Celebrating Black British Music - secondary assembly

Educational calendar > Black History Month - Teaching Resources

Aim

To celebrate the work of black British music makers, spanning the period of 1900 to the present day. To explore how black British music moves alongside and within British history.

This video was produced in collaboration with V&A East Museum.

This resource celebrates the work of black British music makers, spanning the period of 1900 to the present day. Along the way we explore how black British music moves alongside and within British history.

This video begins with an exploration of the racial and cultural roots of the composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912). Coleridge-Taylor was born in London to an English mother and a father from Sierra Leone. He studied at the Royal College of Music from the age of 15 and became a professional musician.

Today he is little-known and often overlooked. But, in his own time at around the turn of the nineteenth century, he was one of the most popular composers in the country. His musical setting of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem 'Hiawatha' was an annual sell-out at the Royal Albert Hall.

Jazz took off in Britain immediately after World War I with a tour by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1919. Both Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington subsequently played concerts in the UK.

World War Two ended in 1945, with victory won at huge cost. Additional labour was needed to help rebuild the nation and a new law - the British Nationality Act of 1948 - eased migration to the UK from colonial countries around the world.

The Empire Windrush arrived at Tilbury Docks in 1948. On board were a number of musicians from the Caribbean - notably the calypso singer Aldwyn Roberts (1922-2000), who used the stage name Lord Kitchener. He quickly became a regular performer on the BBC and remained an important figure for the expatriate Caribbean communities in the UK.

Another star of the era was pianist Winifred Atwell (c 1910-1983). Atwell was born in Trinidad and travelled to the UK in 1945, where she completed her studies at the Royal Academy of Music. Her 1954 hit 'Let's Have Another Party' made her the first black artist to reach No 1 in the UK singles chart. Atwell's famous piano was bought from a junk shop, but subsequently toured all over the world with her.

Music by black artists was becoming increasingly popular in the UK but many black people were subjected to racism in their everyday lives: accommodation could be hard to find - with landlords often discriminating against people of colour - and bars and restaurants frequently barred entry. The discrimination fostered the rise of 'Blues parties' - private house parties - a central feature of which would be homemade sound systems. With the establishment of the Notting Hill Carnival in the mid-1960s, sound system culture moved outdoors and hit the streets.

Many of the most popular black artists in Britain at the time - for example, Bob Marley - were not actually from Britain. But a new generation of black British musicians began to explore what it meant to be both 'black' and 'British' and in the 1970s a new genre - Lovers Rock - originated entirely in the UK. In 1979 Janet Kay's single 'Silly Games' reached Number 2 in the charts and became the first Lovers Rock tune on the BBC's flagship music programme Top of the Pops.

Throughout the 1980s home-grown British talent continued to have a huge impact - artists such as Imagination, Omar, Billy Ocean, Sade, Soul II Soul. Then, in the early 1990s, the development and availability of new technologies led to new techniques - such as sampling - and a new genre, Jungle, was born…then UK Garage, Drum & Bass, Grime…

Goldie was an early pioneer of the new techniques, combining elements of Jungle with Drum & Bass in a sound that took music beyond the dance floor. The MOBO (Music Of Black Origin) Awards began in 1996 and Goldie was the very first winner of the 'Best Album' category.

In the early 2000s So Solid Crew transitioned from UK Garage and laid the foundations for Grime - a gritty new urban sound featuring fast-paced rapping. 'Pirate' radio stations helped to spread the new sound. Later, the internet - combined with widely available, inexpensive software - made it possible for artists to literally 'DIY' their own music.

Grime is considered a genre which moved black British music from the margins to the mainstream - where it has stayed. In 2019 Stormzy headlined at Glastonbury Festival, the first black solo artist to headline the festival in its history. It was a performance celebrating a culture and creativity which is both black and British.

Possible discussion points before the video

You could display the poster of quotations about what makes a good song. Then:

• How important is music to you?
• Why do we like some songs, but not others?
• Is it easy to put into words why we like a particular song?
• What in your opinion is the essence of a good song - a song that 'works'? Show the poster of quotations about good songwriting. What do students think of the various quotations? Do they agree with all of them?
• What do students understand the term 'black British music' to mean? (In the video music journalist Kevin Le Gendre defines black British music as 'basically the music that’s been created by communities of African and Caribbean heritage and then their children as well, the subsequent generations, once they put down roots in Britain'.)
• Can students name any music genres that they regard as 'black and British'?Explain that the video focuses on the contribution of black artists and musicians to British music, beginning at around the year 1900. It is voiced by Kaylee Golding of Radio 1Xtra and features interviews with four experts in black British music. The duration is 5' 46" and the final words are: '…It's the real deal!'

Possible discussion points after watching the video

• Can you name any artists whose lyrics you feel are particularly powerful? What do you like about them?
• Linett Kamala closes the video by saying 'It's authentic - it's the real deal!' What do students think she means by that.
• Why does music evolve? What drives changes in music? Why do new genres emerge?
• The video charts the journey of black British music from 'the margins to the mainstream'. Why do students think that journey has taken such a long time?

• The Music is Black - Parts 1-3 - Three short videos for secondary schools exploring the history of black British music in more detail.
• The Music is Black - Content curated from across the BBC celebrating black British music.
• Popular Music Styles - A Bitesize guide for students on popular music styles, including Jazz, Reggae and Rap.
• West Indian Community during the 1960s, 70s and 80s - Bitesize for Teachers resources exploring the lives of London's West Indian community during the 1960s, 70s and 80s, produced alongside the BBC One Small Axe films directed by Oscar winner Steve McQueen.
• Samuel Coleridge-Taylor: 'Nonet in F minor' - Performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.
• V&A East - These videos have been produced in collaboration with V&A East Museum.

Educational calendar > Black History Month - Teaching Resources