goinghome
January 3, 2010, 05:15 PM
Author Sean Campbell is exploring the importance of Irish music-making in England in his upcoming book Irish Blood English Heart (Cork University Press, May?). Case studies of musicians, including John Lydon, Shane MacGowan, and Morrissey, will demonstrate how the second-generation Irish have contributed to popular culture in the UK. -
"This is the first full account of second-generation Irish music-making in England. Individual musicians covered include Shane MacGowan, Cait O'Riordan, Kevin Rowland, Morrissey and Johnny Marr. The book challenges the current invisibility of the second-generation Irish in accounts of ethnicity in England. It explores the complexity and diversity of second-generation Irish identities and experience. Previous accounts have tended to view this generation as an indistinguishable part of the host population. This book takes a more nuanced approach, locating the English-born offspring of Irish migrants in a hyphenated 'Irish-Englishness' that cannot be reduced to either dimension, and which facilitates a flexible identification with both. The book draws attention to the productivity of second-generation Irish creative figures, highlighting the diverse ways in which this generation has helped shaped popular music in England. Existing accounts have neglected to consider this generation's cultural agency, stressing only the impact of the host culture on the migrant group, and thereby overlooking the highly creative ways in which the second-generation have acted upon the host culture. The book explores the creative work of second-generation Irish musicians, drawing on original interviews that the author has conducted with Shane MacGowan, Cait O'Riordan, Kevin Rowland and Johnny Marr. A vast amount of literature has been published on these musicians. However, there has been scarcely any consideration of their work from a specifically second-generation Irish perspective. The book develops innovative analyses of these musicians, presenting their work as a set of interventions and negotiations within the Anglo-Irish interface." - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irish-Blood-English-Heart-Generation/dp/1859184618
"This is the first full account of second-generation Irish music-making in England. Individual musicians covered include Shane MacGowan, Cait O'Riordan, Kevin Rowland, Morrissey and Johnny Marr. The book challenges the current invisibility of the second-generation Irish in accounts of ethnicity in England. It explores the complexity and diversity of second-generation Irish identities and experience. Previous accounts have tended to view this generation as an indistinguishable part of the host population. This book takes a more nuanced approach, locating the English-born offspring of Irish migrants in a hyphenated 'Irish-Englishness' that cannot be reduced to either dimension, and which facilitates a flexible identification with both. The book draws attention to the productivity of second-generation Irish creative figures, highlighting the diverse ways in which this generation has helped shaped popular music in England. Existing accounts have neglected to consider this generation's cultural agency, stressing only the impact of the host culture on the migrant group, and thereby overlooking the highly creative ways in which the second-generation have acted upon the host culture. The book explores the creative work of second-generation Irish musicians, drawing on original interviews that the author has conducted with Shane MacGowan, Cait O'Riordan, Kevin Rowland and Johnny Marr. A vast amount of literature has been published on these musicians. However, there has been scarcely any consideration of their work from a specifically second-generation Irish perspective. The book develops innovative analyses of these musicians, presenting their work as a set of interventions and negotiations within the Anglo-Irish interface." - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Irish-Blood-English-Heart-Generation/dp/1859184618