UK guitar sales at £100m high

Cheap Chinese imports have made guitars more accessible

Sales of guitars in the UK have topped £100m for the first time - indicating the revival in rock music is getting ever stronger.

Nearly one million guitars in total were sold in 2005 - 200,000 more than 2004 and double the number in 1999.

Music Industries Association (MIA), which compiled the figures, said guitars are now better value.

"The popularity of the guitar in the UK is clearly going from strength to strength," said MIA chief Paul McManus.

In total, 470,000 electric and bass guitars were sold in 2005, and 520,000 acoustic guitars.

The MIA said that while there was an 11% rise in sales, the price of guitars had actually decreased because of an influx of cheap guitars from China.

In all, 50% of British male musicians now claim to play the guitar, while there are four million guitar players in the UK.

The sales coincide with a resurgence in guitar-based rock music in recent years, with albums by groups such as Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs all having extended runs in the charts and taking multiple awards.