Parrot amps
When you think of guitar amps, you think of Marshall Stacks, Fender Twins and Vox AC30’s. So it’s hard to imagine now, but back in the 1970s Coventry was part of the guitar amp elite.
There is a large dark brown building on the Foleshill Road that has just been given the go-ahead to be converted to flats. Many Coventrians will remember it as the Challenge Cycle works or The O’Brien factory. But for us music lovers, it was more known as central command of Parrot amplifiers.
Parrot amplifiers, manufactured in Coventry, were part of the guitar amp elite in the 1970s.
Parrot Amplifiers were a top seller in Seventies, a cheap alternative to the big names and by all accounts somewhat less reliable but the amp is fondly remembered. It was unique in having removable speaker grills (like many a Hi-Fi speaker) and by using a field-effect transistor that gave it warm tones reminiscent of a valve amplifier.
The parent company Electronicon Ltd was run by John Woodhead who also had the Sound Centre in Clay Lane. The company also made electronic circuits for electric vehicles (milk floats).
Then, without warning, the Parrot was no more – it had ceased to be. A few years ago, the Coventry Music Museum was close to acquiring an original Parrot amp, but sadly we never got it. But if anyone out there has a working or non-working Parrot amp, we would love to add it to our display.
Masks
I recall a few years ago buying a facemask for a laugh while on holiday in Tokyo, never thinking that one day I would have cause to actually use it. Nowadays, this ubiquitous item is moving beyond a thing of safety, as many people are using it as a fashion item.
One company that has excelled in the custom mask design department is M & T, Printed Gifts and Merchandise. A long-time friend and supplier to the 2-Tone Village, their masks have been so successful that expansion is on the horizon.
Owner Michael Templeman said: “As face masks become compulsory in Scotland, orders are getting busier and busier.
“I already have a brilliant customer base with my friends over the world and a growing customer base in the USA and Canada plus Europe. I don’t have enough hands!”
City of Culture
Great call from Coventry City of Culture Trust to start our year in May 2021 and end in May 2022. It makes perfect sense, and will give all our amazing creatives some breathing space in the wake of Covid-19.
So many great people have some amazing ideas to help put our fine city on the world stage. I think it will be worth the wait.
Pete Chambers BEM
