PRESS RELEASE 11 January 2012 LISTEN TO THIS: A CELEBRATION OF POPULAR MUSIC Metal are delighted to present a series of events centred on the importance of popular music to the formation of people's identities and sense of place, developed and presented by author Daryl Easlea and academic Andrew Branch. Taking place in Chalkwell Hall, Southend on Sea, Listen To This will place a specific focus on the local in relation to national and international popular culture. Special guests will be in attendance at each event to discuss their work and, in some cases, perform. Listen To This will reflect on past era-‐defining moments in popular music and culture with a local South-‐ East Essex perspective. The evenings will culminate in a concert at Village Green 2012. This Must Be The Place: Music, Social Spaces And Ways Forward For Southend’s Music Scenes. Friday 24 February 2012. 7.30pm – 10pm Dr Feelgood: The Esplanade, January 1973; Junk Club formed Royal Hotel 2002 Special guests: musician Wilko Johnson; musician, producer and writer Will Birch, and academic, journalist, cultural historian, Dr Andrew Calcutt Boys Will Be Boys And Girls Will Be Girls: Popular Music And Gender. Friday 16 March 2012. 7.30pm – 10pm David Bowie at Eastwoodbury Lane, August 1970; Blur, Cliffs Pavilion, June 2009 Special guest: local author, musician, music critic and Slits biographer, Zoe Howe. More guests TBA. Tribalism And Difference: Subcultures And Scenes. Friday 20 April 2012. 7.30pm – 10pm The Who at Kingsway, Hadleigh, Jan 1967; Depeche Mode: Crocs June1981 Special guest: Dean Chalkley, renowned photographer and director of the recently released Northern Soul film homage, Young Souls. More guests TBA. Everybody Dance: Music, Meaning And The Body. Friday 18 May 2012. 7.30pm – 10pm Jackie Wilson at Zero 6, 1972; Chris Hill first plays at The Goldmine 1973 Special guests: internationally acclaimed sociologist and musician, Professor Les Back; hugely influential soul DJ and music promoter, Chris Hill and journalist, music critic and percussionist par excellence, Snowboy. Listen To This in concert at Village Green Saturday 30 June 2012 Timings and venue at Village Green to be confirmed. Tickets cost £5.00. Available from www.metalculture.com or by calling 01702 470700. For more information, please contact Sean Mcloughlin on sean@metalculture.com or 01702 470700
EDITOR’S NOTES METAL Metal was founded by Jude Kelly OBE in 2002 and was created as an artistic laboratory to champion the need for continual investment in artistic investigation and the development of innovative ideas that could shift the thinking in the UK cultural sector. We provide innovative, multi-‐disciplinary residency space for artists from the UK and overseas in Liverpool and Southend on Sea. Alongside providing space for artists and thinkers to develop their ideas and further the philosophy of their work, we are interested in how this artistic process, and the practice of artists can input into, and potentially influence political and social issues of the day. Through our artistic programme we draw out evidence and ideas for a better understanding of the artist’s role in civic life, and ensure that these are shared with a wide and diverse set of partners. These ideas are showcased and disseminated on a regular basis through residencies, exhibitions, events, performance, discussion and publications. ANDREW BRANCH Andrew Branch lectures in the School of Arts and Digital Industries at the University of East London. His research interests, broadly defined, centre on the politics of popular culture and the formation of classed identities. He is particularly interested in making sense of how people use music as a way of soundtracking their desires. His recent publications have focused on the links between the accumulation of educational capital and the consumption of popular music. Andrew is currently working on a monograph on glam rock, which among other things, makes him feel nostalgic for the years he spent as an adolescent miming to David Bowie records. His website is located at: www.andrewbranch.org.uk. DARYL EASLEA Daryl Easlea began writing professionally in 1999 after a long career in music retail and then, belatedly, university. After graduating in 2000, he became the deputy editor at Record Collector, where he remains a regular contributor. His work appears regularly in Mojo and bbc.co.uk. He has compiled and annotated over 300 CDs (his favourite being 50,000 Fall Fans Can't Be Wrong: 39 Fall Greats), DJs, comperes, broadcasts and was born to dance. His book, Everybody Dance: Chic & The Politics Of Disco was published by Helter Skelter in December 2004 and was voted NME's third best book of 2005. His second, The Story Of The Supremes accompanied the Supremes exhibition at the V & A in May 2008. Talent Is An Asset: The Story of Sparks was published by Omnibus Press in April 2010, while Crazy In Love: The Beyoncé Knowles Biography was published in October 2011.