quangobaudA SHORT HISTORY OF GUITAR FEEDBACK!
#BBCRadio4 #BBCArtworks
#JohnRobb #MusicDocumentary
2025-09-30 1600-1630
For FUZZ Sake
Artworks
Can a sound effect change the world?
Since the dawn of the electrical age, we’ve lived alongside the sound of distortion. It’s the hiss of
TV static, the harsh crackle of a speaker pushed too loud. However, what happens when this glitch,
a signifier of the broken and the wrong, becomes part of popular music?
Fuzz flung open the door for rule breakers and rebels. It was a sonic weapon that could stimulate
powerful emotions, whip audiences into a frenzy and spark rebellion.
Starting on a highway in 1950s America, music journalist John Robb will follow fuzz through time,
calling on philosophy and science to uncover the secrets of this sound. He will stop off at the
magical moments of accident and destruction that allowed the sound to evolve and spread.
Including a rare demonstration from rock and roll icon Dave Davies on how he crafted the iconic
guitar distortion on You Really Got Me.
Interviews with Jerry Phillips, Toby Young, Dave Davies, Mathilde Massenet, Greg Bryant, Ant
Macari and Matthew Worley
Actors voices provided by Paul Colgate (So Sinatra), Phia Saban and Rob Campbell
Presenter: John Robb
Producer and Sound Designer: Seb Masters
Production Assistant: Tom Waterworth
Production Coordinator: Mica Nepomuceno
Available now
29 minutes
