Vox at the British Musical Instrument Industries Trade Fair, 1967
21st - 24th August
This page has been ported over from the Trade Fairs section on the Vox AC100 website - the two will be kept in step from now on {March 2022}.
As in previous years, the Trade Fair, one of the most important events in the manufacturers' calendar, took place at the Russell Hotel, Russell Square, London. A page on the Fair of 1966 (at which JMI first unveiled the new solid state range) can be found here.
Advert for the Fair issued by AMII in the music trade press, June 1967.
Below, the advert placed by Jennings in the music trade press to coincide with its displays. A version was also placed in "Beat Instrumental" and "Music Maker" magazines, repeated later in the year. Stars of the show: the solid state range of amps, the new "effects" guitars, he Jaguar and Super Continental organs, and the wah-wah pedal. As ever, a number of items displayed - "try-outs" - did not make it to production in JMI's time. This was the last Russell Hotel Fair attended by the company.
Music trade press, August 1967.
The advert notes that Vox would have five rooms at the show: The Oak Room, a fairly substantial space on the ground floor off the Winter Garden; and rooms 135, 140, 141, 142 and 143 on the first floor. For an outline plan of the stands and rooms of the Fair in 1970 (the same system of numbering as in 1967), see this page.
Music trade press, August 1967.
The music trade press indicates, however, that only three rooms were taken: the Oak Room, 134a and 135 - probably a better record of fact. Representing JMI were: Tom Jennings, Reg Clark, Ray Pyman, Colin Barratt, Eddie Haynes, Mick Borer, Dick Denney, Dave Robers, Mike Carr, Kathy Nye, and Adrienne Dixon.
At the foot of this page, Kathy Nye is pictured with Tom Jennings and Dick Denney.
One of the images published to accompany the preview report.
As Thomas had taken over the distribution of its own organs in the UK in late January 1967, Jennings no longer needed to display or advertise the company's keyboards or accessories. Thomas pulled out all the stops (sorry) in its ads for the show though - three full pages, one in colour.
The Vox stand at the BMII fair, late August, 1967. Detail from a slightly larger original. Pic. originally printed by Jim Elyea, "Vox Amplifiers".
Below, a wallet of JMI promotional material picked up at the Fair by Don Miller, owner of Frank's Jewelry and Music in Graham, North Carolina. Don came to England with around 70 other Thomas dealers on a month-long European jamboree organised and paid for by Thomas. The Trade Fair was the key point on their trip.
Packs on top of the PA amplifier at the Fair - detail from the larger black and white above.
As mentioned above, a number of items displayed at the Fair were never put into production - see this page. The trade shows served in many respects as a means of gauging interest in new products. The psychedelic lights, which feature in many of the photographs from the Fair of 1967, were ultimately sold off in the summer of 1968 along with the disco console - details on the page linked above in this paragraph.
Below, also posted on the Vox Supreme website, photos from a set of taken taken for JMI before 31st August, 1967, and probably before the Trade Fair, of the original Vox disco unit, two turntables only and a microphone. The modified Vox Continental organ stand had brackets on which the lid could be set.
The disco unit was sold off when "Vox Sound Equipment Limited" got going in the West Street Works. The idea was revived, however, in by "Vox Sound Limited" in 1970. See this page on the Vox Supreme website.
A detail of the display, the disco unit side on.
Tom and Dave Roberts (the Vox demonstrator); Adrienne Dixon, Reg Clark and Kathy Nye. Kathy - and probably Adrienne also - worked on the promotional side of things at JMI.
Dave Roberts and Dick Denney - one of the pictures accompanying Gary Hurst's review.
"Beat Instrumental" magazine, October 1967 - from Gary Hurst's report of the show at the Russell Hotel. The amplifier used by Denney and Dave Roberts, JMI's chief demonstrator, is a Defiant. Note that the article gives *peak* power output for the amplifiers.
Below, a further pic of Dick Denney at the Fair, demonstating his Vox Escort "Special" - "Special" indicating that the new electronics were built in:
New built-in electronics were the thing - see Gary Hurst's review of the show above. An effects box incorporating the electronics that went into the new range of guitars did not make it into production.
A further shot taken at the British Musical Instrument Trade Fair, 21-24 August 1967, key members of the Vox team lined up. The poster on the right is a large-scale version of an ad placed in "Beat Instrumental" magazine (and elsewhere). The guitar is a "Teardrop" Mark VI Special.
Main trade fair index page on the Vox AC100 website.