In this pioneering cultural history, Andrew Blake examines the many ways in which twentieth century Britons have tried to find a distinctive musical voice. Musicians (including the new populations from the former colonies) have proposed 'national' musics for Britain as a whole and its constituent parts. Working in dialogue with European classical or American popular musics, the British produced the folk revivals of the 1920s and 1950s, the pastoral symphonies of the 1920s, the pop of the 1960s and of course Britpop in the 1990s. By surveying the debates surrounding the status of such artists and styles as the Beatles, Birtwistle, Blur and Bhangra, Andrew Blake emphasises the importance of music as a generator of value and identity. Including ground-breaking analyses of jazz-rock, ambient, the 'landscape with music' of the festival, and the Proms, this book will interest musicians, historians and those interested in contemporary culture.