Ive always wondered why a city as big as Birmingham doesnt really have many bands / singers? I can only think of Ozzy Osbourne and Jamelia!! Is there a reason for this or is there alot i have missed out!
Musical acts from Birmingham?
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The Streets/Mike Skinner?
UB40?
Most of Black Sabbath?
Judas Priest?
Duran Duran?
Beverly Knight?
Robert Plant?
Editors?
Ocean Colour Scene?
And they're only the major ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are also some brilliant local musicians as well.
UB40?
Most of Black Sabbath?
Judas Priest?
Duran Duran?
Beverly Knight?
Robert Plant?
Editors?
Ocean Colour Scene?
And they're only the major ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are also some brilliant local musicians as well.
Originally Posted by gav016:
“Clare Maguire & Fyfe Dangerfield are from Birmingham too.”
“Clare Maguire & Fyfe Dangerfield are from Birmingham too.”
Claire Maguire was from just outside of Birmingham, technically.
I used to live near her when I was younger, and she went to an all-girls school that was just across from the road from my school, and she was a few years above me. I didn't know who she was until this year though. But some of the local radio stations here play her a lot.
Rizzle Kicks are from Birmingham aswell, I think.
Originally Posted by Eric_Blob:
“Rizzle Kicks are from Birmingham aswell, I think.”
“Rizzle Kicks are from Birmingham aswell, I think.”
I know one of them is from Brighton, as one of them was in the year above me at my secondary school. The other one must be too, I suppose.
Originally Posted by AdamDowds:
“I know one of them is from Brighton, as one of them was in the year above me at my secondary school. The other one must be too, I suppose.”
“I know one of them is from Brighton, as one of them was in the year above me at my secondary school. The other one must be too, I suppose.”
Wow. That's awesome!
I heard they went to BRITs school aswell, which is where they met each other, but I guess you go to BRITs school when you're college aged?
Originally Posted by urt31:
“The Streets/Mike Skinner?
UB40?
Most of Black Sabbath?
Judas Priest?
Duran Duran?
Beverly Knight?
Robert Plant?
Editors?
Ocean Colour Scene?
And they're only the major ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are also some brilliant local musicians as well.”
“The Streets/Mike Skinner?
UB40?
Most of Black Sabbath?
Judas Priest?
Duran Duran?
Beverly Knight?
Robert Plant?
Editors?
Ocean Colour Scene?
And they're only the major ones I can think of off the top of my head. There are also some brilliant local musicians as well.”
Robert Plant isn't from Birmingham. Close enough though.
Birmingham itself probably doesn't have that many bands or much of a musical heritage, although it was one of the key places where the 2-tone/ska movement of the 80s started with bands like The Beat being from Birmingham, (although other notable 2-tone bands like The Specials and The Selector were from Coventry rather than Birmingham.)
But if we include the Black Country as well as, then Birmingham & The Black Country becomes one of the most influential areas ever in the UK for music - because it's where heavy metal originated. There's been an exibition over this summer at Birmingham Museam and Art Gallery called "The Home of Metal" which celebrated this musical heritage.
And then of course there was the celebrated Stourbridge music scene of the late 80s/early 90s when bands like The Wonder Stuff, Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned's Atomic Dustbin all emerged to rival anything that London, Leeds or Manchester was doing at the time!
But if we include the Black Country as well as, then Birmingham & The Black Country becomes one of the most influential areas ever in the UK for music - because it's where heavy metal originated. There's been an exibition over this summer at Birmingham Museam and Art Gallery called "The Home of Metal" which celebrated this musical heritage.
And then of course there was the celebrated Stourbridge music scene of the late 80s/early 90s when bands like The Wonder Stuff, Pop Will Eat Itself and Ned's Atomic Dustbin all emerged to rival anything that London, Leeds or Manchester was doing at the time!
If you look just outside Birmingham into the Black Country (which isn't Birmingham but it's part of the region) you'll see why the Black Country is called the "birthplace of Heavy Metal". Lemmy, Led Zepellin, Slade, Judas Priest all have their roots in this area.
From Wikipedia:-
Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied musical history over the last century. Birmingham bands have made a major contribution to the musical culture of the United Kingdom, with many contemporary bands citing Birmingham bands as a major influence. In the 1960s, the "Brum Beat" era featured blues and early progressive rock bands, such as The Moody Blues and Velvett Fogg. The city is often described as the birthplace of heavy metal music, with pioneering metal bands from the late 1960s and 1970s such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, as well as two members of Led Zeppelin, having come from Birmingham. The next decade saw the influential metal band Napalm Death arise from the city.
In the 1970s, members of The Move and The Idle Race formed the Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city with such bands as Steel Pulse, UB40, Musical Youth, Beshara and The Beat, expounding racial unity with politically leftist lyrics and multiracial line-ups, mirroring social currents in Birmingham at that time. Seminal 1980s pop band Duran Duran are also from Birmingham.
The city is also considered to be the birthplace of Bhangra music with various pioneering bands citing it as their home in the 1980s.
Birmingham has also produced a number of popular bands and musicians including Ocean Colour Scene, The Spencer Davis Group, The Streets, and The Twang. Musicians Jeff Lynne, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, John Lodge, Roy Wood, Joan Armatrading, Toyah Willcox, Denny Laine, Sukshinder Shinda, Steve Winwood, and Fyfe Dangerfield all grew up in the city.
Jazz has a following in the city, with the Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival running alongside the year-round contemporary programme presented by promoters and development agency Birmingham Jazz, directed by Tony Dudley-Evans. The musician-led Cobweb Collective also present regular jazz sessions in several venues around the city.
The internationally-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is Symphony Hall. There is a City Organist; since 1834 only seven men have held this position. The current holder, Thomas Trotter, has been in post since 1983. Weekly recitals have been given since the organ in Birmingham Town Hall was opened.
The Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals took place from 1784 to 1912. Music was specially composed, conducted or performed by Mendelssohn, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvořák, Bantock and Edward Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham. Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius had its début performance there in 1900. Composers born in the city include Albert William Ketèlbey and Andrew Glover.
Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include The National Indoor Arena, which was opened in 1991, 02 Academy on Bristol Street, which opened in September 2009 replacing the 02 Academy in Dale End, The CBSO Centre, opened in 1997, HMV Institute in Digbeth and the Adrian Boult Hall, which was built along with Paradise Forum and Birmingham Central Library, at Birmingham Conservatoire.
Birmingham has had a vibrant and varied musical history over the last century. Birmingham bands have made a major contribution to the musical culture of the United Kingdom, with many contemporary bands citing Birmingham bands as a major influence. In the 1960s, the "Brum Beat" era featured blues and early progressive rock bands, such as The Moody Blues and Velvett Fogg. The city is often described as the birthplace of heavy metal music, with pioneering metal bands from the late 1960s and 1970s such as Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, as well as two members of Led Zeppelin, having come from Birmingham. The next decade saw the influential metal band Napalm Death arise from the city.
In the 1970s, members of The Move and The Idle Race formed the Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city with such bands as Steel Pulse, UB40, Musical Youth, Beshara and The Beat, expounding racial unity with politically leftist lyrics and multiracial line-ups, mirroring social currents in Birmingham at that time. Seminal 1980s pop band Duran Duran are also from Birmingham.
The city is also considered to be the birthplace of Bhangra music with various pioneering bands citing it as their home in the 1980s.
Birmingham has also produced a number of popular bands and musicians including Ocean Colour Scene, The Spencer Davis Group, The Streets, and The Twang. Musicians Jeff Lynne, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, John Lodge, Roy Wood, Joan Armatrading, Toyah Willcox, Denny Laine, Sukshinder Shinda, Steve Winwood, and Fyfe Dangerfield all grew up in the city.
Jazz has a following in the city, with the Harmonic Festival, the Mostly Jazz Festival and the annual International Jazz Festival running alongside the year-round contemporary programme presented by promoters and development agency Birmingham Jazz, directed by Tony Dudley-Evans. The musician-led Cobweb Collective also present regular jazz sessions in several venues around the city.
The internationally-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is Symphony Hall. There is a City Organist; since 1834 only seven men have held this position. The current holder, Thomas Trotter, has been in post since 1983. Weekly recitals have been given since the organ in Birmingham Town Hall was opened.
The Birmingham Triennial Music Festivals took place from 1784 to 1912. Music was specially composed, conducted or performed by Mendelssohn, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvořák, Bantock and Edward Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham. Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius had its début performance there in 1900. Composers born in the city include Albert William Ketèlbey and Andrew Glover.
Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include The National Indoor Arena, which was opened in 1991, 02 Academy on Bristol Street, which opened in September 2009 replacing the 02 Academy in Dale End, The CBSO Centre, opened in 1997, HMV Institute in Digbeth and the Adrian Boult Hall, which was built along with Paradise Forum and Birmingham Central Library, at Birmingham Conservatoire.
yes, a lot of the bands in the new wave of british heavy metal came from Birmingham.
The almighty Judas Priest probably being my favourites. Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Lemmy, Grim Reaper, Diamond Head etc.
I think Witchfinder General were also from there as well but I'd have to check.
The almighty Judas Priest probably being my favourites. Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Lemmy, Grim Reaper, Diamond Head etc.
I think Witchfinder General were also from there as well but I'd have to check.
Lots of the stuff being mentioned in that wikipidea entry is of course really The Black Country, not Birmingham. It is always a problem trying to separate the two when it comes to, well, pretty much anything, so most people end up grouping them together - which is probably fair enough.
However, I'm not convinced that The Twang should be held up as a shining example of Birmingham's musical heritage.
However, I'm not convinced that The Twang should be held up as a shining example of Birmingham's musical heritage.
Originally Posted by Coen:
“It is always a problem trying to separate the two when it comes to, well, pretty much anything, so most people end up grouping them together - which is probably fair enough.”
“It is always a problem trying to separate the two when it comes to, well, pretty much anything, so most people end up grouping them together - which is probably fair enough.”
Manchester likes to claim the glory for anything Salford has to offer so it’s only fair that Brum gets to include the likes of Tipton and West Bromwich.
Anyway, go back to the early to mid 70's and you couldn’t walk into a pub round here without tripping over a metal band. Visiting your first pub gig was a special moment for many teenagers growing up in the 70's, just as important as that first pint with your Dad on your 18th birthday.
Originally Posted by Bald Eagle 72:
“Manchester likes to claim the glory for anything Salford has to offer so it’s only fair that Brum gets to include the likes of Tipton and West Bromwich.
Anyway, go back to the early to mid 70's and you couldn’t walk into a pub round here without tripping over a metal band. Visiting your first pub gig was a special moment for many teenagers growing up in the 70's, just as important as that first pint with your Dad on your 18th birthday.”
“Manchester likes to claim the glory for anything Salford has to offer so it’s only fair that Brum gets to include the likes of Tipton and West Bromwich.
Anyway, go back to the early to mid 70's and you couldn’t walk into a pub round here without tripping over a metal band. Visiting your first pub gig was a special moment for many teenagers growing up in the 70's, just as important as that first pint with your Dad on your 18th birthday.”
Yep I think treating Birmingham & The Black Country as a single area is fair enough, most people outside of the region do that anyway in term of accents etc.
Actually living in Birmingham as I do, I've been surprised at the number of American rock bands/musicians that have mentioned the city's musical heritage in terms of heavy metal music etc when I've seen them playing live in recent years - and these aren't just heavy metal bands, they're all sort of rock bands.
I think sometimes in the UK we don't appreciate just how big an impact the early metal bands from Birmingham & The Black Country had worldwide, particulary in North America.
I know he's not the best singer but isn't Zayn Malik from Birmingham? Zayn from One Direction? Or is that Bradford or somewhere?
thank you all for the info! maybe its because im not a fan of heavy metal that i didnt realise just how many bands are from there. Saying that though Birmingham is huge there still should be alot more!
Originally Posted by bazellis:
“Musical Youth”
“Musical Youth”
one of the guys in musical youth used to tend a bar near new street station
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