Music for the People

Explores popular music between the wars, the era of Noel Coward and Ivor Novello, Gracie Fields and George Formby. This book tells the story from the days of the jazz mania of the 1920s to the outbreak of WWII. It also examines the popularity of dance halls such as the Hammersmith Palais, concluding with a checklist of the most popular songs.

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Popular music was a powerful and persistent influence in the daily life of millions in interwar Britain, yet these crucial years in the development of the popular music industry have rarely been the subject of detailed investigation. For the first time, here is a comprehensive survey of the British popular music industry and its audience. The book examines the changes to popular music and the industry and their impact on British society and culture from 1918 to 1939. It looks at the businesses involved in the supply of popular music, how the industry organised itself, and who controlled it. It attempts to establish the size of the audience for popular music and to determine who this audience was. Finally, it considers popular music itself - how the music changed, which music was the most popular, and how certain genres were made available to the public.