Each month Rhythm Magazine tracks-down and checks-out vintage gear in order to marvel at a bit of drum-making history.

This time we're looking at one of the most extraordinary stories in British drum-making, which occurred during the 1960s when a line of American-designed Rogers drums were made under licence in the Ajax factory at Edgware, North London.

According to Rogers expert Alan Watt, “The idea came from Rogers USA. Import duties inflated the cost of American products in the early ’60s and Rogers decided to find a UK manufacturer to make its drums over here.

“Ajax was chosen and a team was dispatched from the USA to negotiate the details. The drums were made between 1961 and 1967.” So English Rogers are simply Ajax shells with Rogers fittings. A cosmetic job.