Working Class Heroes

David Simonelli is associate professor of history at Youngstown State University.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction1Society, Culture and Music in Britain Before 19632The Beatles3London4Mods5Marketing a Lifestyle6Psychedelia7Folk Rock8The Counterculture9Progressive Rock10Heavy Metal and Hard Rock11Glamrock12The Business of Rock Music13PunkConclusionNotesBibliographyIndex

In British society's transformation since 1945 from one defined in socioeconomic terms to those of culture, from working-class roots expanded to educated and multicultural ones, and from transatlantic exchanges to global interactions, the author's focus on the role of rock and roll in all its changing forms provides valuable historical analysis. Well-written individual chapters delineate the culture and counterculture of Beatlemania, psychedelic and folk rock, progressive and heavy metal rock, and glam rock to punk. Simonelli (Youngstown State Univ.) provides profiles of individual artists, groups, and the public receptions. His conclusion that 'yesterday's rebels are today's establishment' sums up the evolution of artists and groups in a sociohistorical process and the reshaping of British society. The impact on the British economy and on individual artists and groups is an important aspect of this perceptive study, which also places the different phases within the context of and in comparison to the continuing influence of 19th-century Romanticism. Using underutilized BBC newspapers found in Edinburgh and an array of printed materials, this expanded dissertation provides informative footnotes and a select bibliography, and is a scholarly addition to contemporary social history. Summing Up: Recommended.