20th Century
A Scottish Tragedy
Fifty five years ago, I would have been thirteen, I joined the Scouts, I had been in the Boys Brigade but didn’t like all the marching and keep fit. The 39th Dundee Pack were based [more…]
20th Century
20th Century
The History of Pop Music – 1988
Featured song: The Hollies – He Ain’t Heavy He’s My Brother This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when [more…]
20th Century
A Golden Yuan Will Be Good for the American People
Bretton Woods (I) Will Be Replaced by Bretton Woods (II) In his recent interview at Manioco64 Alasdair Macleod used the term “Bretton Woods II” to describe the steady progress being made by China to make [more…]
20th Century
On this day – 30th September 1955
Do famous people who die before their time have a disproportionate impact on popular culture ? This theory is certainly borne out by the resonance that James Dean has had in the decades since his [more…]
19th Century
Today’s 200th Anniversary of The Railway
This weekend sees the 200th anniversary of railways – or at least of the first steam locomotive-hauled passenger service, which took place on the Stockton to Darlington railway 200 years ago today (27th September). On [more…]
20th Century
The History of Pop Music – 1987
Featured song: Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making [more…]
20th Century
The Socialist Ratchet
Following Labour’s landslide victory in 1945, the government set about nationalising industry with all the fervour of true believers in the socialist cause. Coal, railways and road transport, steel, healthcare and energy utilities were all [more…]
19th Century
Peter Mandelson – Something In The Genes?
Speaking at the launch of his memoir The Third Man, Life at The Heart of New Labour, which he only finished writing two weeks earlier, Peter Mandelson said, ‘It was a high wire act. Now [more…]
19th Century
The Shock of The Modern
Besides excitement and trauma, might the shock of the new also provide a synapse re-ordering adrenaline burst that remodels the brain? As a little boy the make-believe near-future modernist world of Thunderbirds (and the like) [more…]