Customer Reviews

Hamburg -- The Cradle of British Rock

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These comments are somewhat late inasmuch as the book has been published for quite a few years now. I have read a couple of other books by Alan Clayson, and although he is not quite my favourite writer as far as the music genre is concerned, the black cover and subject matter of 'Hamburg' had an immediate appeal. Let me come to what I see as the biggest flaw of the book right away: very poor editing as far as the German references are concerned. A book that was written about a very interesting musical period for English bands in Germany - and would subsequently be full of German quotes - was clearly edited by someone with virtually no knowledge of the language. The number of mispellings and careless attitude with the use of idioms, capital letters and 'Umlauts' is atrocious. Maybe the publisher did not want to spend the money on a qualified German-speaking sub-editor, or whoever they used pretended to be fully fluent with the vernacular. Let me assure you, that this is not the case and completely mars what otherwise might have been a much better book.

There is also a distinct feeling that some chapters were written 'in haste' and, again, I feel that there was no strict editorial process in place.

I think the problem with Alan Clayson is that he has written far too many books in too short a space of time.

Would I recommend Hamburt to other readers? Yes, because it covers a unique period and place in music. Readers should simply be aware that the local flavour of the book has been 'neutered' because of poor editing and/or research of what is an integral part of the book, regardless as to whether readers understand German or not.

This is a great book about the early years of rock 'n' roll where our heroes (Tony Sheridan, The Beatles, Ritchie Blackmore, et al) started out. Interesting background on the bands, the clubs, the music and other goings-on.