This first academic collectionĀ dedicated to popular music in Leeds -Ā developed from the work of interdisciplinary scholars, drawn from a major public museumĀ exhibition "Sounds of Our City" and built uponĀ contemporary research. Leeds has rich musicalĀ histories and heritage, a long tradition of vibrantĀ music venues, nightclubs, dance halls, pubs andĀ other sites of musical entertainment.
The city hasĀ spawned crooners, folk singers, punks, post-Ā punks, Goths, DJs, popstars, rappers and indieĀ rockers, yet ā with a few exceptions - Leeds hasĀ not been studied for its scenes in ways that other UK cities have. In ways that the chapters explore,Ā Leeds' popular music exemplifies and informsĀ understandings of broader cultural and urbanĀ changes ā both in Britain and across wider globalĀ contexts ā of the social and historical significanceĀ of music as mass media; music and migration;Ā music, racialisation and social equity; industrialĀ decline, de-industrialisation, neoliberalism and theĀ rise of the 24-hour city. Charting moments of starkĀ musical politicisation and de-politicisation, whileĀ concomitantly tracing arguments aboutĀ "heritagising" popular music within discussionsĀ about music's "place" in museums and in theĀ urban economy, this book contributes to debatesĀ about why music matters, has mattered, andĀ continues to matter in Leeds, and beyond.
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