Bebop Scene in London's Soho, 1945-1950

Ray Kinsella is a writer and part-time Lecturer in Cultural Studies at the University of the Arts London, UK.

“Ray Kinsella’s book, which is based on his PhD thesis, sheds light on the dimly lit British bebop scene of the mid-to-late 1940s and early 1950s. It gently disproves misconceptions about beboppers and the milieu they created. … The Bebop Scene in London’s Soho is an authoritative text on a neglected subject in British cultural history. … the book uses it as an entry point to explore wider topics, such as histories of fashion, race, gender … .” (Jacob Bloomfield, H-Soz-Kult, hsozkult.de, July 6, 2023)

• 1. Introduction.- 2. Contextualizing Soho, 1800-1945.- 3. Bebop Music and the Soho Clubs.- 4. Men’s and Women’s Sartorial Style in the Clubs: The Bebop Look.- 5. The Police Raids on the Soho Bebop Clubs, 1947-1950.- 6. Soho After the Raids.- 7. Is This a Subculture?.- 8. Conclusion.