The soundtrack of my life

Jeff Beck had no equal for the joyous, headstrong energy and beguiling subtlety he brought to his playing. When he died suddenly in January of 2023, he left behind the lightning rods through which his electrifying talent passed – an eclectic collection of guitars, many of which are as heavily customised as the hot-rod cars that were Beck’s other ruling passion. Almost exactly two years after his passing, these legendary instruments are now set to go under the hammer in London. We join the experts from Christie’s auction house on the eve of the sale to take a closer look at ‘Oxblood’ and other historic instruments from Jeff ’s career – and discuss the portrait they paint of a pragmatic, restless yet peerlessly gifted ta lent and his musical legacy

A 20-PAGE CELEBRATION

No-shows, bomb scares, police intervention… GN’R’s Use Your Illusion tour was one of the most volatile to have ever hit Europe, and one that remained shrouded in mystery. Hammer ’s sister mag, Classic Rock , tracked down the people who were there to get the full inside story

After INXS’s first four albums, the band were ready to step up – but they were acutely aware that nobody knew quite what to make of them. They’d had one Top 30 hit in the US, 1982’s The One Thing, and

THIS FEBRUARY 23, George Harrison would’ve turned 82. But, as is often the case, the universe had a different plan in mind, and — instead — the former Beatle left us at age 58 way back in 2001. But de

For SMALL FACES , 1968 was a year of extremes, from hit singles and a career-defining album to a final, onstage bust-up. But while the bonds between them were strained by internal tensions and external dramas, the music they made in their last months together pointed tantalisingly in bold new directions. As an expanded version of their posthumous The Autumn Stone set reveals fresh treasures, Rob Hughes discovers what really transpired during the band’s final, tumultuous 12 months. “We were splitting up,” says Kenney Jones. “But we sounded so great.”