Watkins Electric Music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Watkins Electric Music (WEM) is a British company known for manufacturing guitar, bass and PA amplifiers and the CopyCat tape echo machine. The company was founded in 1949, initially as a record shop in Tooting Market, London, by Charlie Watkins and his brother Reg Watkins. Two years later the brothers moved to a small shop in Balham, London and began selling guitars and accordions.

In 1967-1968 The Who used the WEM (Watkins Electric Music) Audiomaster five-channel mixer and multiple WEM 100-watt transistor PA amplifiers chained together as their sound system. [1] In the concert movie Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (1972), the band is shown using WEM PA equipment as it performs in the ruins of an ancient ampitheatre in Pompeii, Italy.


The company still exists in 2007, focusing on accordions and a new version of the CopyCat tape echo units. It is still run by Charlie Watkins, 58 years after founding the company.

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Who PA and foldback

[edit] External links