Click & Collect
from 2 Hours*
Last Christmas
delivery dates
Free UK Standard Delivery On all orders over £25 Order in time for Christmas 18th December by 1pm 2nd Class |
20th December by 1pm 1st Class
Free Click & Collect From 2 hours after you order*
In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in ’70s Britain (Paperback)
  • In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in ’70s Britain (Paperback)
zoom

In Perfect Harmony: Singalong Pop in ’70s Britain (Paperback)

(author)
1 Review Sign in to write a review
£12.99
Paperback 432 Pages
Published: 31/08/2023
  • 10+ in stock

Usually dispatched within 2-3 working days

  • This item has been added to your basket

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.

Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781788705639
Number of pages: 432
Weight: 439 g
Dimensions: 198 x 129 x 33 mm


MEDIA REVIEWS
'Will has painted a colourful picture of my life in this business, and in fact paints a colourful picture of the entire '70s in Great Britain.' 'Instead of walking the byways and backwaters of '70s pop, Will Hodgkinson heads straight down the high street. So many of these names that soundtracked everyday life turn out to have been overlooked and their stories undocumented - the results of Hodgkinson's research are hugely entertaining and informative. A terrific read and a valuable book, too.' 'Full of bold characters and strange stories, In Perfect Harmony might start out Middle of the Road but it takes audacious left turns all the way. 4/5' 'A delightful, perceptive celebration of that decade's chartbusters, which the canon tends to ignore. A splendid, overdue rehabilitation for the era's junkshop geniuses. 4/5' 'Highly entertaining, a treasure trove of primary colours ... awash with startling trivia.' 'Epic.' 'What a wonderful book, polished and classy, with a genuine insight into the world of '70s singalong pop and the awesome magic of an unforgettable "tune" .' 'Such a fluid, well-written read ... every page a new surprising story of hits we took for granted.' 'A thorough, accurate and insightful recreation of the times and the tunes ... A wonderful work.' 'A glorious cavalcade of the sort of acts who are used in BBC Four documentaries about punk and the Winter of Discontent to illustrate the inevitability of Thatcherism - but actually serve to remind us of the ingenuity and sheer wackiness of that much-maligned decade, the 1970s.' 'Will Hodgkinson has written a very thorough, thoughtful and hugely entertaining book detailing the cultural and musical heritage of the UK in the 1970s.' 'An authoritative read.' 'An illuminating and marvellously entertaining delight.'

You may also be interested in...

Rememberings
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Watford Forever
Added to basket
£22.00   £17.99
Hardback
Madonna
Added to basket
£35.00   £29.99
Hardback
Whatever Happened to Slade?
Added to basket
Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me
Added to basket
Karma
Added to basket
£22.00   £16.99
Hardback
Scattershot
Added to basket
£25.00   £20.99
Hardback
How To Be Invisible
Added to basket
£10.99
Paperback
Love and Let Die
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time
Added to basket
Abbey Road
Added to basket
£10.99   £9.49
Paperback
My Name is Barbra
Added to basket
£35.00   £27.99
Hardback
A Head Full of Music
Added to basket
£25.00   £19.99
Hardback
Just Kids
Added to basket
£12.99
Paperback
Living the Beatles Legend
Added to basket
Tomorrow's Here Today
Added to basket

“Top of the 70s pop”

For any kid growing up in the 70s who had a limited pocket money spend these songs are like old lost friends.give it a read then make your way to spotify.thank you to the author for the nostalgia trip

Paperback edition
Helpful? Upvote 1

Please sign in to write a review

Your review has been submitted successfully.

env: aptum
branch: