Embarassing dads around the world unite. The air guitar has just become the subject of an academic study. Amanda Griffiths, 32, a dance teacher from north Wales and air guitar enthusiast is to undertake a 60,000-word study of the phenomena at Salford University.
Amanda's supervisor is Sheila Whiteley, the UK's first professor of pop whose pop music department has awarded Peter Gabriel an honorary degree.
Prof Whiteley has also supervised PhDs in moshing, metal, post-anarcho punk, the use of Norweigian folk music on the development of Norweigan Jazz and the sexual politics of the Russia lesbian branded pop band Tatu.
"Air guitar gets extraordinarily serious," says Prof Whiteley. "Over here it's the windmills and dramatic gestures. In Finland they look at how accurate the fingering is." This PhD is going to look at those cultural variations and also why the "sport" is so dominated by men. And it's not just limited to guitar. "You get the odd air drummer and bass player as well," she adds.
Woolies have produced an album of best air guitar hits. There's a US air guitar championships and 4,000 British fans created the world record for simultaneous air guitaring last month. The tune was Guns 'n' Roses's Sweet Child O' Mine just before Status Quo played and the venue the Guidford Festival in Surrey. How apt.
