Download uk topic #19: music

UK TOPIC #19: MUSIC
Listening to music is, like in most places, a very common leisure time activity in the UK. Popular music dominates;
only a minority of people listen to classical, or "serious" music. Few classical musicians, whether British or foreign,
become famous to the general public. When they do, it is usually because of circumstances which have nothing to
do with their music. For example, the Italian tenor Pavarotti became famous in the UK when the BBC used his
singing to introduce the 1990 football World Cup on TV.
Despite this, thousands of British people are amateur musicians, and many public libraries have a very good music
section. Several British orchestras, soloists, choirs, opera and ballet companies have international reputations.
The UK is the world's second largest exporter of music, after the USA. Sales of music in the UK account for
about 10 per cent of all units (singles, albums, and videos) sold across the globe. Sales of digital music are also
showing rapid growth, as downloading music becomes increasingly popular. The top download markets are the
USA, the UK, France and Germany.
A brief music history
1) Thanks to writers such as Shakespeare, Britain had already built a reputation for its literature in the 1500s.
Regarding music, though, other European countries had more famous composers than Britain. There was lots of
folk music, but little "serious" music in the British Isles.
Henry Purcell (1659-1695) is the most famous English composer of the Baroque period. The Baroque was a highly
decorated style of art that began in Italy and was fashionable in the 17th and 18th centuries. Purcell wrote
songs, and church and theatre music. His Dido and Aeneas is considered the first English opera.
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759), another famous Baroque composer, was born in Germany but spent most of
his life in England. Because of this, he became known as an English composer. His best-known works are the
Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks.
2) The next major period of British music was the late 1800s/early 1900s, a period which coincided with the
height of the British Empire. The classical music of this period can be described as patriotic in two ways: it
celebrates both the green and pleasant English countryside, with its misty lansdcapes, and also the increasing
importance of the British colonies. The music often used English folk music as a source of inspiration.
Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934) is the best-known composer from this period. His Enigma Variations are played at
concert halls all over the world, and the Pomp and Circumstance Marches include the inspiring anthem "Land of
Hope and Glory". Every September this piece is played at the Royal Albert Hall in London during the joyful,
patriotic Last Night of the Proms concert.
Vaughan Williams and Britten are probably the most famous British 20th century composers.
3) Britain has had a huge impact on popular music, considering the country's size. This is partly due to its
linguistic and cultural links with many countries, but is also because of an ability to invent and mix together
different musical styles. This has led to the growth of many of the major trends in popular music. Some of the
genres developed by British musicians include: blues rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, punk rock, electric folk,
folk punk, acid jazz, drum and bass, grime and Britpop.
Left to right: The Fab Four;
Jamie Reid's "God Save the Queen" sleeve, named the greatest record cover of all time by Q magazine ;
Coldplay, probably the most commercially successful British Rock act of the 2000s; Annie Lennox, of The Eurythmics
4) Before the 1960s, much popular music consisted of traditional entertainment like listening to brass bands, and
going to music halls where dance bands played jazz-influenced songs. In the mid-1950s, teenagers started to be
taken seriously and American rock and roll was born. This social change had a huge influence on Britain too, and
British forms of rock began to appear - so-called "beat music". The breakthrough, as most people surely know,
came with The Beatles.
Love Me Do was the first of a number of worldwide hits that would make John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Ringo Starr the most successful pop group of all time. Not only was their style of singing new and
exciting, but their haircuts - "Beatle mops" - became the latest fashion, and their sense of humour was
irresistable. During the 1960s the Beatles were always in the news headlines. Lennon once said that the Beatles
were "more popular than Jesus now". This caused hundreds of young Americans to burn their Beatles records. In
1966, the Beatles stopped performing in public and concentrated on experimental studio techniques. They
introduced all kinds of unusual instruments on their records and combined popular and classical styles in a new
and original way.
5) The other British bands making up the "big three" of the 1960s were The Rolling Stones and The Who. Bluesrock was pioneered in Britain by the band Cream, who are sometimes known as the world's first supergroup. The
musicians' revolution in behaviour and appearance (long hair for guys, mini-skirts for girls) shocked the older
generation. Young people rebelled against the traditional values and conventions of British society. Because of the
greater equality that the UK had experienced since 1945, many more working class kids than before had the
chance to buy instruments and become musicians.
6) The experimentation that the Beatles started was continued in the 1970s by big progressive rock bands such
as Pink Floyd, Yes, and Genesis. These often used synthesizers as well as traditional rock instruments in order
to create a colourful, symphonic mix of rock, classical, and jazz or folk elements. Pioneers of hard rock also
started in the UK in the 1970s and became hugely popular - Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, and Black Sabbath. The
70s was also the time of singer-songwriters such as Sir Elton John and Rod Stewart. David Bowie became
successful as a ’one of a kind’ artist. Later in the decade, a reaction came against the "sophistication" and
comfort of 70s music in the form of punk. Bands such as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Stranglers made
raw music that rebelled against the British establishment.
7) Heavy metal, developing from the previous hard rock trend, became very popular in the 1980s, but so did new
kinds of music such as reggae, world music and acid jazz. Many synth pop groups had hits with the new
technology they were using. There were also a large number of poprock bands, like Depeche Mode and Dire
Straits, which became successful partly due to the founding of MTV and its music videos. Some of them, like The
Cure and The Police, were clearly influenced by punk, and these were labelled New Wave. By the end of the
decade, House and Hip Hop were beginning to become popular.
8) In the 1990s, while the singles charts were dominated by boy bands and girl groups like Westlife and the
Spice Girls, British soul and Indian-based music also enjoyed its greatest level of success to date. The rise of
World Music helped bring back the popularity of folk music. Electronic rock bands like The Prodigy and
Chemical Brothers began to achieve a high profile. Alternative rock reached the mainstream, emerging from the
Manchester scene and leading to the commercial success of Britpop bands like Oasis, Pulp and Blur. This musical
form created the basis of a larger British cultural movement called Cool Britannia!
9) At the beginning of the new millennium, while talent show contestants were one of the major forces in pop
music, British soul extended its high profile with figures like Amy Winehouse. A new group of
singer/songwriters, including KT Tunstall and James Blunt, achieved international success. New forms of dance
music emerged, combining hip hop with garage to form grime. There was also a revival of garage rock and post
punk, which when mixed with electronic music produced new rave.
Oxford Guide to British and American Culture + BBC + JG