11 July: Elizabeth Sharkey – Why Britain Rocked!
Author Elizabeth Sharkey will give an illustrated in conversation talk about British music history as explored in her bestselling book, Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll and Took Over the World. Elizabeth will delve into Britain’s history to trace the events that led to its twentieth century musical explosion, arguing that The Beatles’ arrival that so surprised the world really shouldn’t have been a surprise at all!
From the Celts, Henry VIII, and the Quakers, to Ira Aldridge and Paul Robeson, Elizabeth will uncover the unique events and unexpected influences that gave us British pop, laying the foundations for stars from Lonnie Donegan, The Beatles and David Bowie, to John Lydon, Kate Bush, Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher and Ed Sheeran.
Eliza Carthy, in the foreword she wrote for the book, says that Elizabeth “will lovingly hold your hand as (she) takes you through the sociological history of our islands and their music, accompanied by an absolutely banging playlist and an extensive online archive that accompanies every chapter”.
Elizabeth Sharkey is an actress and voice over artist who grew up on a farm in Lincolnshire, first discovering music at the age of five when she secretly played her father’s jazz records. But it was on first hearing The Beatles’ ‘Something’ around the same age that she was hooked. This book is a love story, not just for British pop, but for her father, for it was through his love of music that she began her own.
The talk will be followed by the opportunity to pose your questions in a Q&A with the author.
