Account for the success of pop music in Britain

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        Essay question: Account for the success of pop music in Britain

Pop music is   by the number of sales, plays, etc that the song receives. It is not a particular  or style of music, but simply the most popular for the tracked period of time, and usually targets a wide audience.

To begin with I am going to discuss the history behind pop music from mid 1950’s to the 1970’s.

In the mid-1950s, Britain was still feeling the pain of the war, with food and money shortages, and difficulty still part of daily life. Britain as a country was also in financial trouble, the economy was in bad shape. This was a grey time, and young British people/ British ‘kids’ had no dreams, and they could only copy the images which they saw on television or in the media from the life of kids in America. These young Americans would be driving their own cars, and wearing the latest fashionable clothes. The British youth would watch and hear the latest ‘Rock 'N Roll’ music sounds from the States with artists such as Elvis Presley.

During the 1950’s British children had no a separate youth culture from their parents. The transition between child and adult was nothing huge or spectacular. The way that young people dressed was almost the same as their parents. They were not a separate group with their own values and customs.
British youth culture was small, and was totally dominated by American trends and styles. The British music industry in the 1950’s relied heavily on American music which led to British copies, of American-style music. The music industry was controlled from London but was out of touch with the needs and wants of the youth of Britain. However, even in this atmosphere, a uniquely 'British' musical trend emerged in late 1956-57; this was called 'Skiffle', (a kind of simple folk music played by a small group (friends), mainly with rhythmic accompaniment, usually a washboard to a singing guitarist). This simple style was easy for teenagers to play, just one guitar, and someone who could vaguely keep a rhythm on a washboard. Skiffle was made famous by Glasgow-born Lonnie Donegan. Lonnie was hugely popular and, an inspiration to the musical youth of Britain. There are many famous musicians and groups e.g. Eric Clapton (is an
  , singer,  and . He is one of the most successful musicians of the 20th centuryy) who all say that Lonnie Donegan was a big influence on them.

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Music was different between the South of London compared to the North. In the cities outside of London, especially Liverpool, but also Birmingham, Manchester, and Newcastle had a musical revolution. In Liverpool, a ‘music culture' very different and separate from London was happening. In the North, the kids loved Rhythm 'N’ Blues, and Rock 'N Roll, not the easy listening music that they had in the south. By the early 1960’s northern cities had a large and highly competitive band scene emerging in which hundreds of 'local' bands tried to find and perform the latest imported songs from America. Indeed it ...

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