“The director said, ‘Fine, why don’t you just mime in that case?’ So we did – and air guitar was born”: Have the origins of air guitar finally been found? Unearthed footage contests the Joe Cocker at Woodstock ’69 theory

A black-and-white photo from the '80s of three heavy metal fans in full hesher garb, bullet belts, the lot, all playing air guitar in the street.

It matters not if your jam is math-rock, lo-fi indie, hyper-shred metal guitar or sports jacket and jeans yacht rock – air guitar is the one style that we all play. But where did air guitar start?

Well, it's complicated. As with most great guitar legends, air guitar enjoys a contested history.