Introduction

The growing recognition of the importance of popular music styles to readers – and particularly to the all- important youth market – was, clearly, acknowledged by the major newspapers, and, in particular, the popular titles, by the late 1950s. This awareness was further reflected in the development of columns specifically dedicated to the music, comprising record reviews, commentary on the industry and reports on specific artistes. It is upon the evolution of such columns, particularly within the popular press, but subsequently, and increasingly, in the serious titles, that this chapter focuses. Once again, exploration of this dimension of newspaper coverage of popular music allows scholars to look beyond straightforward perceptions of condemnatory attitudes and moral outrage. It also highlights that, at least initially, and contrary to prevalent opinion, the popular press demonstrated greater initiative in bringing the music – as music – to their readers. While acknowledging the various popular music critics whose work appeared in the popular press at this time – from Judith Simons of the Express to Adrian Mitchell and Kenneth Allsop of the Mail – the chapter highlights the particularly distinctive contribution made by Patrick Doncaster, the Mirror's pop columnist throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, in this regard.

The steady increase of enthusiasm for popular music styles exhibited by the popular press arguably peaked in the early 1960s as the popularity of the Beatles soared. Significantly, it was also at this point that the serious newspapers began, steadily, to take more consistent note of contemporary musical developments. The particular importance of ‘Beatlemania’, both as a cultural phenomenon and as a pivotal moment within which the cultural validity of popular music was widely acknowledged by various sectors of the press, must therefore be acknowledged.

Popular Music Coverage in the Daily Press: The Popular Newspapers as Pioneers

Between 1956 and the emergence of the ‘beat groups’ of the early 1960s, serious papers certainly seemed less eager to respond to, or comment extensively upon, the new popular music trends, notwithstanding occasional features on prominent performers or particular concerts. Facing less concerted pressure to cultivate a populist dynamic to increase sales, they responded to and engaged with popular culture phenomena inconsistently during this time. George Melly asserted that, during the formative years of British rock ‘ n’ roll, ‘the quality papers had either no interest in pop, or, more likely, were totally unaware of it’.