Coventry as a site of youth culture: from boomtown to the ghost town and beyond

This article charts the evolution of youth culture in Coventry, starting with the optimistic postwar decades, during which a youthful, working class population prospered, with full employment provided by the automotive industry. In addition to music events held at major venues, such as The Locarno, Coventry had thriving jazz, folk and skiffle scenes that were often run along more informal lines. This period also saw immigrants from Ireland and Commonwealth countries. Late night ‘blues parties’ run by and for Caribbean communities were held around Coventry, while early reggae and ska acts performed at its venues.

Hard rock acts featured prominently in the listings at Coventry music venues in the 1970s. Punk was slow off the mark in Coventry, and the inaugural gig by Sex Pistols and The Clash in 1977 was a poorly attended, uninspiring affair. Young punks were also marginal amidst the dominant trend for nightclubs to play soul, disco and/or pop for an aspirational and/or escapist crowd. Punks also often maintained a low profile, despite dressing conspicuously, as they were frequently the target of violence.

Nevertheless, by the time 2-Tone emerged, famously putting Coventry on the map in 1979, an exciting punk and post punk scene was in full flow, providing, along with the city’s ska heritage, the inspiration for this genre. A rise in unemployment of the 1970s was exacerbated, along with petty crime, racist attacks and bleak prospects for the city’s youth, during Margaret Thatcher’s first term in government, providing the backdrop for Ghost Town (1981) by The Specials. Coventry was at the centre of the house music ‘revolution’ in the late 1980s, while the 1990s saw the city’s second generation, South Asian youth involved in the hip hop and rave scenes, and making an indelible contribution to the development of British Bhangra.

An article on the post-war evolution of youth culture in Coventry, commissioned by the Museum of Youth Culture, as part of the Coventry UK City of Culture 21 celebrations. A shortened version was displayed at the Herbert Gallery exhibition, Grown up in Britain-100 Years of Teenage Kicks, with a QR code link to the full article:

https://www.museumofyouthculture.com/beyond-the-ghost-town/

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