The wife of former Undertones frontman and solo artist Feargal Sharkey will be discussing her best selling book ‘Why Britain Rocked: How Rock Became Roll and Took Over the World’ at the venue on October 12. She will be joined in conversation with Beatles’ author Dr Richard Mills and live music will be by Chyan Davidson. In the Amazon best selling book Elizabeth travels deep into Britain’s history to trace the events that led to its 20th century musical explosion and argues that The Beatles’ arrival that so surprised the world really shouldn’t have been a surprise at all.
Advertisement Advertisement Get the latest Farm Week news direct to your inbox Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Farming Life within your account. From the Celts and the Quakers, to Ira Aldridge and Paul Robeson, Why Britain Rocked breaks out of British pop history’s 20th century confines. Instead, Sharkey starts the story in Celtic Britain and follows the migration of the peoples who carried their music from the British Isles to the southern states, laying the foundations of America’s folk music and ultimately rock n’ roll.
She then brings the story back to the British Isles, identifying the Celtic inheritance of superstars from Lonnie Donegan and The Beatles, to David Bowie, John Lydon, Kate Bush, Johnny Marr, Noel Gallagher and Ed Sheeran and makes the bold claim that without Irish musicality, there would be no British pop. A train.
