Eddie Cochran Remembered 50 Years On

This Saturday (17 April) marks 50 years since the tragic death of a rock 'n' roll icon - the legendary Eddie Cochran - who died at the age of 21 in a car accident on the A4 near Chippenham following a gig at the Bristol Hippodrome. There will be a celebration at the venue and in London to mark the anniversary.

Despite his young age, Eddie had already staked a reputation as a talented guitarist, singer and songwriter with hits including C'Mon Everybody, Summertime Blues, Somethin' Else, Twenty Flight Rock and the posthumous Number One, Three Steps to Heaven.

We can only wonder what he would have gone on to do but the memory of Eddie Cochran will be celebrated with a special tribute from the hit rock 'n' roll musical Dreamboats And Petticoats, which - coincidentally - is completing its run at the Bristol Hippodrome on Saturday 17 April.

Bill Kenwright, whose production company Bill Kenwright Ltd. is behind the show said:

'"In my mind, Eddie Cochran was one of the five greatest rock 'n' roll influences of all time. We are doing a special segment at the end of Dreamboats and Petticoats this weekend as a tribute to Eddie, which will be performed on stage at the Bristol Hippodrome in exactly the position where he sang his last song before he got into that fateful taxi.''

The tribute will take place at performances on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 April at both the Bristol Hippodrome and at the London Playhouse, where the West End show is based.

Rob Laing
Guitars Editor, MusicRadar

I'm the Guitars Editor for MusicRadar, handling news, reviews, features, tuition, advice for the strings side of the site and everything in between. Before MusicRadar I worked on guitar magazines for 15 years, including Editor of Total Guitar in the UK. When I'm not rejigging pedalboards I'm usually thinking about rejigging pedalboards.