It was a long tour with a punishing schedule, and the British winter was not something that California-resident Cochran was used to. These included at various times along the tour - Billy Fury, Joe Brown, Georgie Fame, Vince Eager and Johnny Gentle. It was promoted by top pop impresario Larry Parnes and the support acts and musicians were all young UK rock'n'rollers that Parnes had under contract. Two of which - 'Summertime Blues' and 'C'mon Everybody', had been huge hits and today - nearly 50 years on - are regarded as classics of the genre.Įddie had arrived in the UK on 10th January 1960, to join a UK tour with Gene Vincent which had already been on the road since before Christmas. Often described as 'James Dean with a guitar', Eddie Cochran had everything going for him.Ī young, good-looking guy, a hugely talented musician, who as well playing stunning guitar, could also handle bass and drums and most unusually for those times, also wrote his own songs.
Not one, but two genuine American rock'n'roll stars, criss-crossing the UK and even making TV and radio appearances!īy then, the first flush of raw rock'n'roll was long gone, so the sight and sound of Gene and Eddie was an antidote to the blandness of much pop music at that time. They were nothing short of a revelation… Eddie in particular. Martin's Hospital in Bath, came as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash just outside Chippenham, late the night before.Įddie and his great friend Gene Vincent had been touring the UK since mid-January, on a package tour that had created a sensation amongst UK rock n roll fans. But never fear! The Guitar Hero controller has some hidden uses you may not have yet considered.American rock'n'roll star Eddie Cochran died during the afternoon of Easter Sunday 17th April 1960. Meanwhile, Activision canceled development of future Guitar Hero games, leaving gamers across the country with plastic guitars gathering dust in the corner. The addition of another guitar-based music game was too much, and in 2011, Viacom sold Harmonix yet again. While Activision continued to release new Guitar Hero installments, Harmonix produced the similar but more diverse Rock Band series, which expanded the playable-instruments gimmick to include bass, drums, and singing. Original Guitar Hero publisher RedOctane was bought by Activision in 2006, while the game's developer, Harmonix, was purchased by Viacom later that same year. But the guitar-game fad flamed out pretty quickly. Guitar Hero brought us all the glamour of music superstardom without worries like artistic integrity, drug use, or Yoko Ono. There was nothing quite like shredding through classic hits like "I Love Rock N' Roll" or "I Wanna Be Sedated" before turning around and making dinner. The Guitar Hero craze of the late 2000s feels like ancient history now, but at the time, thousands of gamers across the country would come home from school (or work), strap on a fake plastic guitar, and transform into living-room rock Gods.