Irish Blood, English Heart: Second Generation Irish Musicians in England - Softcover

'Irish Blood, English Heart' is a constantly intriguing and often provocative book about the complex process - and peculiar freedom - of not wholly belonging to one culture or the other- The Observer We long ago embraced Wilde, Shaw and Sheridan, all Irish playwrights living in England, as integral to a lively British theatre culture. Until now, we have heard less about Morrissey, MacGowan, Rowland and the rest of the second-generation Irish in British popular music. Sean Campbell's enthralling study, with its direct access to these musicians, incisively opens the discussion and sets an exceptionally high standard against which all other interrogations of post-colonialism in pop culture are likely to be weighed-Philip Chevron, The Pogues, Mojo

Second-generation Irish musicians have played a vital role in the history of popular music in England. This book explores the role of Irish ethnicity in the lives and work of these musicians, focusing on three high-profile projects: Kevin Rowland and Dexys Midnight Runners, Shane MacGowan and The Pogues, and Morrissey/Marr and The Smiths. The book locates these musicians in a hyphenated 'Irish-Englishness' marked by 'in-between-ness' and explores the different ways that they engaged with this in-betweenness through their creative work and their engagements with audiences, the media and the music industry. The book draws on extensive archival research of print and audio-visual media as well as original interviews with the key figures, including Shane MacGowan, Johnny Marr, Kevin Rowland and Cait O'Riordan. Combining its assiduous research with fresh critical insights, the book offers new analyses of the musicians, as well as previously undocumented accounts of their lives and work. The book highlights the diversity and complexity of second-generation Irish identities and experience and details the diverse ways in which this generation has shaped popular music in England. Accessible and original, 'Irish Blood, English Heart' will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of popular music, media/cultural studies, and ethnic/migration studies. It will also appeal to a wider audience of those interested in the musicians with whom it deals.