Ghost Town by The Specials tells a story of deprivation, unemployment and depression – not as dystopia, but as the reality of 1980s Britain.

The _ga cookie, installed by Google Analytics, calculates visitor, session and campaign data and also keeps track of site usage for the site's analytics report. This unique book for teens and adults provides a musical history of Modern Black Britain in 28 songs. The line that really sticks with me from Jeffery’s intro is: “Music can carry the stories of history like a message in a bottle. She states honestly that given hindsight now the choices of using drugs such as LSD and promiscuous behaviour created relationship issues and effectively stunted her life choices, not a rosy red look into the past but an honest one. It also acts as a wonderful alternative guide to music and the meaning behind Black music over the past 8 decades.Teachers might develop a unit on this theme, with other songs that rely on accents, or particular narrators, such as Sunshine on Leith by The Proclaimers, Southern Accents by Tom Petty, The Keeper by Show of Hands or Dry Your Eyes by The Streets.

There is a lot of potential to provoke talk, both in the classroom and at home, by using the format developed in this book. Many of the artists could be explored further either in English or PSHE lessons – for example, Eddy Grant: with his songs Electric Avenue (the subject of chapter 9), Police on My Back, , I Don’t Wanna Dance about rejecting class and racial division, and Gimme Hope Jo’anna about apartheid in South Africa. Each song is a jumping off point for deeper social, political and historical analysis, tracking key moments in Black history, and the emotional impact.From Lord Kitchener and Winifred Atwell to Ms Dynamite and Stormzy, Jeffery has shown the strength and cultural significance of Black music. Musical Truth is an insightful book to be read alongside some of the most iconic Black music of all-time.

Facebook sets this cookie to show relevant advertisements to users by tracking user behaviour across the web, on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. The book concludes with a final chapter on the influence and importance of Velazquez’s art on later painters from the time of his own death to the art of recent times including Francisco Goya, Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon and the Impressionists. I would thoroughly recommend for lovers of music and/or history, particularly political and cultural history. I found some of the language and explanations in Musical Truth a little simplistic at times, and therefore I would say the book is perfect for 12-16 year olds.Your access to this site was blocked by Wordfence, a security provider, who protects sites from malicious activity. He now presents public talks on these subjects, as well as appearing on radio, and producing two regular podcast series. The book uses black British music to chart the course of black British history from 1948, and in so doing provides an insightful account of both. The Story of Scottish Art is beautifully illustrated with the diverse artworks that form Scotland’s long tradition of bold creativity: Pictish carved stones and Celtic metalwork; Renaissance palaces and chapels; paintings of Scottish life and landscapes by Horatio McCulloch, David Wilkie and Joan Eardley; designs by master architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh; and collage and sculpture by Pop Art pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi.

Reading David Olusoga’s Black and British last year cemented the personal recognition that my education and knowledge of this country’s history was severely lacking.Jeffrey Boakye is an author, broadcaster, commentator, educator, journalist and teacher with a particular interest in issues surrounding education, race, masculinity and popular culture. It also covers positive changes and reasons for optimism with regards to racism, which helps to give the full picture of what it is like to be black and British.