Michael Brocken, The British Folk Revival, 1944–2002 (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2003), ISBN 0 7546 3281 4 (hb), 0 7546 3282 2 (pb)

Abstract

For those of us who have lived with and through the second British folk music revival, it seems most apt that this important chapter of our lives should merit a serious academic history. We watched and were part of a radical youth movement that grew phenomenally in the late 1950s, burgeoned in the 60s, stumbled and stagnated through the 70s, but recovered its composure to mature in the late 80s; and now, half a century on, the fruits of this movement have become an established and significant part of the nation’s soundscape, as much a part of British culture as brass bands or choral singing. Much work has been and is being done to document every twist and turn of this revival, meticulously noting the key players, the setting up of clubs and festivals, broadcasting and recording developments, and so on; and, understandably, there is a welter of data on which to draw, including key witnesses to consult. One could argue that such histories are primarily of interest to the insider. But Brocken’s study, by contrast, attempts to take the view of the outsider, analysing the political agenda of the ‘revival’s’ architects and assessing its impact in terms of cultural studies as an aspect of popular music – in itself a most laudable enterprise.