This book looks at one of the most significant cultural changes in urban Britain over the last 60 years, the influence of Jamaican popular music and culture on the lives of young white people. "Black Culture, White Youth" was one of the first detailed studies of this phenomenon. Out of print for a number of years, this important work is now republished with a revised introduction, a new conclusion and previously unpublished photos. The book offers a snapshot in time of a developing multiculture in a specific regional context, the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands of England. The first half of the book traces the historical development of Jamaican popular music from its origins in African-derived folk forms to the evolution of reggae. The book explores how these traditions were recreated in Britain, and how they came to occupy a central position in black British youth culture in the 1970s and 80s. Subsequent chapters show how reggae was marketed and popularised in particular forms by the entertainment industry, focusing on the role of Island Records with Bob Marley and the Wailers. The book then traces the succession of popular responses to Jamaican music within white youth culture, from the mod and skinhead subcultures, to the movements of punk and Two-tone.

ISBN: 978-1521919033 Bassline Books Author: Simon Jones