Anyone Can Play Guitar
Directed by Jon Spira
Starring Colin Greenwood, Ed O’Brien, Gaz Coombes, Nick Cope, Mark Cope
Canal Cat Films
Release date: October 9, 2010 (Limited UK)

In the last couple of years there have been a number of music documentaries which have breathed life into what was becoming a tired genre, unleashing new or once forgotten bands and music into the world. Last year’s Anvil!: The Story of Anvil and Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, released earlier this year, were particularly impressive, highlighting a human story full of years of struggle and ultimate joy to the soundtrack of awesome music. Continuing this trend comes Anyone Can Play Guitar, which tells the story of the 30-year history of music in Oxford, England.

English cities have long been synonymous with great music: Liverpool gave rise to The Beatles; Manchester Oasis and the Stone Roses; the East Midlands area is widely considered the “˜home of metal’ thanks to the emergence of Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Judas Priest; London has produced many, many successful musicians and bands. Added to that list is Oxford, a city consistently punching above its weight when it comes to producing great indie rock music.

From the interviews with promoters, musicians, journalists, and venue staff from this small area with lots of old photos and live footage, director Jon Spira keeps Anyone Can Play Guitar interesting and completely honest. I found the interviews fascinating and these people were all hugely interesting. Everyone interviewed is passionate about music and being a part of something which has in one way or another influenced some hugely popular bands. Most have not been heard of outside of Oxford, fewer outside of the UK and fewer still throughout the world. But thanks to the closeness and camaraderie of this community all of those bands can be heard in some way in all of them. They were not trying to copy anyone else, just play the music they love. And for many people, like me, some of these bands defined an era.

Colin Greenwood and Ed O’Brien, both of Radiohead discuss this with a great deal of fondness for their beginnings. A band that started at Oxford’s Jericho Tavern, watched by their mates and contemporaries now effortlessly sell out major venues and headline some of the biggest festivals the world over.

Gaz Coombes of Supergrass, the band once branded the “˜new Monkees’ and were rumoured to have been in line to star in their own sitcom, similarly talks with great affection for the area he grew up and where his musical abilities were honed. Although he admits the early days of the band, around the release of the huge single “˜Alright,’ are a bit of a haze.

Among the stories of success there are tales of horrendously unfortunate timing – The Candyskins, once signed to Geffen, were on their second ascent to the top after crashing and burning the first time. They had a very popular song which was always a guaranteed crowd-pleaser at live shows but was pulled from being released because of the death of Princess Diana. The name of the song? ‘Car Crash”¦’

These people made the scene, they created one because of their love for music. Long before areas of the city became affluent, when they looked like a “˜hippie had emptied his rucksack’ it was the same people who were putting on gigs and putting bands and magazines together. And, maybe, Oxford has become the place it is now and has the character it has now because of these people, a small group of friends who decided to make something happen.

Anyone Can Play Guitar is only on a limited release in the UK for now but check out acpgthemovie.com for more info.