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In Perfect Harmony

English

By (author): Will Hodgkinson

A Telegraph Book of the Year
A Guardian Book of the Year
A Shindig Book of the Year
A Virgin Radio Book of the Year
Awarded the certificate of merit in the 2023 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Awards for Excellence

In 1970, pop was in trouble. The Beatles were no more. Pink Floyd devoted themselves to progressive epics. Led Zeppelin dismissed anything beyond their 'musical statements' as childish frippery. Thankfully, help was on its way.

This comprehensive chronicle by music historian Will Hodgkinson explores how an unlikely mix of backroom songwriters, revitalised rockers, actors, producers, teen stars and children turned pop into the dominant sound and vision of the 1970s.

While bands such as the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac were ruling the albums chart, the singles chart was swinging along to the tune of million-selling blockbusters by the likes of Brotherhood of Man, the Sweet and the Wombles. These were the songs you heard on Radio 1, during Saturday-night TV, at youth clubs, down the pub and even emanating from your parents' record player...

It was never cool, but it was the real soundtrack of the decade.

Against a rainy, smog-filled backdrop of three-day weeks, national strikes, IRA bombings and the Winter of Discontent, this unrelenting stream of novelty songs, sentimental ballads, glam-rock stomps and blatant rip-offs offered escape, uplift, romance and the promise of eternal childhood - all released with one goal in mind: a smash hit.

In Perfect Harmony takes the reader on a journey through the most colour-saturated era in music, examining the core themes and camp spectacle of '70s singalong pop, as well as its reverberations through British culture since. This is the pioneering social history of a musical revolution.

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€18.50
1970s1970s Britain70s70s PopA01=Will HodgkinsonAbbaAbba GoldAbba VoyageAbigail’s PartyAge Group_UncategorizedAuthor_Will Hodgkinsonautomatic-updateBay City RollersBenny AndersonBjorn UlvaeusBlue MinkBoney M.Brickie Glam: SladeBritish PopBrotherhood of ManCategory1=Non-FictionCategory=AVGPCategory=AVLPCheggers Plays PopClive DunnCOP=United KingdomDavid BowieDavid CassidyDavid EssexDelivery_Delivery within 10-20 working daysDiscoDonna SummerDonny Osmondeq_art-fashion-photographyeq_isMigrated=2eq_musiceq_non-fictionEurovision Song ContestGilbert O’SullivanGlam RockJonathan KingLanguage_EnglishLook InMarc BolanMike BattMudNovelty SongsOne-Hit WondersPA=AvailablePan’s PeoplePartridge FamilyPrice_€10 to €20PS=ActiveRadioReggaeSeventiesSingalong PopSingles ChartsoftlaunchSt Winifred’s School ChoirSuper PopSuzi QuatroT-RexThe OsmondsThe SweetThe WomblesTop of the PopsWinter of Discontent
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Product Details
  • Weight: 439g
  • Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
  • Publication Date: 31 Aug 2023
  • Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
  • Publication City/Country: GB
  • Language: English
  • ISBN13: 9781788705639

About Will Hodgkinson

Will Hodgkinson is author of the music books Guitar Man, Song Man, The Ballad of Britain and In Perfect Harmony. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian, Mojo and Vogue and presented the Sky Arts television series Songbook. Since 2010, he has been chief rock and pop critic for The Times.

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