From UK's No.1 Guitar Empire to Ruins: The Burns London Tragedy

Comments · 252

• KI

  @kitemanmusic · 6 months ago (edited)

  In the early 1960s, my group the Barracudas were sponsored by Burns guitars, which had a shop in Centrepoint Tottenham Court Road.<br>They kindly loaned us instruments, and I had a green painted 12 string guitar. At the London motor show, we did a promotional shoot with an American sports car called the Barracuda, with all the amps and guitars fitting in the tailgate. We didn’t get to keep the car LOL.<br>They also loaned us amplifiers, which as far as I remember where the first transistor amplifiers on the market. I remember now, we actually bought the amplifiers! I had a 2×12 amp and a larger amp. I think a 3 x 12“ speakers.<br>I can vouch for the sound, which was loud but not lovely. They did not overdrive well compared with valves.<br>I did visit The Burns factory in Romford around 1965

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• HE

  @HeadfortheHillsFG · 6 months ago (edited)

  My first job when I left school was working for Jim in his South Shields factory, making the Flyte. Jim was a real character. he loved playing his guitar in the afternoon before sending me out to buy him a bottle of Dry Blackthorn Cider at lunchtime 🙂. He was always producing ideas for new designs. The street where the factory was has been demolished but his old house is still there &nbsp;15 Mowbray Road. A clever and kind man ! RIP Jim

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• MA

  @marmadukewinterbotham2599 · 5 months ago

  Excellent video, thanks. &nbsp;I can still remember entering the Rice Krispies competition in the early 60s (here in the UK). &nbsp;Sadly, I didn&apos;t win. &nbsp;A few years later I entered a competition in the magazine &apos;Beat Instrumental&apos; and did win! &nbsp;I had to travel to London to a music shop for the presentation by Hank Marvin, no less! &nbsp;Happy days. &nbsp;I&apos;m now 77 and still playing.

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• LI

  @likeakite · 6 months ago

  My brother worked at the Fender Soundhouse in Tottenham Court Road in the 1970&apos;s. He was 12 years older than me and knew Jim Burns fairly well. One night, my brother and I were drinking in a pub in Greenwich when my brother introduced me to Jim Burns. I was rather awestruck and offered to buy him a drink. He declined, saying, &quot;You don&apos;t want to drink with me, I&apos;m an alcoholic. I&apos;ll lead you into bad ways. &quot; I&apos;m 68 years of age now, and I still remember that. My brother and I felt incredibly sad.

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• BO

  @BorderTerrier-yk2hw · 5 months ago (edited)

  I remember seeing a Burns Bison hanging in an Edinburgh music shop in 1963: great memories, thank you.

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• TH

  @theislander-sj1kq · 5 months ago

  In 1965 my friends brother went and worked in New Zealand for 4 months and came back with a Burns guitar for my friend. Don&apos;t remember the model but it had 3 pick ups.

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• SI

  @sidewaysid · 6 months ago

  I was working away from home installing machinery with some other fella&apos;s, we were stopping in Ely, Cambridgeshire and used to drink in a pub named the White Hart, there was an oldish bloke who stayed at the pub, I got to talk to him, it was Jim Burns, he showed me small pocket books with all his guitar designs on, he explained that the company had paid him off on a yearly salary, my mates had no idea who he was but I did. One Sunday the landlord took all of us to his farmhouse for a piss up, the landlord had a son who owned a really smashed up Burns guitar, Jim took it away to the factory, when he brought it back it was just like new. Everything was replaced, Jim used to play it like a pedal steel flat on his lap. Happy memories.

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• SW

  @SwanSycorax · 6 months ago

  This video started so well but as it progresses the images just don&apos;t match the voiceover. &nbsp;I played Burns guitars (amongst many others) throughout my playing career (1963 - 2023) starting with the Vibra Artist in the mid &apos;60s and finishing with a Barry Gibson produced Burns Marvin. &nbsp;Over the years i owned and played several Black Bisons (and a white one), a Vibraslim, several Marvins and Double Sixes. &nbsp;I have always had a very soft spot for Burns guitars and it was tragic how they were ruined by the Baldwin take over. &nbsp;I wish more care had been taken in the production of this video to match the video / stills to the story.

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• GR

  @grahamwoodier5066 · 6 months ago

  I persuaded my Mum to buy me a second-hand Burns Nu-Sonic in 1969 when I was 15 years old. The instrument had been made in 1964 and was therefore a pre-Baldwin effort. It still hangs on my office wall and I do play it occasionally. Not really a great guitar but I do love it. 😀

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• WI

  @williamwordsworth8284 · 5 months ago

  Add Cadburys to the list of British companies who’s product was ruined by foreign take-over

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• AR

  @arthurnewman382 · 6 months ago

  I worked for Jim for a few years 1965 to 1967.<br><br>I remember all those people mentioned in this video.<br><br>Jim was a lovely man (when sober!).<br><br>I worked at the factory, the coating plant down the road, Buckhurst Hill sales warehouse and in the shop in Tottenham Court Road.<br><br>I remember Hank and Bruce coming in from time to time to try out modifications. We never made 30 prototypes. It was the same half dozen instruments that we just kept updating. The guys were very patient. It was all about getting that tremelo right to stay in tune. We cracked it in the end but it was too expensive to produce!!<br><br>Those old pickups were so good because they were all hand made. The number of turns was hit and miss, so they all sounded differently.<br><br>I can recall other &quot;celebs&quot; turning up. Troggs and the Searchers amongst them.<br><br>We did make some real quality instruments. Unfortunately we also made some real crap.<br><br>I did enjoy working there. Jim took me for a spin in his Lagonda once. Felt like royalty

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• RE

  @restojon1 · 6 months ago

  I played and worked on many classic Burns guitars when I worked in a London guitar shop back in the 90&apos;s, very unique instruments and always interesting approaches to solving problems.

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