Jim Marshall

Marshall was born in Acton, West London, in 1923, into a family which included boxers and music hall artists. As a child he was diagnosed with tubercular bones, and spent many years in hospital. His formal education suffered as a consequence. During the Second World War he was exempt from military service due to his poor health. He became a singer, and then, due to the shortage of available civilian musicians, doubled as a drummer. In his day job as electrical engineer he built a portable amplification system so his light, crooning vocals could be heard over his drums.

"I was making 10 shillings (£0.50) a night and because it was wartime, we didn't have any petrol for cars, so I would ride my bicycle with a trailer behind it to carry my drum kit and the PA cabinets which I had made! I then left the orchestra to be with a 7 piece band and in 1942 the drummer leader was called into the forces and I took over on drums."

To become more proficient on the drums and to better emulate his idol, Gene Krupa, from 1946 to 1948 Marshall took weekly lessons from Max Abrams. In the 1950s, Marshall became part of the English music scene and started teaching other drummers, including Mitch Mitchell (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Micky Waller (Little Richard) and Mick Underwood (The Outlaws with Ritchie Blackmore). Marshall commented, "I used to teach about 65 pupils a week and what with playing as well, I was earning in the early 1950s somewhere in the region of £5,000 a year (eqv. 2012 to £108,000), which was how I first saved money to go into business."

Jim Marshall donated millions of pounds to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital in Stanmore, London, where he was treated for tuberculosis as a child. Marshall also supported a number of causes in his local community in Milton Keynes, such as Marshall Milton Keynes Athletic Club and Willen Hospice, while also being a supporter of the MK Dons football club. Marshalls were one of the earliest shirt sponsors for Milton Keynes Dons.

Marshall was a member of the Grand Order of Water Rats, serving in office for the charitable entertainment fraternity.

The 400-seat Jim Marshall Auditorium at The Stables Theatre, Wavendon, Milton Keynes is named after him, and celebrates his friendship with Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine, the theatre's founders.