Very Urgent: the 1960s
Thunder in their Hearts - South African Jazz in Britain - Francis Gooding
Francis Gooding [+]
Writer
Francis Gooding is a writer and researcher who has published widely on art, music and film. He worked as author and researcher on the Colonial Film: Images of the British Empire project (colonialfilm.org.uk), and is a member of the British Empire at War Research Group. He is a contributing editor to Critical Quarterly magazine, and is the author of Black Light: Myth and Meaning in Modern Painting (Blackwells, 2009).
Description
This chapter starts off with a look at The Blue Notes -- their background, their south African successes, and their arrival in Europe and at how the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) is beginning to make its presence felt in domestic politics as the British empire dissolves. The British jazz scene in the 1960s is discussed including the significance of clubs such as Ronnie Scotts, the Very Urgent LP and the developing draw of more open music alongside a chronicle of the developing political context including AAM activities on the international front.