The Mayor of London Boris Johnson officially opens the British Music Experience at The O2 in London by rocking out on Slingerland Drums Following a press conference chaired by David Campbell President and CEO of AEG, The Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Chairman of the BME Harvey Goldsmith, The Mayor of London Boris Johnson marked the opening of the British Music Experience by rocking out on a set of Slingerland Drums
The British Music Experience (BME) is a permanent, high-tech, interactive music exhibition situated within the world’s most popular music venue, The O2 in London. Four years in the making the British Music Experience takes over the 22,000 square feet on the top floor of The O2 bubble, The O2’s state of the art exhibition space. A combination of cutting edge audio-visual technology and the most coveted music memorabilia of all time culminate in the creation of one of Britain’s most compelling visitor attractions. The British Music Experience celebrates the greatness and diversity across all genres of British music since the early 1940’s through to today’s popular artists. The British Music Experience enables visitors to trace musical trends through the decades, learn about music’s influence on art, fashion and politics and allow visitors to download music from the extensive BME archive.
For the genuine musical experience members of the public can visit The Gibson Interactive Studio is a fully integrated and exciting addition within the British Music Experience offering visitors an opportunity to play on various Gibson and Epiphone electric guitars, Slingerland drums and Wurlitzer digital pianos. Visitors are given step-by-step video tuition featuring artists such as KT Tunstall, The Magic Numbers and Amy Macdonald’s best known tracks with content supplied by award-winning website Nowplayit.com. The Gibson Interactive Studio also house a vocal booth sponsored by Sennheiser to add to the educational experience. The Gibson Interactive Studio is proudly supported by Gibson Guitar, the world’s leading guitar company and pioneers in music education. ‘The Gibson Interactive Studio is a very important and exciting addition to the British musical landscape and I am proud that Gibson Guitar is playing such an integral part in supporting music education’ said Henry Juszkiewicz Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar.
Adjacent to the Gibson Interactive Studio is the Jam Studio, a dedicated space to support a public and educational program with workshops, lectures, master-classes and concerts. Already the Jam Studio has held two exclusive acoustic sets by The View and new girl band The Saturdays. Following their intimate showcase saw a Q & A with local students and invited press. This is all part of the British Music Experience, providing people the opportunity to watch, listen and learn about the many sectors of the music Industry hosted by industry professionals and artists themselves.
Although predominantly an interactive exhibition, the BME exhibits over 500 key pieces of British music memorabilia these include David Bowie’s Ashes to Ashes clown suit and Ziggy Stardust costume, Noel Gallagher’s Epiphone Union Jack guitar, Keith Richards Gibson Les Paul Custom, T-Rex’s Gibson Flying V, Roger Daltrey’s Woodstock outfit and a vintage Amy Winehouse dress to name a few.
The BME provides visitors with an unprecedented look at all musical genres from Skiffle to Reggae, Rock n’ Roll to Blues, from Punk to Urban with all the information audible and downloadable on the unique smarticket technology. The BME uses RFID technology throughout the exhibition. Traditional tickets are replaced by a Smarticket which allow visitors to activate the interactive elements of the exhibition and also to register further interest in specific BME features. Visitors can then visit www.britishmusicexperience.com to access their free downloads and further information on parts of the exhibition they want to learn more about.
The BME will be administered as a charitable foundation and managed by an independent board of trustees, chaired by Harvey Goldsmith.
Paul Lilley, curator of the project joined the BME from the EMI Group Archive Trust. The executive curator, Bob Santelli, has worked on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles
For more information on The British Music Experience and to book tickets please visit http://www.britishmusicexperience.com/
