Rhythms of Labour
Music at Work in Britain

The first exploration of the history of music at work in Britain, from pre-industrialisation to the present day.

Marek Korczynski (Author), Michael Pickering (Author), Emma Robertson (Author)

9781107000179, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 25 April 2013

354 pages, 4 b/w illus. 1 table
25.3 x 18 x 2.4 cm, 0.81 kg

'… real and unconstrained strength lies in [this book's] masterly coverage and presentation of the primary sources, its understanding and exploitation of previous scholarship, and its excellent bibliography.' Stephen Banfield, CHOMBEC News

Whether for weavers at the handloom, labourers at the plough or factory workers on the assembly line, music has often been a key texture in people's working lives. This book is the first to explore the rich history of music at work in Britain and charts the journey from the singing cultures of pre-industrial occupations, to the impact and uses of the factory radio, via the silencing effect of industrialisation. The first part of the book discusses how widespread cultures of singing at work were in pre-industrial manual occupations. The second and third parts of the book show how musical silence reigned with industrialisation, until the carefully controlled introduction of Music while You Work in the 1940s. Continuing the analysis to the present day, Rhythms of Labour explains how workers have clung to and reclaimed popular music on the radio in desperate and creative ways.

1. Introduction: music at work and the sound of silence
Part I. Music at Work in Pre-Industrial Contexts: 2. From work song to singing at work
3. Hearing the British Isles singing
4. Fancy and function
5. Community
6. Voice
Part II. Industrialisation and Music at Work: 7. Silenced
8. Fragments of singing in the factory
Part III. Broadcast Music in the Workplace: 9. Instrumental music? The rise of broadcast music
10. Music and meaning on the factory floor
11. Conclusion: learning from the history of music at work.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], Music [AV]