Shellac and swing! : a social history of the gramophone in Britain / Bruce Lindsay

Author / Creator

Lindsay, Bruce, author

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Summary

"Shellac and Swing! tells the story of the gramophone's 'golden age' from 1900-1955 when it helped to shape Britain's culture from the arts to warfare. It uses primary evidence, images and intervie...

"Shellac and Swing! tells the story of the gramophone's 'golden age' from 1900-1955 when it helped to shape Britain's culture from the arts to warfare. It uses primary evidence, images and interviews with DJs, fans, musicians and historians to explore this fascinating and often eccentric tale. Each chapter ends with 'On the Record,' a discussion of a record that relates to the chapter's themes. Although the gramophone and its fragile shellac discs were vital to Britain's music scene - opera and music hall, the Jazz Age, the crooners, early rock 'n' roll - its impact was far more extensive. Its place in British history encompasses advertising and design, fraud and piracy, phallic symbols, the threat from radio and television, the contrasting worlds of the Salvation Army and adult 'party' discs, the creation of a parliamentary insult, new political strategies and the seditious activity of the Mau Mau. The gramophone's heyday ended with the rise of rock 'n' roll, teenagers, the 45-rpm single, the LP and the record player, but it survives today as part of a vibrant contemporary music, fashion and lifestyle scene." -- from the publisher.

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