Pop Music in British Cinema: A Chronicle (BFI Film Classics (Paperback)) [Paperback]

"A smart little volume that chronicles the impact on the movies of artists from the Sex Pistols to the Spice Girls."--"New York Times

Pop music stars in many of the most exciting and successful British films - from "Performance" to "Trainspotting", from "A Hard Day's Night" to "Human Traffic". Other films using pop music might be more obscure but include many demonstrating a boldness and imagination rarely matched in other areas of British cinema. Pop artists (David Bowie, Cliff Richard, Spice Girls, Patsy Kensit, Sex Pistols) could be said to be captured at their most iconic on celluloid. And of course there are the rare but prized cameos from a huge variety of other musicians and their songs in the most unexpected of places.This book tells the story and records the facts of the pop-film relationship decade by decade. It is the most systematic guide to where and how pop appears in British cinema. "Pop in British Cinema" includes: decade by decade commentary and systematic listings of films with pop music; comprehensive referencing of all British feature films using music from the 50s to the end of the century; illustrations and descriptions of the changing ways of using pop in British film; and listings of 'band' movies and indexes to musicians, directors, and film titles. For researchers and the curious alike, this is an easy and fascinating reference source. It represents both a first history of pop music in British cinema and a mine of trivia questions for music and film buffs of all descriptions.

Kevin Donnelly is lecturer in film, television and radio studies at Staffordshire University. He is editor of Film Music (Edinburgh University Press, 2001).