1930-1940
This period of time in England was a time full of music that made people want to get down and boogie. At this time, there were a lot of dances happening – whether in dance halls, military bases or in church halls. People wanted to move and lose themselves in the music due to the set of politics in that time. World War II was happening and music was an escape. This lead to the popularity of swing music. It caused people to dance fast and frantic to keep up with it. This was when the boogie-woogoes and the jitterbug became quite popular. For a visual, think about the scene of “A Wonderful Life,” where there was a dance-athon happening. The music was upbeat and quick, girls were being thrown in the air and feet there moving like lightning. Examples of popular music at that time: Benny Goodman, fast and bouncing Orchestra music.In the time in England, the quick-paced music and close dancing caused a lot of dances to be banned, but that still did not stop anyone.
At the same time, a lot of slower and romantic songs were being played and were very popular. Again, this was a result of the state of the world. During World War II, people needed to express their love and listen to songs that would keep hope in their love, as their loved ones headed off to the war. An example of that is “We’ll Meet Again” by Vera Lynn. Listen to it to put yourself in the setting of someone who is seeing their loved one leave for war. |
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1950-1960
Next, we jumped into the 1950-1960s!
This was the beginning of Rock n’ Roll. Elvis Presley and the Beatles began their musical reign at this period in time. Both of them dominated the radio top charts. At this point, I picked some less known songs of our times from the Beatles and Elvis, but there still featured on the top of the charts for multiple weeks in a row. For Elvis, play “Such a Fool was I” which was on the top charts for five weeks in a row. Then, for the Beatles, play “From Me to You.” This was the time of the hippie-generation or the flower power generation. This resulted in hippie music like the Beatles, Beach Boys and the Foundations. |
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1970-1980
Then, there was the decade of glam rock and musicals. Through these years, musicians and performers went to all extremes the best and the brightest show. Singers were eccentric and larger than life. On one website, written by Mandy Barrow, she said that “in the bleak political backdrop, these larger than life British bands and characters brought relief with their platform books, sequins, nail varnish and colourful hair” (Barrow). Some of these famous performers were David Bowie, Queen and Elton John. For this, play the legendary song “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and then “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” by Elton John. For musicals, at this time, Grease and Abba were a huge hit. “You’re The One That I Want” was on the UK top charts for ten weeks in a row!
Later, in the 1980s, hip-hop and rap music became quite the rage. There was a lot of American influence to this decade of music. Musicians like Madonna and Michael Jackson were huge at this time in Britain. For this genre, watch “Funkytown” by Lipps Inc and then “Staying Alive” by the BeeGees, which were all on the top charts in the 80s. 1990 Lastly, British music in the 1990s. The 1990s were a very successful decade for British pop music, also known as Britpop. Their music travelled all over the world. Bands like The Spice Girls, Radio Head and Oasis were on radios across the world. When I was a child, in the 90s, the first huge band and musical phenomena I had experienced was the Spice Girls. I remembered every child in my neighbourhood wearing their accessories and singing the lyrics of their songs. On the UK radio top charts, “Wannabe” was #1 on it for 7 weeks in a row. For this decade, I play songs by all of the musicians mentioned above.
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