Popular Music and Left-Wing Scottishness
Recent developments in Scottish politics, such as the Scottish National Party’s resounding victory in the 2015 general election, would seem to attest to the existence of a strong sense of national identity underpinned by progressive values. This paper will suggest that popular music has played a sig...
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| Publicado no: | URI:https://journals.openedition.org/etudesecossaises, |
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| Autor principal: | |
| Formato: | Article ou chapitre numérique |
| Idioma: | Anglais |
| Publicado em: |
Études écossaises
2016
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| Assuntos: | |
| Acesso em linha: | Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM Accès Université d'Orléans et IFPM |
| Resumo: | Recent developments in Scottish politics, such as the Scottish National Party’s resounding victory in the 2015 general election, would seem to attest to the existence of a strong sense of national identity underpinned by progressive values. This paper will suggest that popular music has played a significant role in the emergence of left-wing Scottishness. It will concentrate on the late 1980s, a key period of political change in Scotland when Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives were increasingly marginalised, doubts were expressed about the direction of the Labour Party, and demands for devolution were growing. It will focus on two groups in particular—Runrig and the Proclaimers. Although groups in the 1970s and early 1980s, including the Bay City Rollers and Big Country, had tried to bring together aspects of Scottish identity and popular music, they tended to resort to invented traditions. Based on the theories of sociologists of rock according to which the meaning of music comes from its lyrics, sound and performance, this paper will argue that Runrig and the Proclaimers conveyed a contemporary left-wing version of Scottishness. Both groups not only reflected trends in Scottish society but also contributed to shaping them due to the large audience of young people that they attracted. |
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