Abstract
This is a work in Spanish which, in English translation, is “Songs, Stars and Soundtracks: British Cinema and Rock Music (1956-1976)”. This essay presents an analytical overview of the use of British rock music and its musicians in film, between the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. British rock music and cinema have a relationship that is diverse and in recent years this has fallen into a range of categories such as biopics that chart the life and times of figures from rock music (Nowhere Boy (Taylor-Wood, 2009)); fictionalized films that are evidently based on the life of rock individuals (Velvet Goldmine (Haynes, 1998)); films with scores written by rock musicians (Brighton Rock (Joffe, 2010)) and films that feature rock groups in performance within an overarching narrative (9 Songs (Winterbottom, 2004)). However, this essay will outline a number of key texts and artists that serve as indicative examples of the broader picture by outlining a critical historiography of rock music in British film between 1956 and 1976. This early period is dominated by a particular genre of rock music/film: 'star vehicles' which feature artists in dramatic roles which range from the market-driven to the experimental. Whatever the impetus, many British rock movies - even the most ostensibly commercial - raise complex issues of the UK of the time such as the class structure, generational conflict, the social foundations of rock music, and the depiction of record industry policies. In addition, many British rock films from 1956 to 1976 interrogate complex issues surrounding iconography and the fan-base audience
Translated title of the contribution | Songs, Stars and Soundtracks: British Cinema and Rock Music (1956-1976) |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 20-27 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | L’Atalante: Revista de Estudios Cinematográficos |
Volume | 14 |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2012 |