ROCK of AGES

YouTube guitar maven Pete Thorn and racing driver James Cole have brought rock's greatest riffs to the stage in their stunning Classic Rock Show, powered by an enviable collection of vintage and custom guitars. We join them to find out how they've nailed the sound of legendary hits from the 70s and beyond - and are having a blast doing it

- Jamie Dickson

"I want it to be loud, a little out of control," says Pete Thorn, in his urbane Los Angeles drawl. "There needs to be some feedback."

Even if you've never watched any of Pete's highly regarded YouTube videos exploring the world of cutting-edge guitar gear, you've almost certainly heard his playing before. He's been a first-call session and sideman for huge acts such as the Eagles, Chris Cornell and Alicia Keys. Now, however, he's reflecting on what it takes to recreate rock's greatest hits on stage without the music becoming too predictable or sanitised. "There's got to be some balls..." agrees James Cole, with refreshing directness.

James is Pete's musical partner in the noble (and reassuringly loud) enterprise that is The Classic Rock Show. A veteran racing driver who has competed in Formula 2 and British Touring Car Championships, James has been the musical director of The Classic Rock Show since 2015. Apart from during the pandemic, the show has been on the road every year since 2012, packing out auditoriums up and down the country. Covering everything from Zeppelin to the Eagles and Van Halen over the course of two majestic sets, the eightstrong band has its work cut out, but, for them, it's all part of the fun.

Today, we've joined James and Pete in Eastbourne on the South Coast, which was once the scene of pitched battles between mods and rockers. They're performing here tonight, but with soundcheck not quite ready to begin, they have a bit of time spare to talk about music and show us some of the beautiful guitars they've brought on tour. To kick things off, we ask them about a challenge that all bands that cover classic material face... how slavishly faithful to the original recordings do you need to be?