Charting a course spanning over 100 years, British black music’s journey from flourishing underground to emerging – on its own terms – onto the main stage will be celebrated in a free exhibition at Barbican Music Library.
‘Black Sound London’, which opens at the Corporation-owned library on 10 March, will show how British black culture established itself as musicians, writers, thinkers, artists, and activists arrived in the capital from around the world to exchange ideas, art, and musical roots.
The journey begins with the arrival of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra in London from the USA in 1919 to Central Cee being voted GQ’s ‘Magazine Man of the Year’ and Fuse ODG’s afrobeat answer to ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ over one century later.
During the exhibition’s run, two ‘Heritage Collection Days’ will provide an opportunity for anyone with a particular memory of London’s black music scene and a related item to bring it to Barbican Library to get it 3-D scanned and be interviewed to preserve their story for future generations.
‘Black Sound London’ is curated by author of ‘Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King and Sounds Like London: 100 Years of Black Music in the Capital’, Lloyd Bradley, and exhibition designer, Scott Leonard.
The exhibition is part of Destination City, the City Corporation’s growth strategy for the Square Mile as a world-leading business and leisure location.
Speaking before the exhibition’s opening, exhibition co-curator Lloyd Bradley said:
“Too often in this country, black cultural heritage is packaged presented to the people by those that weren’t there, so this type of exhibition at Barbican Music Library and the ‘heritage collecting’ days reverse the lens.
“They enable and empower the British black music community to tell their stories of what it was, and what it meant to them, because they must be captured and preserved before these stories disappear forever.
“Our exhibition shows how the genres may have changed, but the culture and process didn’t, so Lord Kitchener, Eddy Grant, Carroll Thompson, The Cookie Crew, Jazzie B, Ms Dynamite, and Dizzie Rascal all followed the same guidelines.”
Policy Chairman of the Corporation, Chris Hayward, said:
“With its many styles and charismatic performers, ‘Black Sound London’ will strike a chord with everyone who enjoys listening to British black music and is keen to find out how LP sales in niche record shops, air time on pirate radio stations, and community spaces played a key role in its success.
“As well as featuring records, photos, posters, reviews, and films, the heritage collection days will provide a unique opportunity for visitors to share their memories and lend their memorabilia, thereby, contributing in their own way towards British black music’s history.”
The Corporation is one of the largest funders of heritage and cultural activities in the UK, investing over £130m every year. The organisation manages a range of world-class cultural and heritage institutions, including the Barbican Centre, Tower Bridge, Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Guildhall Art Gallery, The London Archives, and Keats House. It also supports the London Symphony Orchestra and the new London Museum.
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