Music-Making, Urban Development and Neoliberalism in Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1995-2010
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Whose party is it anyway? Music-making, urban development and neoliberalism in Newcastle upon Tyne, 1995-2010 Iván Diaz Burlinson Submitted in fulfilment of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy International Centre for Music Studies Newcastle University August 2017 ii Abstract This thesis assesses some of the socio-spatial impacts of city branding and culture-led regeneration in Newcastle-upon-Tyne,1 in North East England, on local music scenes during the period 1995—2010. It critiques in particular the ways in which the process of neoliberalisation in Newcastle has shaped local urban development and culture. While focused on the local, the study seeks also to highlight how the reproduction of urban music scenes is intertwined with much broader economic and political currents. It adopts a multi-disciplinary approach, drawing on aspects of popular music studies, urban and cultural geographies, and cultural theory. A range of methodologies is employed and extensive use is made of the internet as both archive and research tool. It is above all grounded in lived experience, the author having been a local resident and active musician since 2003. The first two chapters provide the context in which Newcastle became known as the ‘Party City’, an image created as part of a city (re)branding campaign designed to promote ‘NewcastleGateshead’ as a cultural destination. Analysis focuses on the strategies by which this was achieved, and the ideology and motivation behind the campaign. Three case studies are then presented that examine the impacts on local music scenes of the closures of three well-known venues, each of which was an important space for various scenes. Analysis positions Newcastle’s music scenes in relation to shifts in capitalist accumulation. In conclusion, an assessment of the post-Party City period validates points made throughout the thesis, with some suggestions as to strategies that Newcastle might develop to allow music-making to be incorporated more constructively into its vision for a vibrant contemporary city. 1 Hereafter referred to as Newcastle iii Dedication This thesis is dedicated to my father, John Burlinson, who died during my third year. Despite our differences in musical taste, I know he would have found this study fascinating. iv Acknowledgements I firstly would like to thank my mother, Nina Burlinson, without who my return to education would not have happened. My supervisors, Dr. Nanette de Jong and Dr. Ian Biddle have both been enormously supportive. The AHRC sponsored the second and third years of my study. Tom Caulker, Jonathan Miles, Carl Taylor, Cait Read, Callum Costello, Kate Hodgkinson and Amy Wardley all gave up their time to be interviewed. My friend and erstwhile housemate Kristian Clark, an oracle of music in Newcastle. Dr. Matthew Ord, who trod the rocky path to doctorhood with me. My sister Natalia Diaz Burlinson had space when I needed it most. And, last but by no means least, my partner Joanne Hedley, who has always been there, and still is. v Table of Contents Whose party is it anyway? Music-making, urban development and neoliberalism in Newcastle upon Tyne, 1995-2010 i Abstract iii Dedication iv Acknowledgements v Table of Contents 6 Part 1: Setting the scene 9 Chapter 1: Introduction 11 Thesis structure 16 Methodology 18 Chapter 2: Definitions and distinctions 25 'Mainstream' vs. 'non-mainstream' 25 Neoliberalism in theory and practice 37 Broader frameworks and the limits of agency 60 Scenes, networks, cultures, identities 63 Chapter 3: The creation of the Party City 77 Origins of the Party City 77 Mapping the Party City 95 Chapter 4: The ‘Newcastle brand’ 125 Regeneration in Newcastle: a synopsis 125 Commodifying identity: 'place branding' 135 6 Part 2: Case studies 149 Introduction 151 Chapter 5: Case Study - The Mayfair Ballroom 155 Chapter 6: Case study - Riverside 177 Chapter 7: Case study - The Cooperage 207 Chapter 8: Conclusions 245 Impacts of the Party City years on Newcastle music scenes 245 Bibliography 289 Books 289 Articles, papers, documents, book chapters and reports 293 Online press articles, documents and blog posts 307 Online forum discussion boards and social media groups 323 Documentaries, films, television and online videos 325 7 8 Part 1: Setting the scene 9 10 Chapter 1: Introduction From the mid-1990s until the end of the 2000s, Newcastle-upon-Tyne1 became known to many as the ‘Party City’, an image arising from a broader campaign of ‘culture-led regeneration’ during which the built environment was transformed in pursuit of a ‘brand image’.2 This thesis evaluates the extent to which the closures of three important music venues during that period impacted on the music scenes that used them. It examines the processes of urban change of which the closures were a part, how these affected aspects of Newcastle’s musical life and local cultural activity more broadly. A multi-disciplinary approach is adopted, drawing on popular music studies, cultural geography, critical theory and urban studies, in order to situate locally specific cultural dynamics within the context of changing global politico-economic currents, namely the shift towards flexible accumulation3 and the concomitant rise of neoliberal ideology.4 As such, the analysis pays particular attention to the constraints placed on local music-making by external forces, represented most overtly by the instrumentalised reconfiguration of the built environment. However, other policy-related processes brought about largely by deregulation, such as changes in licensing and the growing influence of the private sector on the trajectory of urban development, are equally significant in this respect. The conclusions offer an overview of the spatial effects of the Party City period and some of the strategies employed by those affected to adapt to the changed environment. Some suggestions as to how music could be more constructively incorporated into Newcastle’s future development are also proposed. It should be noted that this thesis is not intended to be an overview of all of Newcastle’s musical culture. The initial point of departure for the study was the observation that, in and around the city, there is a host of musicians and audiences of vastly broader musical scope than is regularly represented in the city’s venues, largely due to the changes that occurred throughout the years in question. There are numerous music events every week in 1 Hereafter referred to as Newcastle. 2 Chris Wharton, John Fenwick & Hilary Fawcett, ‘Public policy in the Party City: The spectacle of culture, gender and locality’, International Journal of Public Administration 33 (2010), 779-789, 780. 3 See for example David Harvey, The condition of postmodernity (Oxford: Blackwell, 1989). 4 See for example David Harvey, A brief history of neoliberalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007); also Neil Brenner & Nik Theodore, ‘Neoliberalism and the urban condition’, City: Analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, 9/1 (2005), 101-107. 11 Newcastle, and if one’s taste falls within a certain range then there is no doubt that musical provision will be more than adequate. However, the loss of space for music has increased the pressure on that which remains, meaning fewer local artists and small-scale promoters are able to access venues at peak times (i.e. weekends), to reach reasonably sized audiences; there has also been a resultant narrowing of the types of music available. Positive appraisals of musical life in Newcastle have appeared with some regularity, but the health of the scene is usually gauged by the number of bands that are deemed likely to achieve commercial success,5 rather than highlighting the more innovative corners of local music-making. Also, some music scenes, such as jazz and folk, have experienced far less disruption than others, a point that can arguably be linked to broader social relations and the general trajectory of development in Newcastle; these music types are relatively easy to accommodate and also fit more easily into the gentrifying image Newcastle has pursued over the past decade in particular. As such, they do not figure prominently in the following chapters, which are more concerned with those musical networks in the city that have been most affected by local development, and why it is that this has been the case. Research gap Newcastle is a distinctive city in terms of its history, identity, culture and politics. Yet, it has attracted relatively little attention from within the academy. Most scholarship on the city, and indeed the North East in general, is concerned with the quite dramatic socio-economic decline it experienced throughout the twentieth century, and the changing capitalist environments that gave rise to that process. From a musical point of view, there is hardly any academic literature. The only book to analyse popular music in Newcastle in any depth is Andy Bennett’s Popular music and youth culture,6 published in 2000, which examines certain local youth identities and how these are articulated through music. Bennett, however, makes few attempts to situate the musical activities of these youth groups in a broader urban-political context. Several books and papers were published around the Millennium that examine the changing function and provision of nightlife in general, in the context of youth culture within a framework of broader urban and economic change. This research was carried out by Paul Chatterton and Robert Hollands of Newcastle University’s sociology 5 See for example Melissa Mean & Charlie Tims, ‘In Concert: Growing NewcastleGateshead as a music city’ (NGI/DEMOS, 2005). 6 Andy Bennett, Popular music and youth culture: Music, Identity and Place (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000), one of the few other texts that deals with popular music in Newcastle. 12 department.7 However, music only figures in these studies as one of many elements of nightlife, and there are few in-depth discussions of the role of specific venues or local scenes.