I remember this film coming out just as I was in my last year at middle school. It wasn't on for long but it was talked about for ages afterwards with everyone claiming to have seen it 3, 4 or more times (by hiding at the back at the end and waiting for the next screening). I can't actually remember if I saw this at the time or whether I have false memories of going to the Odeon in Worthing but the music has been a lifelong love. It is proof indeed that the English Working-Class was indeed multi-cultural in its musical tastes long before the middle-classes got wind of this. Music in Britain has never got the recognition it deserved in changing attitudes of race. These films are not just snapshots of a novelty music revival, this film reflects our cultural heritage and how music challenged British society's prejudices.
If I can get personal for a moment, I grew up in a medium-sized town which had few if any people who weren't white. We didn't have inner city ghettos although the hidden poverty of towns such as Worthing is every bit as devastating for those within it. It's no surprise that heroin addiction is so prevalent. I also grew up with racist parents which was bound to affect my impressionable young mind and I too was racist when I was little and it was easy because there was nothing to challenge the stereotypes. Music taught me that life wasn't so black and white (pun intended) and showed me that there was another view and that my parents were so wrong.
Long live music.
If I can get personal for a moment, I grew up in a medium-sized town which had few if any people who weren't white. We didn't have inner city ghettos although the hidden poverty of towns such as Worthing is every bit as devastating for those within it. It's no surprise that heroin addiction is so prevalent. I also grew up with racist parents which was bound to affect my impressionable young mind and I too was racist when I was little and it was easy because there was nothing to challenge the stereotypes. Music taught me that life wasn't so black and white (pun intended) and showed me that there was another view and that my parents were so wrong.
Long live music.
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