The British Pop Music Film

Stephen Glynn is Associate Research Fellow at De Montfort University, UK. He is author of A Hard Day's Night: The British Film Guide (I.B. Tauris, 2004) and a monograph on Quadrophenia (forthcoming).

'This book should be read with profit by film scholars and students of genre studies, as well as enjoyed by pop music and movie fans. Glynn provides expert commentary on the most significant films in the British rock movie genre, deftly weaving insightful discussions of popular music, counterculture politics, and British social history into his narrative. His enthusiasm and deep interest in the topic is everywhere apparent.' - Barry Faulk, Florida State University, USA 'A must read for anyone remotely interested in Britain's contribution to rock'n'roll on film.' - David Marx Book Reviews 'This book is a first of its kind and, although small in scope, is a very welcome addition to studies of British cinema and, more specifically, the British musical film. It offers thoughtful interpretations of the industrial, cultural and economic contexts that gave rise to the musical film, and is written in a clear and engaging style that would appeal to scholars and general readers interested in British cinema, music films and genre.' - Julie Lobalzo Wright, Journal of British Film and Television 'Most of the analysis made by Stephen Glynn concentrates on each film's main themes, its socio-historical context, the comments made afterwards by directors and actors, excerpts from critiques of the moment and some selected scholarly comments, plus how each film performed financially. Obviously a fan himself, Stephen Glynn often finds the accurate interpretations and revealing quotes.' - Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television

• PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Genre, Academia and the British Pop Music Film PART II: THE PRIMITIVE POP MUSIC FILM: COFFEE-BARS, COSH BOYS AND CLIFF 1. Introduction: Evasions and Imitations 2. Coffee Bar Pop Idols: The Tommy Steele Story (1957), The Golden Disc (1958) and Expresso Bongo (1959) 3. Coffee Bar Cosh Boys: Serious Charge (1959) and Beat Girl (1960) 4. Cliff Richard: The Young Ones (1962), Summer Holiday (1963), Wonderful Life (1964) PART III: THE MATURE POP MUSIC FILM: BOMBS, BEATLEMANIA AND BOORMAN 1. Introduction: Rockets and Rehearsals 2. The Pop Music Film as Political Allegory: It's Trad, Dad ! (1962) 3. The Canonical Pop Music Film: A Hard Day's Night (1964) 4. The Colonial Pop Music Film: Help! (1965) 5. The Chekhovian Pop Music Film: Catch Us If You Can (1965) PART IV: THE DECADENT POP MUSIC FILM: POLITICS, PSYCHEDELIA AND PERFORMANCE 1. Introduction: Blow Up and the Backlash 2. The Pop Music Film as Personal Polemic: Privilege (1967) 3. The Pop Music Film as Underground Parable: Yellow Submarine (1968) 4. The Pop Music Film as Political Diptych: One Plus One / Sympathy For the Devil (1968) 5. The Pop Music Film as Finale: Performance (1970) PART V: AFTERLIFE: THE HISTORICAL POP MUSIC FILM 1. The Grit and the Glam: Tommy (1975) and Quadrophenia (1979) 2. The Punk and the Pink: The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle (1980) and Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982) 3. The Postmodern and Plan B: Absolute Beginners (1986) and Spice World (1997) PART VI: CONCLUSION 1. Music Matters