Letter: Decline of British popular music
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A clue as to why the British music business (export division) may be biting the dust (Section II, 23 February) can be found in James Robertson's article 'Night fever' on the same day (Going Out).
Mr Robertson correctly identifies the continued success of the disco as being founded on simple criteria: 'The predictability of these venues contributes to their overall success; they are uncomplicated and they have no aspiration to enhance the musical education of their customers.'
Britain has become a nation of consumers and not producers. This is observable throughout British cultural and industrial life. In being so, as Paul Weller has said in 'Going Underground', 'The public wants what the public gets.'
The most marked feature of the current low-point in British representation in the Billboard charts is the fact there have been so few acts involved since 1989. As Jim White points out: 'The trend for techno music is, a few clubs in New York notwithstanding, virtually ignored west of Cork.' Why is it that we have not got the message?
The reasons are clear. First, the US has become deeply unhip to the eyes of the British music business, especially in its country music manifestation. Second, the British music industry in its search for a generic marketable musical form has betrayed the British heritage of diversity and regional eclecticism. Looking at our great successes in the US in the past, they are all distinctively English. It was said that the Beatles sold R&B back to the Americans. That is nonsense, they sold an entirely different world-view, something that the Americans didn't have, and something they wanted. They also wrote great songs.
Too many people are consuming the packaging of our current musical offerings and failing to look at the product inside, which is naff. We should all pay more attention to the Quincy Jones story when he says that as a young musician, he just wanted to be good, after that he wanted to earn a living. We should support the emergent talent of the future and realise that if we don't we will end up as un- hip as those we would seek to denigrate.
Yours sincerely,
GERALD MURPHY
Northern Song Project
The Royal Institution
Liverpool
24 February
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments