British Rock Roadies: Doing sound in the late 1960s

The British live sound industry saw an unprecedented economic and technological boom in the early 1970s. This article argues that a few years prior to that, an equally important shift in live sound occurred, one that involved the appearance of a new actor in the music industry: the roadie. Drawing on archival research and semi-structured interviews with British road crews active in the late 1960s, this article focuses on their practices and puts roadies at the centre of live sound development. It begins with a brief historical contextualization of British live sound in the late 1960s. It then explains roadies’ current involvement in the music industry, followed by a description of the genesis of this profession. Third, it focuses on sound-oriented roadies in the late 1960s and identifies key practices on the road, including knowledge exchange and creative uses of technology. I conclude with a few theoretical considerations about live music practices and rock history in general.