Making History

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'Dr James Nott at St Andrews University contacted the programme to enlist your help with a project which he is leading to research Britain’s dance hall culture.

Professor John Walton at Leeds Metropolitan University and Andy Medhurst at the University of Sussex told the programme that the dance halls of the twenties and thirties raised a kind of moral panic because sex was on the agenda as well as dancing.

There was heavy influence from America and radio picked up on the music and turned bandleaders into stars.

Reporter Caz Graham went to Blackpool and met up with Thelma and Barry Band who recalled the heyday of the town’s dance halls.


I discussed the history of dance halls in Britain during the 20th Century, interacting with contributions from Professor John Walton and Dr Andy Medhurst. I then launched an appeal for help with my oral history of dance halls. I received a large number of responses which I then followed up.
Period13 Oct 2009Feb 2010