s not what it is all about.
If these songs don’t make you feel good then you just don’t get Rock and Roll, or in the words of Billy Connolly “It’s not fucking for you”. Ideally you should read it but you don’t have to, you can soak it all up from the site. This website is designed for you to experience the songs and the artists that shaped my book The Story of Rock and Roll. The Story of Rock and Roll is one man’s perspective of the music and has the power to take you back so that you too can remember the good times and the songs that defined the era! James cares deeply about this amazing music and tells the story of his life against the backdrop of what was happening in the Rock ‘n’ Roll universe at the time. This book is about music powered by electric guitars, growing up surrounded by it and all the interesting characters that were thereby associated. The book is a rollercoaster ride through these times as James takes us through the music, the bands he saw and the bands he played in.Ī successful career in engineering and business never blunted his true passion for Rock and Roll and somehow he managed to balance it all. He lived through the glory days of 70’s Rock, the energy of Punk and the fun times of Hair Metal before it gave way to Grunge. James Daubeney was born in the UK in 1966 and grew up in South Africa. The Story of Rock and Roll is a hilarious, irreverent and fascinating trip to a different world, a world of Classic Rock and Heavy Metal where everything is about the music.