The British Folk Revival

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Almost 20 years ago Michael Brocken created from his doctoral research, what became both a seminal and contested volume concerning the social mores surrounding the British Folk Revival up to that point in time: The British Folk Revival 1944–2002. In this long-overdue second edition he revisits not only his own research, but also that of others from the 1990s and early 21st century. He then considers how a discourse of folkloric authenticity emerged in the closing years of the 19th century and how a worrying nationalistic immanence came to surround folk music and dance during the inter-war years. Brocken also proposes that the media: records, radio and TV in post-WWII folk revivalism can offer us important insights into how self-directed learning of the folk guitar emerged. Brocken moves on to consider the business structures of the contemporary folk scene and how relationships are formed between contemporary folk business and the digital and social media spheres. In his penultimate chapter he discusses the masculinisation of folk traditions and asks important questions about how our folk traditions are carried and are authorised. In the final chapter he also considers the rise of an exciting new folk live music built environment. Cover Half Title Series Information Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents 1 The Inherent Morphology of Folklore and Folk Song: A ‘Changing Same’ Revivals: an Introduction Folklore: Uses, Meanings and Values Folk Music Revivalist Binarisms in the UK USA: Non-Binary ‘Poplore’ Morphology My Previous Work Teaching Folk Revivalism Problems Mea Culpa This Second Volume Notes 2 A Selective Consideration of Folk Literature in Relation to the First Edition of The British Folk Revival Folk Literature Folk Literature: From ‘Readerly’ to ‘Writerly’ Texts The Seminal, Yet ‘Readerly’ Texts of A.L. (Bert) Lloyd ‘Reading’ The Singing Englishman Folk Song in England Post-structural ‘Writerly’ Texts Histories Summary Notes 3 The Aesthetics and Practicalities of Revivalism: a Conservative-Socialist-Recorded Sound ‘Revolution’? Contexts Early Revivalist Aesthetics Music and Dance Nationalism Expounded: Mannerbund Morphology and Rolf Gardiner Kibbo Kift Kindred Recorded Sound, ‘Otherness’ and the Mediated Acknowledgement of a ‘Folk’ Proletariat [Lack Of] Value? The Workers’ Music Association Summary Notes 4 Folk, Blues and Self-Directed Learning With the Post-WWII Britain Media Guitarists Folk and Blues Mediations Print Media Karl Dallas the Mediator Radio: Key Individuals Frances Line Records Semiotics Transatlantic Self-directed Learning Stefan Grossman: How to Play Blues Guitar (LP and Booklet) Folk and Blues On TV John Pearse: Hold Down a Chord Summary Notes 5 The Business of Folk Labels, Festivals, PR The Resilience of the Folk Music Vinyl and CD Formats Vinyl The Continuance of an Independent Aesthetic: Folk Labels Proper Distribution Navigator Greentrax Recordings: 35 Years and Still Going Strong Birnam (Folk) Promotions and Publicity Folk Music PR Jane Brace PR Folk Music Business: Rose Price and Soundbox Acoustic & Roots, Pre- and Post-Covid Summary Notes 6 New Folk Media in the Social Sphere Folk Music Cyberspace and Learning TikTok and Nathan Evans BBC Local Radio, Internet Radio, and the Folk Scene in 2021 Blues and Roots Radio Summary Notes 7 Gendered Folk Mythologies Gender and My Late 1990s Thesis: Audiences Demarcating the Male Folk Sphere Bob Buckle Versus Ewan MacColl Folk Music Performer (I) Lizzy Hardingham Emily Portman Challenging Historic Traditions: Steph Meskell’s Minerva Arts Cheshire Souling Project 2017 Soul Plays in Cheshire Audio and Oral History Knutsford Summary Notes 8 The Folk Built Environment and the Development of ‘Thirdspace’ Introduction The Popular Music Built Environment City Pubs and Folk Meaning In Support of Fred McCormick and His Folk Club/pub Epiphany 21st-century Folk Performance Places and Spaces i) The Listener: St Mary’s Creative Centre, Chester ii) The Artist: Gerry Ffrench, Bricolage and The Road May Rise iii) The Promoter: Bev Dean and the Lion Salt Works Museum, Northwich Beverley and Ian Summary Notes Bibliography Index