Syndetics cover image
Image from Syndetics

In perfect harmony : singalong pop in '70s Britain / Will Hodgkinson.

By: Hodgkinson, Will [author.]Publisher: London : Nine Eight Books, 2022Description: 432 pages ; 24 cmContent type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volume001: BDZ0050462581ISBN: 9781788705615 (hbk.) :Subject(s): Popular music -- History and criticism. -- 1971-1980 -- Great Britain | Music | Music | Popular musicDDC classification: 781.66094109047 LOC classification: ML3492Summary: A definitive, in-depth exploration of mainstream, singalong pop in 1970s Britain, from brickie glam to Eurovision, via novelty hits and suburban disco - the alternate history of a shapeshifting musical decade. In 1970, pop was in trouble. The Beatles were no more. Pink Floyd gave up on singles altogether. Led Zeppelin dismissed anything beyond their 'musical statements' as childish frippery. Thankfully, help was on its way. This comprehensive chronicle by music historian Will Hodgkinson explores how an unlikely mix of backroom songwriters, revitalised rockers, actors, producers, teen stars and children turned pop into the dominant sound and vision of the 1970s. While bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were ruling the albums chart, the singles chart was swinging along to the tune of million-selling blockbusters by the likes of Brotherhood of Man, the Sweet and the Wombles. These were the songs you heard on Radio 1, on Saturday-night TV, at youth clubs, down the pub and even emanating from your parents' record player... It was never cool, but it was the real soundtrack of the decade. Against a rainy, smog-filled backdrop of three-day weeks, national strikes, IRA bombings and the Winter of Discontent, this unending stream of novelty songs, sentimental ballads, glam-rock stomps and blatant rip-offs offered escape, uplift, romance and the promise of eternal childhood - all released with one goal in mind: a smash hit. In Perfect Harmony takes the reader on a journey through the most colour-saturated decade in music, examining the core themes and camp spectacle of '70s singalong pop, as well as its reverberations through British culture since. This is the pioneering social history of a musical revolution.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode
Book MAIN LIBRARY Book PRINT 781.6609 HOD (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 114736

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A definitive, in-depth exploration of mainstream singalong pop in 1970s Britain, from brickie glam to Eurovision, via novelty hits and suburban disco - the alternate history of a shapeshifting musical decade.

A definitive, in-depth exploration of mainstream, singalong pop in 1970s Britain, from brickie glam to Eurovision, via novelty hits and suburban disco - the alternate history of a shapeshifting musical decade. In 1970, pop was in trouble. The Beatles were no more. Pink Floyd gave up on singles altogether. Led Zeppelin dismissed anything beyond their 'musical statements' as childish frippery. Thankfully, help was on its way. This comprehensive chronicle by music historian Will Hodgkinson explores how an unlikely mix of backroom songwriters, revitalised rockers, actors, producers, teen stars and children turned pop into the dominant sound and vision of the 1970s. While bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were ruling the albums chart, the singles chart was swinging along to the tune of million-selling blockbusters by the likes of Brotherhood of Man, the Sweet and the Wombles. These were the songs you heard on Radio 1, on Saturday-night TV, at youth clubs, down the pub and even emanating from your parents' record player... It was never cool, but it was the real soundtrack of the decade. Against a rainy, smog-filled backdrop of three-day weeks, national strikes, IRA bombings and the Winter of Discontent, this unending stream of novelty songs, sentimental ballads, glam-rock stomps and blatant rip-offs offered escape, uplift, romance and the promise of eternal childhood - all released with one goal in mind: a smash hit. In Perfect Harmony takes the reader on a journey through the most colour-saturated decade in music, examining the core themes and camp spectacle of '70s singalong pop, as well as its reverberations through British culture since. This is the pioneering social history of a musical revolution.

There are no comments on this title.

to post a comment.

Powered by Koha