Bands with Vox AC100s, part 1 ( A - D )
The pictures below are, naturally, mostly of well-known bands. The surface is therefore barely scratched, as Vox produced around two thousand AC100s in the years 1965 - 1967. And large numbers of those must have been bought by groups that never made the charts, or perhaps never travelled much beyond their patch. Hitting on photos is largely a matter of luck - but things do have a habit of pitching up out of the blue these days (especially on the internet).
THE A-CADS - 1965
A South African band, managed by Liverpudlian Peter Rimmer, on stage in Bloemfontaine in 1965. Picture from this site.
THE ANIMALS - 1965
On stage in Eastern Europe (?), probably at least one AC100, rather than an AC50, in view.
THE ATLANTA VIBRATIONS - 1965
Left, on stage with at least one AC100 and an early large box AC50. Right, on stage at Atlanta Stadium in 1965 opening for the Beatles, some of their own equipment on stage along with that of the Sounds Incorporated, and John and George - three AC100s in total visible. For the Atlanta concert, a superb PA system was laid on for the bands by Baker Audio. The surviving audio recording indicates that the Beatles' performance was far tighter than at other venues where they could hardly make themselves heard.
BADFINGER / THE IVEYS 1967 - 1970
Grabs from video clips (available on YouTube)
THE BEEFEATERS - c. 1965
CHRIS BARBER JAZZ BAND 1967 - 1968
In the late 60s, Chris Barber's Jazz Band went electric with Vox equipment - an AC50 and an AC100, both with a closed back AC30 extension cabinets (2 x 12"). An AC50 with good claim to have been a loan item from Vox to the Barber band survives in the UK, whether it is the one pictured above is unknown.
THE BEACH BOYS late 1966
In the second half of 1966 the Beach Boys evidently had four AC100s - two guitar amps, one bass, and a spare (seen in the centre picture). Left and centre left, the Beach Boys at Cow Palace, San Francisco, 24 July 1966. Centre right, in concert at Hammersmith Odeon, 14 November with an AC100 and two large box AC50s. On the far right, a shot from the Japanese tour in January 1966 - other pictures show the AC100 bass rig.
BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS 1967
On stage in Sweden, in 1967. An AC100 cab in the background, but on the floor an AC50 head. Picture originally posted here. The band are also seen with a thin-edged AC80/100 in 1964 - see the bands 1964 page.
THE BIRDS AND THE BEES 1966/67
A small picture of Mike White of "The Birds and the Bees", a Florida band, with an AC100 on stage behind him. Picture from the limestone lounge.
THE BLUE ROCKETS
"The Blue Rockets", a band from Eygelshoven in the Netherlands, with an AC100 SDL behind.
THE BO STREET RUNNERS - 1964
Winners of the six-band Granada TV competition "Ready, Steady, Win" in September 1964. The first prize was £1000 of equipment and a Decca recording contract; the second prize a Commer van; and the third prize, £250 of clothes (a sizeable amount at the time). For details, see this page. It's just possible to see in the photo that the trolleys have basket shaped tops. The image on the right is of "The Harbour Lights" performing in the contest.
LOS BRAVOS - 1965-1967
Los Bravos (of "Black is Black" fame) with an array of Vox equipment. Left: playing live in 1965/1966. Centre: two 7120 rigs and two AC100s. Right: a Supreme, a Super Foundation bass, and an AC100.
On stage in 1965.
LOS BRINCOS - 1965/1966
A small pic only of the band with three AC100s. A useful history of the group's equipment is available here. Later they had two 7120 sets, one used with a Supreme, the other with an AC100. The bassist had a Super Foundation Bass.
THE BROTHERS GRIM 1965
The Brothers Grim were the first band to be sponsored by Vox in the States. The advert above is from Vox Teen Beat, vol. 1, issue 1. See the page on the Vox Super Beatle and the entry for '9th Street West' in the IMDB. The amp pictured may be serial number 225.
THE BYRDS 1965
The Byrds live on stage at a CBS Sales Conference on 5th July 1965, shortly after "Tambourine Man" went to number one in the U.S. All three guitarists are plugged in. The AC100s must, at this date, be cathode biased (AC80/100s). This is the earliest dateable picture that has come to light so far of an American band using, on stage in the USA, AC100 SDLs that did not belong to the Beatles or any other English band. The amps may have been those used and owned by Paul Revere and the Raiders at the same show - see this page.
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART - 1968
On Cannes beach, 27th January 1968. Two AC100s sit on top of a closed-back 4120 cab, one for the PA (two LS40 cabinets), the other for the bassist. To the right (as seen from the back) an early Supreme. The screengrab is from the end of the clip (7' 12"). It may be that the equipment was set out simply for the promotional event - no further pictures of the band with Vox gear have so far come to light.
THE CHESSMEN, 1966-1967
Left, The Chessmen on stage in 1966. Centre and right, Jimmie Vaughan playing with the band at a private party in 1967. Pictures from the garagehangover site.
THE CHEVELLE V, 1965
A West Texas band, pictured in 1967 with an AC100 and AC50. The second picture, the Junior / Senior prom at Plainsville High, 1967, the AC100 just visible left background - picture from this site.
THE CHEVRONS, 1965
The Chevrons at Wimbledon Palais, August 1965 for the Melody Maker National Beat Contest. Thanks to Gary Songhurst (a member of the band) for permission to post the pictures here.
THE CHOCOLATE WATCH BAND / THE HOGS 1966
On stage 1966/67 with an AC50 and AC100 before the band moved to Thomas Vox solid state Super Beatles. In the last picture, one can see the AC100 probably had a white warning plaque.
CHUCK BERRY
Picture from Getty Images, taken by David Redfern. Chuck on stage on 1st Jan. 1967, location unknown.
CLOUDS 1970
Above left, "Clouds" at Chatelet (Belgium) in 1969. Above right and video, playing on Beat Club in 1970.
THE CREATION 1966
Picture from Getty Images. On stage in Germany, January '66.
LOS DARTS 1965 - 1967
A Venezuelan band. Owned an AC100 SDL, an AC50 with Foundation Bass cab, and two AC100s with 2x15s".
DAVE CLARK FIVE 1964 - 1969
In early 1964 - probably January - the band was issued with four early AC50s (two input, single channel), which are seen in the famous Pathe newsreel footage filmed at the Royal, Tottenham, February 1964. Pictures 2 and 3 are stills, clearly showing that the brown-fronted amps have grilles two and a half diamonds high. The grilles of AC80/100s have three diamonds. Also see the pics on the Vox AC50 website.
A Royal Variety Performance, late 1966, compere David Frost. On stage four 7120 cabs, with four AC100s on top.
On stage in the US (?) c. 1967 (?). The same setup as above: four AC100s sitting on top of 7120 trolleys. One trolley also supports a Vox echo, as mentioned by J. Elyea, Vox Amplifiers, p. 614.
DINO, DESI AND BILLY 1966
Small images from the US Vox promotional brochure - Vox Teen Beat vol. 1 no.3 (1966). But on the right, the group performing with American Super Beatle amps.
Continued on the next page (bands E - J).