Studio Electrophonique: The Sheffield Space Age, from the Human League to Pulp | Jamie Taylor

CONTAINS BOOKPLATE SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR

'The space age optimism that prevailed against a backdrop of grey mundanity is now in short supply'.

The second title in Manchester University Press's 'British Pop Archive' series leads us, once again, to Yorkshire. This time the epicentre of cultural fracture and change is Sheffield, the birthplace of a brand new breed of bands. Inspired by Kubrick, the space race, Dada and the bomb, and nurtured by an extraordinary recording enthusiast who pushed their visions into the atmosphere - this is a tale that needed to be told.

Starting as an investigation into the life, work and passions of Ken Patten, who helmed the titular Studio Electronique from his cosy family home, this fascinating book weaves a space age vapour trail that attempts escape velocity from the prosaic, bleak and humdrum world of late '70s Britain. The pilots of these escapist dreams: The Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Clock DVA, ABC, Heaven 17, Pulp and a cast of lesser know astral travellers.

The book is a brilliant mix of oral history, detective work, and cultural study, and a valuable historical exploration of a city and those inhabitants who attempted to look to the future in a post-punk Britain under a shadow of unemployment, small mindedness, and the threat of nuclear annihilation. 

Size: 128 x 198 (paperback)

Pages: 304 (18 b/w illustrations)

Publisher: Manchester University Press