UK Songwriting
UK Songwriters, whilst continuing to look to their American counterparts for inspiration, have frequently referred to their own, somewhat more obscure musical heritage for inspiration. Whilst English music has roots in folk, country and blues, as do most contemporary western cultures, a strong seam of what I term 'Music Hall' or Edwardian Vaudeville also runs through the British pop idiom and has done since the 60s. Bands like Madness, whilst originally mining a ska / bluebeat influence, are equally at home within this style or in forays into the musical 'cockney rock' of post-war England. Popularised by the Beatles in their McCartney-led 'When I'm 64' moments, this Music Hall influence filtered through into the mainstream and was also heard in the late 60's output of such major bands as the Kinks and the Who.
This musical genre has continued to this day via bands such as Blur and to some extent Supergrass. Music Hall is a sort of knowing 'nod and wink' amongst fellow Brits to a shared history of cheerful light entertainment that most of us have grown up with: it's the musical equivalent to a cheeky seaside postcard, or a an end-of-the-pier act.
Apart from this influence, bands like XTC were heavily influenced by the more English style of country / folk typified by such bands as Fairport Convention and produced their wonderful 'English Settlement' and 'Skylarking' albums in this genre. Even Prog-rock bands like Genesis took much of their early influence from folk/rock of the same strain.
Newer, thus far undiscovered great UK songwriters, such as Martin Brown, continue writing in an eclectic style, taking a little from American culture and a lot from British musical influences in order to continue the great tradition of three minute pop songs. Martin is currently giving away a free track, 'Shine', taken from his third solo album 'Diamonds' from his website and his music deserves to be heard by a far wider audience.
Bill Jerone is a UK-based writer and lifelong Beatle Fan. Bill is also a massive fan of Martin Brown, a fellow Brit and songwriter singer and musician. Bill has championed Martin's cause for several years and hopes to alert the public to this great talent.
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