Dab solver - Music of Birmingham

Most tools require the use of JavaScript. If you are using Firefox with the NoScript addon, please mark toolserver.org as trusted. See the Help page for details.

Feedback / Report a bug

1 point on this page / 19,509 points earned collectively this month / Disambiguate pages on your watchlist

These religious musicians were also the originators of a transformation of the town's secular music life.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=19}} St Phillips' first organist was [[Barnabas Gunn]], who was also notable as a composer, producing sonatas and solos for [[harpsichord]], [[violin]] and [[cello]], and Two Cantatas and Six Songs of 1736 that included [[George Frederick Handel]] among its subscribers.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=13}} Gunn was also the first to promote concerts in the town, at [[Holte Bridgman's Apollo Gardens]], [[Sawyer's Assembly Rooms]] and the [[Moor Street Theatre]], building a programme that featured leading international musicians from continental Europe, of a standard associated with the [[Three Choirs Festival]] or [[...|Chapel Royal, Windsor]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=14-15}}  [[Michael Broome]] – who was responsible for training the choir at St Phillips from 1733 – also provided music lessons within the town, ran an extensive musical publishing business from [[Colmore Row]], and was himself notable as a composer of [[psalms]] and other church music, works which were at the forefront the use of the  part to carry the tune in [[Psalmody]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=15-18}} Broome was at the centre of an informal grouping of musicians and choristers from St Phillips that met to socialise and rehearse at Cooke's Coffee House, at the junction of Cherry Street and Cannon Street, from the 1730s.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=19, 22}} This was formalised in 1762 into the [[Birmingham Musical and Amicable Society]], the leading musical example of the myriad of private clubs and societies that formed the developing [[public sphere]] of enlightenment Birmingham,{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|p=13}} by [[James Kempson]], another prolific Birmingham publisher of church music,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=22}}7 lines hidden (1350 characters)
The [[music festivals]] that would thrust Victorian Birmingham to the forefront of European musical life had their roots in the private music societies of the [[Midlands Enlightenment]], and in the economic difficulties faced by the town in the years following the end of the [[Seven Years War]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=24}} The first music meeting to be held in Birmingham for a charitable purpose took place on Christmas Day 1766, when [[James Kempson]] organised members of the [[Birmingham Musical and Amicable Society]] to hold a one day festival at [[St. Bartholemew's Chapel, Birmingham|]] to aid "aged and distressed housekeepers" – a tradition that would continue annually until 1838.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=24-25}} The success of this, together with that of a three-day festival of [[oratorio]] held by [[Richard Hobbs]] and [[Capel Bond]] in 1767, led to Kempson's suggestion that large-scale musical performances "upon similar principles to those at St. Bartholemew's" might be used to raise money to support the [[Birmingham General Hospital]], which was then lying half-built for lack of funds.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=25}} This resulted in the first three-day Birmingham Music Meeting, which was held in September 1768. Oratorios were performed at [[...|St Philip's]] and at the [[King Street Theatre]] to a "brilliant and crowded audience" including a "concourse of Nobility and Gentry from this and the neighbouring counties", with an orchestra of 25 conducted by Bond and a chorus of 45 from the Musical and Amicable Society trained by Kempson, raising a total of £200 (the equivalent of £10,000 in late 20th century terms) for the hospital.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=26-27}} A second Music Meeting like that of 1768 was held in 1774 to raise money for the building of  in Whittal Street,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=46}} and with building work on the General Hospital again paused for lack of funds, in 1778 Kempson suggested a similar event be held for the joint benefit of the hospital and [[St Paul's Church, Birmingham|]] in the [[Jewellery Quarter]], where was newly installed as choirmaster.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=46}} Further festivals were held in 1780 and 1784, after which the trustees of the General Hospital resolved to establish the event as the regular [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival]], which would take place every three years with only two interruptions until 1914.{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=23}}
[[File:Theatre Royal, Birmingham in 1780.jpg|thumb|left|The [[...|New Street Theatre]] in 1780]]
The 1778 Festival established the pattern of programming that would be maintained throughout the rest of the century, with a series of [[oratorio]]s dominated by the work of [[Handel]] being presented at St Philip's during the mornings and "Grand Miscellaneous Concerts", with a more varied repertoire including works by composers such as [[Haydn]], [[Purcell]] and [[Abel]], taking place at the New Street Theatre in the evening.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=49-50}} The festival attracted soloists with national or - increasingly - European profiles,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=52}} with performers in the late 18th century including the sopranos [[Charlotte Brent]], [[Gertrud Elisabeth Mara]] and [[Elizabeth Billington]];{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=52-54}} the instrumentalists [[Wilhelm Cramer]], [[Giacobbe Cervetto]], [[John Crosdill]],  and [[Robert Lindley]];{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=63-66}}  and the conductors [[Thomas Greatorex]], [[William Crotch]] and [[Samuel Wesley]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=67-69}} By 1790 the Birmingham Festival had expanded to occupy the [[Royal Hotel, Birmingham|]] as well as the [[...|New Street Theatre]] and St Philip's and had become a major meeting point for the aristocracy of the [[English Midlands]], being attended by the [[...|Earl of Aylesford]], the [[...|Earl of Warwick]], [[...|Viscount Dudley and Ward]], [[Sir Robert Lawley, 5th Baronet|]] and the [[High Sheriff of Warwickshire]] among others.{{sfn|Money|1977|p=85}} Receipts from the festivals increased steadily, and by 1805 the sum donated to the hospital was "by far the largest sum ever raised that way outside the metropolis"{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=24}}17 lines hidden (5396 characters)
== Jazz ==

=== Early jazz ===
[[Jazz]] has been popular in Birmingham since the 1920s,^ref an era when interest in the music within England was otherwise largely confined to [[London]].^ref The [[Birmingham Palais]] was one of the pioneering venues of British jazz and opened in [[Ladywood]] in 1920,^ref hosting early touring bands from the United States such as the [[Frisco Jazz Band]] in 1920,^ref [[Benny Peyton|Benny Peyton’s Jazz Kings]] in 1921,^ref the [[Paramount Six]]^ref and the [[Southern Rag-a-Jazz Orchestra]] in 1922,{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=275}} and [[Bill Shenkman|Bill Shenkman's Buffalo Orchestra]] in 1923.{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=152}} The Palais also maintained its own resident bands that combined notable visiting American musicians such as [[Sidney Bechet]]^ref and [[Emile Christian]]^ref with emerging local musicians who would go on to establish the native [[British jazz]] tradition, such as [[Bill Harty]],{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=166}} ,{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=194}} [[Jack Raine]],{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=290}} and [[Jack Payne]].{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=275}}

=== Contemporary jazz ===

[[File:Andy Hamilton.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Andy Hamilton (saxophonist)|]]]]

Single scrollbar

[[File:ExCathedra-BirminghamTownHall-byJamesAshby-20080301.jpg|right|thumb|[[Birmingham Town Hall]] has been a venue for all forms of Birmingham music since 1834]]
The '''music of Birmingham''' encompasses a wide variety of genres, including [[classical music]], [[popular music]] and [[jazz]].

==Classical music==
===Medieval Music===
Although few records have survived to illustrate the culture of medieval Birmingham, there is evidence to suggest that the town supported a significant culture of religious music throughout the late Middle Ages. [[Chantry|Chantries]] were established in 1330 and 1347 for priests to sing divine mass at the church of [[St Martin in the Bull Ring]],{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=7}} and the [[Guild of the Holy Cross]], established in 1392, funded a further chantry of three priests and an [[organist]],{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|p=6}} who are also likely to have provided secular music for festivities in the Guild's hall on [[New Street, Birmingham|New Street]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=7-9}} Most remarkably the town had an [[Pipe organ|organ builder]] by 1503 – a highly specialist and unusual trade for what was then a medium-sized market town.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=9}} None of these medieval musical institutions survived the [[Reformation]] of the 1530s.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=10}}

Although evidence of music in 16th and 17th century Birmingham is even more scant than for the earlier period, records survive to show the existence of a band of [[minstrels]] in the town in 1609, and at least one [[ballad]] was written in the town to commemorate the [[Battle of Birmingham]] of 1643 during the [[English Civil War]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=10}}

===Music of the early Midlands Enlightenment===
[[File:Birmingham St Phillip's Vit Brit.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham|St Philip's]] illustrated in [[Vitruvius Britannicus]] in 1715]]
Birmingham's economy boomed in the years following the [[Restoration (England)|Restoration of the Monarchy]] in 1660, and over the course of the following century the town's huge growth in size and wealth came to be reflected in the self-conscious awakening of scientific and cultural activity now known as the [[Midlands Enlightenment]].{{sfn|Money|1977|p=81}} The first outward sign of this coming cultural  transformation was the opening of the baroque [[St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham|St Philip's Church]] in 1715, a building of exceptional sophistication for what was still a modestly-sized town.<ref name="Fosterp40">{{Citation|last=Foster|first=Andy|year=2005|title=Birmingham|series=Pevsner Architectural Guides|publication-place=New Haven, CT|publisher=Yale University Press|page=40|isbn=0300107315|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dBRenluov8YC|accessdate=2013-02-19}}</ref> Designed by the local architect [[Thomas Archer]] – the only English architect of his generation to have seen the work of [[Francesco Borromini|Borromini]] in [[Rome]] at first hand<ref name="Fosterp40"  /> – St Philips' architectural pretentions were matched by its musical ambitions: it had a fine organ built by the organ builder Swarbruch, and the church and its organ began to attract gifted musicians to the town.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=12}}

[[File:Barnabas-Gunn---The-Grateful-Lover-(1739).jpg|thumb|upright|left|''The Grateful Lover'' - a 1739 work for voice and flute by [[Barnabas Gunn]]]]
These religious musicians were also the originators of a transformation of the town's secular music life.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=19}} St Phillips' first organist was [[Barnabas Gunn]], who was also notable as a composer, producing sonatas and solos for [[harpsichord]], [[violin]] and [[cello]], and ''Two Cantatas and Six Songs'' of 1736 that included [[George Frederick Handel]] among its subscribers.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=13}} Gunn was also the first to promote concerts in the town, at [[Holte Bridgman's Apollo Gardens]], [[Sawyer's Assembly Rooms]] and the [[Moor Street Theatre]], building a programme that featured leading international musicians from continental Europe, of a standard associated with the [[Three Choirs Festival]] or [[St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle|Chapel Royal, Windsor]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=14-15}}  [[Michael Broome]] – who was responsible for training the choir at St Phillips from 1733 – also provided music lessons within the town, ran an extensive musical publishing business from [[Colmore Row]], and was himself notable as a composer of [[psalms]] and other church music, works which were at the forefront the use of the <<link:0>> part to carry the tune in [[Psalmody]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=15-18}} Broome was at the centre of an informal grouping of musicians and choristers from St Phillips that met to socialise and rehearse at Cooke's Coffee House, at the junction of Cherry Street and Cannon Street, from the 1730s.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=19, 22}} This was formalised in 1762 into the [[Birmingham Musical and Amicable Society]], the leading musical example of the myriad of private clubs and societies that formed the developing [[public sphere]] of enlightenment Birmingham,{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|p=13}} by [[James Kempson]], another prolific Birmingham publisher of church music,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=22}}

By the middle of the 18th century Birmingham was supporting a vigorous and diverse musical calendar. Three day festivals of [[oratorio]], featuring 40 piece orchestras, choirs of 24 singers and nationally-known soloists, are recorded taking place at the town's theatres from the 1740s.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=22-23}} Audiences "in their thousands" attended summer concerts of music by [[George Frideric Handel|Handel]] and [[Thomas Arne|Arne]] from the 1740s at Birmingham's pleasure gardens – principally [[Holte Bridgman's Apollo Gardens]] in [[Deritend]] and [[Vauxhall Gardens]] in [[Duddeston]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=30}} During the winter the tradition of subscription concert series at [[Sawyer's Assembly Rooms]] in Old Square, started by Barnabas Gunn, was continued through the 1760s by [[John Eversman]], his successor as organist at St Philips.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=38}} Ambitious series of concerts also took place at Packwood's in the Cherry Orchard.{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|p=13}} By 1760 it was clear that Birmingham had supplanted [[Lichfield]]'s traditional role as the centre of musical life in the [[English Midlands]].{{sfn|Money|1977|pp=82-83}}

===Later Enlightenment and the birth of the Music Festivals===
[[File:James-Kempson.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[James Kempson]], founder of the [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival|Birmingham Music Festival]]]]
The [[music festivals]] that would thrust Victorian Birmingham to the forefront of European musical life had their roots in the private music societies of the [[Midlands Enlightenment]], and in the economic difficulties faced by the town in the years following the end of the [[Seven Years War]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=24}} The first music meeting to be held in Birmingham for a charitable purpose took place on Christmas Day 1766, when [[James Kempson]] organised members of the [[Birmingham Musical and Amicable Society]] to hold a one day festival at [[St. Bartholemew's Chapel, Birmingham|St. Bartholemew's Chapel]] to aid "aged and distressed housekeepers" – a tradition that would continue annually until 1838.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=24-25}} The success of this, together with that of a three-day festival of [[oratorio]] held by [[Richard Hobbs]] and [[Capel Bond]] in 1767, led to Kempson's suggestion that large-scale musical performances "upon similar principles to those at St. Bartholemew's" might be used to raise money to support the [[Birmingham General Hospital]], which was then lying half-built for lack of funds.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=25}} This resulted in the first three-day Birmingham Music Meeting, which was held in September 1768. Oratorios were performed at [[St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham|St Philip's]] and at the [[King Street Theatre]] to a "brilliant and crowded audience" including a "concourse of Nobility and Gentry from this and the neighbouring counties", with an orchestra of 25 conducted by Bond and a chorus of 45 from the Musical and Amicable Society trained by Kempson, raising a total of £200 (the equivalent of £10,000 in late 20th century terms) for the hospital.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=26-27}} A second Music Meeting like that of 1768 was held in 1774 to raise money for the building of <<link:1>> in Whittal Street,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=46}} and with building work on the General Hospital again paused for lack of funds, in 1778 Kempson suggested a similar event be held for the joint benefit of the hospital and [[St Paul's Church, Birmingham|St Paul's Church]] in the [[Jewellery Quarter]], where was newly installed as choirmaster.{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=46}} Further festivals were held in 1780 and 1784, after which the trustees of the General Hospital resolved to establish the event as the regular [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival]], which would take place every three years with only two interruptions until 1914.{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=23}}
[[File:Theatre Royal, Birmingham in 1780.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Theatre Royal, Birmingham|New Street Theatre]] in 1780]]
The 1778 Festival established the pattern of programming that would be maintained throughout the rest of the century, with a series of [[oratorio]]s dominated by the work of [[Handel]] being presented at St Philip's during the mornings and "Grand Miscellaneous Concerts", with a more varied repertoire including works by composers such as [[Haydn]], [[Purcell]] and [[Abel]], taking place at the New Street Theatre in the evening.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=49-50}} The festival attracted soloists with national or - increasingly - European profiles,{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=52}} with performers in the late 18th century including the sopranos [[Charlotte Brent]], [[Gertrud Elisabeth Mara]] and [[Elizabeth Billington]];{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=52-54}} the instrumentalists [[Wilhelm Cramer]], [[Giacobbe Cervetto]], [[John Crosdill]], <<link:2>> and [[Robert Lindley]];{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=63-66}}  and the conductors [[Thomas Greatorex]], [[William Crotch]] and [[Samuel Wesley]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=67-69}} By 1790 the Birmingham Festival had expanded to occupy the [[Royal Hotel, Birmingham|Royal Hotel]] as well as the [[Theatre Royal, Birmingham|New Street Theatre]] and St Philip's and had become a major meeting point for the aristocracy of the [[English Midlands]], being attended by the [[Heneage Finch, 4th Earl of Aylesford|Earl of Aylesford]], the [[George Greville, 2nd Earl of Warwick|Earl of Warwick]], [[William Ward, 3rd Viscount Dudley and Ward|Viscount Dudley and Ward]], [[Sir Robert Lawley, 5th Baronet|Sir Robert Lawley]] and the [[High Sheriff of Warwickshire]] among others.{{sfn|Money|1977|p=85}} Receipts from the festivals increased steadily, and by 1805 the sum donated to the hospital was "by far the largest sum ever raised that way outside the metropolis"{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=24}}

[[File:John Alcock (1715-1806).jpg|thumb|right|upright|The composer and organist [[John Alcock (organist)|John Alcock]]]]
Away from the festivals the standard of musical performance in Birmingham increased rapidly in the decades following 1760, particularly among the town's own musicians, further reducing the dependence of Birmingham upon older musical centres.{{sfn|Money|1977|p=83}} By 1769 Birmingham was developing its own orchestral resources, with concerts of "vocal and instrumental music" being advertised with "the instrumental by the best performers of the town".{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|pp=17-18}} After 1772 the [[Royal Hotel, Birmingham|Royal Hotel]] in Temple Row formed the  town's main venue for concerts and polite social gatherings, hosting dancing assemblies and subscription concerts by the [[Birmingham Dilettanti Musical Society]] under [[Jeremiah Clarke]].{{sfn|Money|1977|p=83}} These combined after 1788 to provide a year-round programme featuring six grand concerts and balls during the winter months, interspersed with dancing assemblies and complemented by a second series of monthly concerts during the summer.{{sfn|Money|1977|p=83}} Regular [[opera]]s were performed at the [[King Street Theatre]] and from 1778 at the [[Theatre Royal, Birmingham|New Street Theatre]].{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=37}} Highly technical advertisements for concerts in the ''[[Birmingham Gazette]]'' from the 1790s suggest that by then the Birmingham audience was well informed and maintained a high level of musically literacy.{{sfn|Money|1977|pp=83-84}} Notable late 18th century Birmingham [[composers]] included [[John Alcock (organist)|John Alcock]], who wrote numerous religious compositions while organist at [[Sutton Coldfield]],{{sfn|Sutcliffe Smith|1945|p=13}} and [[Joseph Harris (Organist)|Joseph Harris]], who was born in Birmingham and returned as organist of [[St Martin in the Bull Ring]], and is thought to be the composer of the one act pastoral ''Menalcas'',{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=13}} in addition to two books of [[songs]] and six [[Piano quartet|keyboard quartets]] that are notable for giving melodic parts to the strings, and for having slow movements of an unusually ornamental style.<ref>{{Citation|last=Loewenberg|first=Alfred|contribution=Harris, Joseph|contribution-url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/12437|title=Grove Music Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com|accessdate=2013-02-03}}</ref>

===Regency and early Victorian music===
The first half of the 19th century saw the profile of Birmingham's musical culture, and particularly that of the [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival|Birmingham Music Festival]], gradually establish first a national and then an international importance. For all its success, during the 18th century the Birmingham Festival had been primarily a local institution, part of a circuit of provincial festivals that included similar events in [[Liverpool]], [[Chester]], [[Salisbury]] and [[Norwich]].{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=33}} By the 1820s however the Birmingham festival had surpassed not just its previous peers but also the older and more established [[Three Choirs Festival]] in status,{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=39}} and it could be commented that Birmingham had "taken a lead among our numerous provincial festivals ... they give an impulse, and impart a tone and direction, to all other undertakings of a similar kind."{{sfn|Drummond|2011|p=41}} By the middle of the century the Birmingham Festival was well established as one of the leading events in the calendar of [[Western classical music]], leading taste in [[London]] and beyond.{{sfn|Handford|2006|pp=85, 103}} Of the festivals of the 1850s it was later commented that "Undoubtedly these gatherings were the best of their kind in the whole musical world, for not only were the performances unequalled, but the Committee by their generosity offered to the composers of all nations the opportunity of introducing their compositions to the world in a manner of exceptional excellence, thus giving to the town the honour of being the birthplace of some of the greatest works ever composed."{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=106}} By 1852 the American critic [[Lowell Mason]] could write from [[New York]]: "The Birmingham Festival seems to move the whole musical kingdom. It brings together the best talent that can be found, and the works of the greatest masters are performed, under circumstances more advantageous than are elsewhere to be found in the world".{{sfn|Handford|2006|p=108}}

===Later Victorian Music===
The [[Birmingham Triennial Music Festival]] took place from 1784–1912 and was considered the grandest of its kind throughout Britain. Music was written for the festival by [[Felix Mendelssohn|Mendelssohn]], [[Gounod]], [[Arthur Sullivan|Sullivan]], [[Antonín Dvořák|Dvořák]], [[Granville Bantock|Bantock]] and most notably [[Elgar]], who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham.

[[Albert William Ketèlbey]] was born in Alma Street, Aston on 9 August 1875, the son of a teacher at the [[Vittoria School of Art]]. Ketèlbey attended the [[Trinity College of Music]], where he beat the runner-up, [[Gustav Holst]], for a musical scholarship.

[[John Joubert (composer)|John Joubert]], the distinguished composer of choral works, joined the University of Birmingham's Music Department as Senior Lecturer in 1962, retiring in 1986 to concentrate on his music.  During that time he had written the second of his operas and was working on his third, as well as completing a number of orchestral and chamber works. In 1995 the orchestra of Birmingham Composers Forum put on what was only the second UK performance of his Second Symphony, dating from 1970.<ref>["Inspired  by Massacre of Innocents", ''Birmingham Post'', 26 October 1995]</ref>

==Jazz==
===Early jazz===
[[Jazz]] has been popular in Birmingham since the 1920s,<ref>{{cite book|last=Stephens|first=W. B.|editor=Stephens, W. B.|title=The City of Birmingham|url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=104|accessdate=2013-01-20|series=The Victoria History Of The County Of Warwick|year=1964|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|pages=209–222|chapter=Social History before 1815|chapterurl=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22966}}</ref> an era when interest in the music within England was otherwise largely confined to [[London]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Collier|first=James Lincoln|year=1983|title=Louis Armstrong, an American genius|publication-place=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=250|isbn=0195033779}}</ref> The [[Birmingham Palais]] was one of the pioneering venues of British jazz and opened in [[Ladywood]] in 1920,<ref name="Grove">{{Citation|title=The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz|edition=2nd|publication-place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford Music Online|contribution=Nightclubs and other venues|contribution-url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/J330000pg11|editor-last=Kernfeld|editor-first=Barry|url=http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com|accessdate=2013-01-20}}</ref> hosting early touring bands from the United States such as the [[Frisco Jazz Band]] in 1920,<ref name="Grove" /> [[Benny Peyton|Benny Peyton’s Jazz Kings]] in 1921,<ref name="Grove" /> the [[Paramount Six]]<ref name="Grove" /> and the [[Southern Rag-a-Jazz Orchestra]] in 1922,{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=275}} and [[Bill Shenkman|Bill Shenkman's Buffalo Orchestra]] in 1923.{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=152}} The Palais also maintained its own resident bands that combined notable visiting American musicians such as [[Sidney Bechet]]<ref name="Grove" /> and [[Emile Christian]]<ref name="Grove" /> with emerging local musicians who would go on to establish the native [[British jazz]] tradition, such as [[Bill Harty]],{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=166}} <<link:3>>,{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=194}} [[Jack Raine]],{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=290}} and [[Jack Payne]].{{sfn|Chilton|2004|p=275}}

===Contemporary jazz===
[[File:Andy Hamilton.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[Andy Hamilton (saxophonist)|Andy Hamilton]]]]
The [http://www.harmonicfestival.co.uk Harmonic Festival], the [http://www.mostlyjazz.co.uk Mostly Jazz Festival] and the annual International Jazz Festival run alongside the year-round contemporary programme presented by promoters and development agency [http://www.birminghamjazz.co.uk Birmingham Jazz], directed by [[Tony Dudley-Evans]]. The musician-led [http://www.cobwebcollective.com Cobweb Collective] also present regular jazz sessions in several venues around the city. Many other venues support the jazz scene in the city, often promoted by [[Birmingham Jazz]].  Jazz musicians associated with the city include [[Andy Hamilton (saxophonist)|Andy Hamilton]], [[Soweto Kinch]], [[Julian Arguelles]], [[Ronnie Ball]], [[Tony Kinsey]], [[Douglas "Dougle" Robinson]] and [[King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys]].

The busiest promoter of contemporary jazz in the city is the voluntary organisation [[Birmingham Jazz]], which mounts dozens of concerts every year featuring local, national and international artists in venues such as the CBSO Centre, the mac arts centre, the Glee Club and Symphony Hall. It enjoys the support of the city council and the [[Arts Council of England]] and also commissions new works from both local performers and performers of international standing.

==Popular music==
Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied musical history in popular pop and rock music, since the 1950s.

===Early Rock 'n' Roll===
1950s bands such as [[Billy King and the Nightriders]], Pat Wayne and The Deltas and The Dominettes gave rise in the following decade to the [[Brum Beat]] era of the early 1960s featuring early progressive rock and [[blues]]bands such as The [[Spencer Davis Group]], [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]], [[The Fortunes]], [[The Rockin' Berries]], The [[Idle Race]], [[The Moody Blues]] and [[The Move]] (members of the last two going on to form The [[Electric Light Orchestra]] and [[Wizzard]]).

===The Brum Beat era===
The [[Brum Beat]] era of the early 1960s featured early progressive rock and [[blues]]bands such as The [[Spencer Davis Group]], [[Traffic (band)|Traffic]], [[The Fortunes]], [[The Rockin' Berries]], The [[Idle Race]], [[The Moody Blues]], The Uglys and [[The Move]] (members of the last two going on to form The [[Electric Light Orchestra]] and [[Wizzard]]).

Birmingham-based tape recorder company, Bradmatic Ltd helped develop and manufacture the [[Mellotron]]. Over the next 15 years, the Mellotron had a major impact on [[Rock and roll|rock]] music and is a trademark sound of the progressive rock bands.

===Early Heavy Metal===
[[File:Black Sabbath 1999-12-16 Stuttgart.jpg|thumb|right|[[Black Sabbath]]]]
The city is often cited as the birthplace of [[heavy metal music]]<ref name="Konow">Konow, David. ''Bang Your Head: The Rise and Fall of Heavy Metal'' (New York: Crown, 2002) ISBN 0-609-80732-3</ref> in the late 1960s, with [[Black Sabbath]] and [[Judas Priest]] coming from Birmingham. [[Robert Plant]] and [[John Bonham]], later members of [[Led Zeppelin]] and being local to the city, played in bands which were part of the Birmingham music scene, they performed and rehearsed frequently in the city. [[Rob Halford]] of Judas Priest attributes the band's success to 'Birmingham having that [...] tough, working-class feeling [...] We weren't born with a [[silver spoon]] in our mouths. We had to go to work and work really hard. Some people that work in a [[coal mine]] or work in the car industry might argue and say, "These guys haven't worked a day in their lives." That's not true. To be in a band &ndash; to be in a worldwide, successful band &ndash; is incredibly hard work.'[http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050610/ENT/506100344/1031/NEWS03]

===Psychedelia and Progressive Rock===
Also in the late 1960s, there were psychedelic rock bands, such as [[Velvett Fogg]] a cult British [[psychedelic rock]] band.  [[Tony Iommi]] was a member in mid-1968, but soon left to form [[Black Sabbath]]. Their lone eponymous album was released in January 1969, and re-released on CD by [[Sanctuary Records]] in 2002. Also [[Bachdenkel]], who ''Rolling Stone'' called "Britain's Greatest Unknown Group".

In the 1970s members of The Move and The Uglys formed the [[Electric Light Orchestra]] and [[Wizzard]].

===Reggae and Ska===
Birmingham's booming post-war economy made it alongside [[London]] one of the two main areas for the settlement of [[West Indies|West Indian]] immigrants from 1948 and throughout the 1950s.<ref>{{Citation|last1=Rex|first1=John|last2=Tomlinson|first2=Sally|year=1979|title=Colonial Immigrants in a British City: A Class Analysis|publication-place=London|publisher=Routledge|page=105|isbn=0710001428|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=b80OAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA105|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> With black music and black audiences often excluded from mainstream clubs in [[Birmingham City Centre]]<ref name="HandsworthEvolution">{{Citation|title=Handsworth Evolution: music documentary|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/birmingham/hi/people_and_places/newsid_9307000/9307011.stm|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> the 1960s and 1970s saw a distinctive West Indian culture of [[Blues party|blues parties]] emerge in districts such as [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]] and [[Balsall Heath]]<ref name="BMA-Eclipse">{{Citation|title=Eclipse|publisher=Birmingham Music Archive|url=http://birminghammusicarchive.com/eclipse/|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> as the urban equivalent of the all-night communal "tea parties" of rural [[Jamaica]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Owusu|first=Kwesi|year=1999|contribution=Introduction - Charting the genealogy of Black British cultural studies|contribution-url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s0KqwH7nfHwC&pg=PA10|editor-last=Owuso|editor-first=Kwesi|title=Black British Culture and Society: A Text-Reader|publication-place=London|publisher=Routledge|pages=10-11|isbn=0415178460|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=s0KqwH7nfHwC|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> Blues parties were unlicensed gatherings usually held in empty private houses, where you paid on the door and electricity was often wired in from outside street lighting.<ref>{{Citation|last=Alexander|first=Claire E.|year=1996|title=The Art of Being Black: The Creation of Black British Youth Identities|publication-place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=108|isbn=0198279825|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=W0c4Xc13wIIC&pg=PA108|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> Early blues played [[calypso music|calypso]] and [[rhythm and blues]], but the early 1960s saw the rise of [[ska]] and from the late 1960s the scene was dominated by [[dub reggae]].{{sfn|Murray|1994|loc=1:18–1:41}} Music would be provided by mobile [[Sound system (Jamaican)|sound systems]], who would try to stand out from their competitors through the strength of the [[bass (sound)|bass]] produced by their equipment;<ref name="BMA-Eclipse" /> and by [[Deejay (Jamaican)|toasting]] over the newest and most obscure [[dubplates]],<ref name="HandsworthEvolution" /> often going to great lengths to disguise the source of their records.<ref name="BMA-Eclipse" /> Publicity for blues parties was largely through word of mouth or over pirate radio stations and generally did not include precise details of addresses or locations, so sound systems attracted loyal but highly localised followings.<ref>{{Citation|last=Alexander|first=Claire E.|year=1996|title=The Art of Being Black: The Creation of Black British Youth Identities|publication-place=Oxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=109|isbn=0198279825|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=W0c4Xc13wIIC&pg=PA109|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> Sounds would also often "play out" in neighbouring areas or challenge other sound systems in a competitive [[sound clash]], allowing the more prominent outfits to attract wider attention – during the 1970s and 1980s the better-known Handsworth sounds would attract visitors from as far afield as [[London]], [[Manchester]] and [[Bristol]].{{sfn|Murray|1994|loc=0:37}} Notable Birmingham sound systems whose reputations extended beyond the city included [[Quaker City (sound system)|Quaker City]], which was founded in 1965;{{sfn|Murray|1994|loc=0:20}} [[Duke Alloy]], which was founded in 1966 and featured the toaster [[Astro (UB40)|Astro]] who later became part of [[UB40]];<ref>{{Citation|last1=Campbell|first1=Ali|last2=Campbell|first2=Robin|year=2006|title=Blood and Fire: The Autobiography of the UB40 Brothers|publication-place=London|publisher=Random House|page=60|isbn=0099476541|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wwQP5JmiYEQC&pg=PA60|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> and [[Wassifa]], which featured [[Macka B]], the most influential British toaster of the 1980s.<ref>{{Citation|last=Huey|first=Steve|title=Macka B|series=All Music|publisher=Ravi|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/macka-b-mn0000813175|accessdate=2012-11-17}}</ref> The founders of the reggae band [[Eclipse (band)|Eclipse]], who met at a blues party, later recalled "Blues would took place everywhere. You only had to go out in Lozells or down the Soho Rd, there was loads going on, you could stand and listen to the music coming out of the houses, pubs and clubs."<ref name="BMA-Eclipse"/>

The reggae sub-genre [[Lovers rock]], would often be heard at blues parties during the 70s and 80s. The emotive [[Lovers rock]] song  “Men Cry Too” by [[Beshara (band)|Beshara]], is still considered to be one of the biggest and most popular songs within the sub-genre.

In the 1970s, Birmingham's increasing [[West Indian]] population contributed to the popularity of [[reggae]], with [[Steel Pulse]]'s ground-breaking album ''[[Handsworth Revolution]]'' being a notable product of the time.

Later [[Musical Youth]], [[UB40]], the first truly mixed-race UK [[dub music|dub]] band, and [[Pato Banton]] found commercial success, as did [[2 Tone]] band [[The Beat (band)|The Beat]] who drew their influences from Jamaican ska music.

===Punk, Post-Punk and New Romantics===
As the 1980s arrived, the [[Rum Runner (nightclub)|Rum Runner]] [[nightclub]] played a significant role in rock music in the city, particularly in the case of [[New Romantic]] supergroup [[Duran Duran]]. [[Dexys Midnight Runners]], [[Stephen Duffy]], [[Au Pairs (band)|The Au Pairs]] and [[The Bureau]] also emanated from the city's music scene at this time.

Political skiffle was, for a short time in the mid-1980s, a notable Birmingham sound - led by bands such as [[Terry & Gerry]].

The [[Charlatans UK|Charlatans]], [[Dodgy (band)|Dodgy]], [[Felt (band)|Felt]], [[The Lilac Time]], and [[Ocean Colour Scene]] were other notable rock bands founded in the city and its surrounding area in this period. [[Pop Will Eat Itself]] formed in nearby [[Stourbridge]] and consisted of Birmingham band members, as did [[Neds Atomic Dustbin]].

===Hip hop===
The hip hop scene dates back to at least 1980, and has produced popular performers like [[Moorish Delta 7]] and [[Brothers and Sisters (rappers)|Brothers and Sisters]].

When hip hop performer [[Afrika Bambaata]] visited Britain he inspired new [[rappers]] and [[hip hop music|hip hop]] [[DJ]]s including [[Moorish Delta 7]] Elements, [[Juice Aleem]], Roc1, Mad Flow, Creative Habits, Lord Laing, Fraudulent Movements, and DJ Sparra (twice winner of the [[Digital mixing console|DMC]] mixing championships).

===Later Metal===
Later in the 1980s, [[Grindcore]] music, a blend of [[Punk rock|punk]] and heavy metal, was pioneered in the city by [[Napalm Death]]. Its guitarist [[Justin Broadrick]] then left after recording the A-side of its [[Scum (Napalm Death album)|seminal first LP]], and a pioneering [[industrial metal]] band arose in the name of [[Godflesh]].

===Dance music===
House had been played in the City from the mid-1980s, DJ's such as Constructive Trio, Rhythm Doctor at the Powerhouse.  Rhythm Doctor worked in one of the shops selling a lot of the early house 12"'s, Tempest.  Frenchy (Constructive Trio) also worked in a record shop selling house - Summit Records & Tapes as well as being involved in radio.  Pretty B Boy (constructive Trio) had his own record shop opposite St Martin's Church. Mixmaster (constructive Trio) was, as his name suggests, a master of the mix, and also worked in radio.

There were places such as 49er's, Roccoco, Willies T Pot, Mojo, Dial B, Salvation..which played a mixture, from funk, jazz, soul through to house via hip hop and all sorts of everything. Bill, Dick used to do 49ers bar and Roccoco, and earlier Anthony's, along with Ean and Aidan, who did Mjo and Willie's T pot.   Nathan dj'd at 49er's around this time, playing everything from Prince to House and Balearic.

The city embraced the national [[acid house]] scene with Lee Fisher and John Slowly's Hypnosis on a Thursday night at the Hummingbird [[Carling Academy Birmingham]].{{citation needed|date=July 2012}}  Followed shortly after by Snapper club at the same venue, which was Jock Lee and John Maher's Friday night, along with Jock and John, DJ's such as Martin & Bear, Pretty Boy B, amongst others.  This span off into bank holiday all-dayers with guests including Lee Fisher, Sacha, Carl Cox etc. Although illegal acid house parties had been popping up in Birmingham before, the first proper legal all night acid party/rave was at The Hummingbird also, and was called Biology, which was a London organisation. [[Acid house]] nights such as Spectrum took place in Tamworth and at The Hummingbird in Birmingham.  Land of Oz at The Dome with Paul Oakenfold and Trevor Fung in 1989 which occurred on a Wednesday night, the same night The Happy Mondays played at The Hummingbird. Pirate stations such as Fresh FM and PCRL help publicize the music and parties, which help expand the scene in Birmingham.  West End Bar was a major meeting place before parties, with Steve Wells and Steve Griffiths and was another important venue throughout this period of time.  Electribe 101 hit the charts in 1988 with 'talking with myself'.

===Electronica===
[[File:The Streets live at Parklife, Sydney 2011-crop.jpg|thumb|upright|right|[[The Streets]]]]
Electronic artists include [[electro dub]] music creators [[Rockers Hi-Fi]], [[Higher Intelligence Agency]], [[Big Beat]] musicians [[Bentley Rhythm Ace]], [[UK garage]]/[[House music|house]] act [[The Streets]], and [[Electronica]] bands [[Broadcast (band)|Broadcast]], [[Pram (band)|Pram]], [[Plone (band)|Plone]], [[Surgeon (musician)|Surgeon]], [[Add N to X]], [[Electribe 101]], [[Mistys Big Adventure]], [[Editors (band)|Editors]] and [[Avrocar (band)|Avrocar]].

Electroacoustic and experimental music emerged in the city, via ensembles such as BEAST.

===Bhangra===
The city's cultural diversity also contributed to the blend of [[Bhangra (music)|bhangra]] and [[ragga]] pioneered by [[Apache Indian]] in Handsworth.  Brothers and Sisters took place in the 'Coast to Coast' club in the old [[Associated TeleVision|ATV]] television studios on [[Broad Street, Birmingham|Broad Street]] in the early 1990s. Then came [[Fungle Junk]], held for many years beneath [[House music]] club '[[Fun]]'., and bringing [[The Psychonaughts]], [[Andy Weatherall]] and the [[Scratch Perverts]] to the city.

Besides popular music on the airwaves, Birmingham was also witnessing a huge explosion in 'invisible' music, notably from the Indian sub-continent and also with the popularity of gospel and 'black church' music. Evolving out of the latter musical movement, Birmingham's a cappella quintet Black Voices, established in 1987, was instrumental in creating a niche with their soulful renditions in both the sacred and secular. Black Voices has continued with that tradition up to the present (2010).

===List of notable historical musical artists===
Successful Birmingham singer/songwriters and musicians include: [[Joan Armatrading]], [[Steve Gibbons Band|Steve Gibbons]], [[Mike Kellie]] (of [[Spooky Tooth]]), [[Blaze Bayley]] (former vocalist of [[Wolfsbane (band)|Wolfsbane]] and [[Iron Maiden]]), Keith Law (of [[Velvett Fogg]] & Jardine) [[Jeff Lynne]], [[Phil Lynott]], [[Carl Palmer]] (of [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]]), [[Roy Wood]], [[Jamelia]], Kelli Dayton of The [[Sneaker Pimps]], [[Juice Aleem]] (from [[Big Dada]] Records), [[Martin Barre]] (guitarist with [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull]]), [[Nick Mason]] (of [[Pink Floyd]]), [[Bev Bevan]], [[Ali Campbell]], [[Steve Cradock]] (guitarist for Ocean Colour Scene and [[Paul Weller (singer)|Paul Weller]]), [[Stephen Duffy|Stephen "Tin Tin" Duffy]], [[Tony Iommi]], [[Ozzy Osbourne]], [[Denny Laine]], [[Fritz Mcintyre]] (keyboardist of [[Simply Red]]), [[Christine Perfect]] (of [[Fleetwood Mac]]), Robert Plant (born in West Brom and played in Brumbeat bands), [[Nick Rhodes]], [[Ranking Roger]], [[John Henry Rostill]] (bass guitarist/composer for [[The Shadows]]), [[Matt Skinner]], [[Dave Swarbrick]] (of [[Fairport Convention]]), [[Nigel John Taylor|John Taylor]], [[Roger Andrew Taylor|Roger Taylor]], [[Ruby Turner]], [[Ted Turner]] (guitar/vocals, [[Wishbone Ash]]), [[Peter Overend Watts]], [[Steve Winwood]] and [[Dave Mason]]. 
{{See also|List of songs about Birmingham}}

===Contemporary bands===
Many varieties of music from metal to punk and electronic to dance continue to cross-fertilise in the city with acts such as [[The Bluebeat Arkestra]], [[Bentley Rhythm Ace]], [[The Streets]], [[Rockers Hi-Fi]], [[Editors (band)|Editors]], [[Surgeon (musician)|Surgeon]], [[Mistys Big Adventure]], [[51 Breaks]], [[Munchbreak]], and [[Broadcast (band)|Broadcast]].

==Venues, festivals and organisations==
===Classical Music===

The internationally-renowned [[City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra]]'s home venue is [[Symphony Hall (Birmingham)|Symphony Hall]], which in acoustic terms is widely considered to be one of the greatest concert halls of the 20th century and also hosts concerts by many visiting orchestras.

Other professional orchestras based in the city include the [[Birmingham Contemporary Music Group]], a chamber orchestra specialising in modern music with some world premieres; the [[Royal Ballet Sinfonia]], who give concert performances under music director Barry Wordsworth in addition to playing for the Birmingham Royal Ballet; and [[Ex Cathedra]], one of the country's oldest and most respected [[Early music|early-music]] and [[Baroque music|Baroque]] [[List of period instruments|period instrument]] [[Musical ensemble|ensembles]].

[[Image:Barber Concert Hall.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Barber Institute of Fine Arts|Barber Concert Hall]] hosts a regular programme of [[chamber music]]]]
Birmingham is an important centre for musical education as the home of the [[UCE Birmingham Conservatoire]], founded in 1859. The [[Royal College of Organists]] is based in [[Digbeth]]. [[Birmingham City Council]] appoint the [[Birmingham City Organist]] to provide a free series of weekly public organ recitals.

The [[Birmingham Royal Ballet]] resides in the city as does the [[Elmhurst School for Dance]], based in Edgbaston, and which claims to be the world's oldest vocational dance school.

Birmingham's professional opera company - the [[Birmingham Opera Company]] - specialises in staging innovative performances in unusual venues (in 2005 it performed Monteverdi's ''Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria'' in a burnt-out ice rink in the Chinese Quarter). Its artistic director, Graham Vick, has also directed at [[La Scala]], Milan, the [[Metropolitan Opera]] in New York and the [[Royal Opera House]] in London.

Visiting opera companies such as [[Opera North]] and [[Welsh National Opera]] perform regularly at the [[Birmingham Hippodrome|Hippodrome]].

Birmingham's other principal classical music venues include The [[National Indoor Arena]] (NIA), [[CBSO Centre]], [[Adrian Boult Hall]] (ABH) at [[Birmingham Conservatoire]], the Barber Concert Hall at the [[Barber Institute of Fine Arts]] and [[Birmingham Town Hall]]. Concerts also regularly take place in churches around the city including [[St Philip's Cathedral, Birmingham|St Phillips Cathedral]], [[St Paul's Square, Birmingham|St Paul's]] in the [[Jewellery Quarter]], St Alban's in Highgate and [[Birmingham Oratory|The Oratory]] on the Hagley Road.

===Popular Music===
[[File:NIA Concert.jpg|right|thumb|Birmingham's largest indoor venue, the [[National Indoor Arena]]]]
Birmingham's current music venues - large and small - include Symphony Hall at the ICC, The [[National Indoor Arena]], [[O2 Academy Birmingham]], the [[National Exhibition Centre]], The CBSO Centre, The Glee Club, The Adrian Boult Hall at Birmingham Conservatoire, The Yardbird, [[mac (Birmingham)|mac]] (Midlands Arts Centre) at Cannon Hill Park, The [[Custard Factory]], the [[Drum Arts Centre]], The [[Jam House]], and pub and bar venues including The Rainbow (Digbeth), The Bull's Head (in the suburb of Moseley), The Cross (Moseley), the Ceol Castle (Moseley), the Hare and Hounds (Kings Heath), Scruffy Murphy's, the Jug of Ale, The Queen's Arms (city centre), a branch of [[Barfly (club)|Barfly]] and the Hibernian.  [[Leftfoot]] is a soul jazz and funk night that has featured on BBC Radio 1.

[[Party in the Park]] was Birmingham's largest annual music festival, at [[Cannon Hill Park]], where up to 30,000 revellers of all ages listen to popular chart music.Now it has become a day for the unsigned of all genres and was brought back to life in 2013 as unsigned acts decided it was time for them to do a day of their own. The group [http://www.birminghampromotions.com/events/ Birmingham Promotions], a non profit group made up of musicians, agents and promoters have come together to invest their own time and money into a day for the whole family. There is also [[Moseley Folk Festival]] (since 2006), which takes place in Moseley private park and mixes new with established folk acts.

The newest music festival that Birmingham has to offer is [http://www.Gigbeth.com/ Gigbeth], first piloted in March 2006 and now annual on the first weekend of November in Digbeth. Gigbeth is a music festival celebrating local independent music from the West Midlands.

Notable dance music record labels include [[Network Records]] (of [[Altern8]] fame), [[Leftfoot|Different Drummer]], Urban Dubz Records, [[Badger Promotions]], [[Jibbering Records]], Iron Man, [[Earko]], [[FHT Records|FHT]][http://www.fuckinghardtechno.co.uk] and [[Munchbreak Records]]. [[Punch Records]], in the Custard Factory, run street dance and DJ training courses.

While there is a thriving music scene in the city and a number of rehearsal studios such as Robannas, Rich Bitch and Madhouse (many of which have their own demo recording studios) there are very few working at a professional level.  Until [[Circle Studios]] opened its {{convert|3000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} facility in 2007, aside from private studios in the hands of UB40 and Ocean Colour Scene and smaller studios such as Artisan Audio, there was no high-end recording studio operating in Birmingham.

Independent shops in the city selling [[gramophone record|records]] include Swordfish Records, Tempest Records, Jibbering Records, Punch Records, Old School Daze, Dance Music Finder Records, Three Shades Records and [[Hard To Find Records]], which is the original 'dance music finder' in the UK and now trades as one the largest vinyl record and DJ shops in the world. Summit Records sells mainly [[reggae]] and doubles as an [[British African-Caribbean community|Afro-Caribbean]] barbers.

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Citation|year=2004|editor-last=Chilton|editor-first=John|title=Who's Who of British Jazz|edition=2nd|publication-place=New York|publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group|isbn=0826472346|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fuu36Cq2ZTwC|accessdate=2013-01-20}}
*{{Citation|last=Drummond|first=Pippa|year=2011|title=The Provincial Music Festival in England, 1784-1914|publication-place=Farnham|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|isbn=1409432815|url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=oklkS-IJyPAC|accessdate=2013-03-02}}
*{{Citation|last=Handford|first=Margaret|year=2006|title=Sounds Unlikely: Music in Birmingham|publication-place=Studley|publisher=Brewin Books|isbn=1858582873}}
*{{Citation|last=Hornsby|first=Laurie|year=1999|editor-last=Lavender|editor-first=Mike|title=Brum rocked!|publication-place=Birmingham|publisher=TGM|isbn=0953695107}}
*{{Citation|last=Hornsby|first=Laurie|year=2003|editor-last=Lavender|editor-first=Mike|title=Brum rocked on!|publication-place=Birmingham|publisher=TGM|isbn=0953695158}}
*{{Citation|editor-last=Murray|editor-first=Enda|year=1994|title=Sound System|type=Film|publisher=Firbolg Films|url=http://vimeo.com/17276022|accessdate=2012-11-17}}
*{{Citation|last=Sutcliffe Smith|first=Joseph|year=1945|title=The story of music in Birmingham|publication-place=Birmingham|publisher=Cornish Bros.|oclc=4184921}}

==External links==
* [http://birminghammusicarchive.com/ Birmingham Music Archive] Celebrating, Preserving and Sharing Birmingham’s Music Heritage.
* [http://www.brumbeat.net/ Brum Beat] West Midlands Pop Groups of the 1960s

[[Category:Culture in Birmingham, West Midlands]]

Edit summary:
This is a minor edit Watch this page

Cancel

Dab solver - Music of Birmingham

Tools

Interaction