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Live Underground Heavy Metal: the Perseverance and Decline of an Art

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Live Underground Heavy Metal: the Perseverance and Decline of an Art Live Underground Heavy Metal: The Perseverance and Decline of an Art World A thesis submitted to the University of Manchester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Humanities 2017 Rachel Weller Emms School of Social Sciences Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... 5 Declaration ............................................................................................................................... 6 Copyright Statement ................................................................................................................ 6 The Author ............................................................................................................................... 7 Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter One: Tremors in the Underground ............................................................................ 8 1.1. Setting the Scene ..................................................................................................... 8 1.2. Thesis Arguments and Structure ............................................................................ 10 Chapter Two: Music as Collective Action and Symptoms of Decline ..................................... 13 2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 13 2.2. Origins of Heavy Metal................................................................................................ 13 2.3. Art Worlds ................................................................................................................... 19 2.4 Spaces, Cities and Venues ............................................................................................ 25 2.5 Promotion, Technology and the Impact of the Virtual ................................................ 31 2.5.1. Record Sales and Technology .............................................................................. 33 2.6. Audiences, Ageing and Decline ................................................................................... 36 2.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 39 Chapter Three: Methods and Mixing in Music Worlds .......................................................... 42 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 42 3.2. Research Design .......................................................................................................... 42 3.2.1. Research Themes, Questions and Methods ........................................................ 43 3.3. Preliminary Focus Group and Situating the Research ................................................ 44 3.4. Setting and Surveying the Scene ................................................................................. 47 3.5. The Impact of ‘the Insider’, Interviews and Observations .......................................... 52 3.5.1. Sampling ............................................................................................................... 53 3.5.2. Interviewing the Active ........................................................................................ 56 3.5.3. Email and Skype ................................................................................................... 58 3.5.4. Observations ........................................................................................................ 60 3.6. Ethics, Consent and Confidentiality ............................................................................ 61 3.7. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 62 Chapter Four: A Trip around the Toilet Circuit ...................................................................... 63 2 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 63 4.2. London ........................................................................................................................ 63 4.2.1. Venue Closure in London ..................................................................................... 70 4.2.2. London’s Promoters ............................................................................................. 71 4.3. Bristol .......................................................................................................................... 73 4.4. “The Home of Metal”: Birmingham ............................................................................ 78 4.5. The Northern Triangle: Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool ......................................... 83 4.5.1. Liverpool............................................................................................................... 83 4.5.2. Manchester .......................................................................................................... 85 4.5.3. Leeds .................................................................................................................... 90 4.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 92 Chapter Five: “Supporting the Scene” ................................................................................... 96 5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 96 5.2. Support Personnel ...................................................................................................... 96 5.3. Promotion Practices and Change: From the Material to the Digital ........................ 103 5.3.1. Increased Interaction with the Virtual Community ........................................... 104 5.3.2. Influx of ‘Amateurs’ ............................................................................................ 106 5.4. Further Financial Constraints .................................................................................... 109 5.4.1. Artist Hospitality ................................................................................................ 112 5.5. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 114 Chapter Six: Community, Audience and Attendance ........................................................... 116 6.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 116 6.2. Art Worlds and the Serious Audience ....................................................................... 116 6.2.1. Trends in Events ................................................................................................. 117 6.2.2. Audiences and Ageing ........................................................................................ 119 6.3. Serious Audience Members ...................................................................................... 122 6.4. Festivals and All-Dayers ............................................................................................ 125 6.5. Behaviour and Community ....................................................................................... 128 6.6. Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 136 Chapter Seven: Conclusion .................................................................................................. 138 7.1. Contribution .............................................................................................................. 138 7.2. Decline ...................................................................................................................... 139 7.3. Pooling Resources ..................................................................................................... 142 3 7.4. Serious Audience Members ...................................................................................... 143 7.5. Scenic Solidarity ........................................................................................................ 144 7.6. Conceptual Reflection ............................................................................................... 145 7.7. Future Implications ................................................................................................... 147 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 149 APPENDIX 1 .......................................................................................................................... 157 APPENDIX 2 .......................................................................................................................... 159 List of Tables and Figures Table 1: Participant Information 54/55 Figure 1: Events by Type 48 Figure 2: Distribution of Events by Location 49 Figure 3: London Events by Venue 64 Figure 4: London Events by Borough 64 Figure 5: Map of Venues in Camden Town 65 Figure 6: Map of Venues in Birmingham 78 Figure 7: Map of Venues in Manchester 85 Figure 8: Map of Venues in Leeds 90 Figure 9: Average attendance by
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