Introduction

Music reflects and feeds emotions. It inspires, comforts, offends and entertains. Music awakens memory and punctuates our present. The Music is Black: A British Story traces the roots and routes of music that has descended from African musical practices and gone on to influence and transform British identity over the past 125 years. It explores where Black music in Britain since 1900 has come from - tracking an ever-evolving sound shaped by British colonialism, transatlantic enslavement and voluntary migration. From lovers rock and Brit funk, to 2 Tone, jungle and grime, this exhibition reveals the creation of British­born Black music genres and how they have impacted lives across the country and beyond - how we speak, dress and view the world. The Music is Black is a story of Black struggle, resilience, creativity and joy. It is a story of us all.

Origins of Music

People have always made music - to express their identities and respond to the different environments around them. And so music changes with social, racial, ethnic and tribal traditions, faith practices, language and geographic location. As people move, their identities and music change again. From the 1400s, European nations made contact with West Africa. Within 100 years, British and European powers were trafficking Black men, women and children across the Atlantic Ocean into enslavement. This dispersal created an African diaspora and, with it, new cultural and musical identities.

The Drummer, 1978

Ben Enwonwu

Drums are more than musical instruments. They carry messages, from forewarning danger to heralding important arrivals. Across the African continent, social status often determines who designs and plays drums during cultural events. Artist Ben Enwonwu created this study of a drummer for a larger work commissioned by Nigerian telecommunication company NITEL. Using it as a symbol of communication, he affirms the drum's cultural significance and influence on modern interactions.

Nigeria, Cold-cast bronze, Lent by Gautam Hathiramani & Kanika Kapoor

Nature

Humans have always looked to nature to furnish their need to communicate. Plants, sea life, animal bone, skin, hair and horns have all been used for musical expression, by refashioning and reconstructing them as instruments. At the same time, humans have strived to replicate and adapt the sound of nature itself to create music.

Musical bow (unrecorded date)

Unrecorded maker

Musical bows like this are among the oldest known stringed instruments in the world. Here a gourd fruit shell and a fabric buffer support a stringed arc. Players pluck or strike the string, holding the gourd against their body to amplify the sound. In the 1930s, this single-stringed instrument inspired the Diddley Bow, which had a key influence on the development of blues music in America's Mississippi Delta.

Zambia, Wood, gourd calabash, iron wire, cotton, Lent by The Hunterian, University of Glasgow, GLAHM:138515

British Imperialism and Colonialism

Britain's trade in Black African people and the materials farmed by their enforced labour swelled the power and wealth of its empire. As Britain's empire grew, so did its oppression of Black Africanexpression.

From spoken language to music and dance, enslaved people weresilenced, and rebellion was punished by violence.

Yet people did resist, and their actions are still commemorated today.

‘Reflected Fragments (Koromanti)’, ‘Fragments of Angola’, ‘Passage of Time B (Koromanti)’, 2026

Bankey Ojo

In Jamaica in 1688, British physician Hans Sloane tasked a man with notating speech expressed in songs performed by enslaved Nigerians and set them to music. The works remain the oldest known transcriptions of African music in the Caribbean. British composer Bankey Ojo reinterpreted the transcriptions in the three original compositions you can hear throughout this section.

Original music by Bankey Ojo

Charter of Royal Adventurers of England Trading into Africa, 1663

Royal African Company

King Charles ll's signature on this document made legal the trade of African people. The King was an investor in The Company of Royal Adventurers, governed by his brother James, Duke of York, and granted it a monopoly over gold mines and trading throughout West Africa. The Company exchanged goods and weapons for captured Black Africans and then transported them for enslavement in the Americas and Caribbean. This forced migration resulted in the African diaspora.

England, Reproduction, From the British Library archive/Bridgeman Images

Letter from Samuel Galton to James Farmer, 1752

Samuel Galton

This letter shows how Britain's global economic dominance was tied to the 'slave economy'. Industries across the country relied on the labour of enslaved people, as well as the raw materials they produced.

James Farmer and Samuel Galton ran one of Birmingham's most successful gunmaking companies. Here they discuss preparing orders for their client, a British merchant travelling to Africa to exchange Farmer & Galton guns for enslaved Black African people.

England , Reproduction, Birmingham Library and Archive Services

Transcript of letter

Mr Farmer

I have your favour of 6^th. Observe your expectation of orders for Angolon [sic] Musqts is not very immediate but have I almost finished the order for Adlington.

Have stocked here about 500 Angolo Musqts and I will get more stocked but will keep of the finish of as much as possible till nigh the time they will be wanted.

Mr Parr writes that Mr Chalmer hath a small vessel building at Liverpool for the Coast of Africa and will take about 500 Guns to Captain Grimshaw who is to have her proposed to be ready in a month if Mr Chalmer provides the cargo in time. Mr Chalmer is now in London and hath an abstract of the cargo. I hope you'll have the order for of guns and shall be glad to know the ports as soon as possible.

Mr Parr writes that Mr Bostock hath allowed 7 ½ for money to theowners of Sterling Castle who hath afford the same discount to pay us. Mr Parr and Crafsbie met Mr Bostock on charge and I told him their sentiments but he persists in his notion that it will have a good effect and did not know but would allow 7½ and is not yet determined.

Manumission papers supplied to Edward Addo Brathwaite, 1817

J. H. Pinder

Addo Brathwaite was freed from slavery in Barbados at the age of 73 for 'good conduct'. He was still required to carry these documents, known asmanumission papers, at all times to confirm his status and had to present them if challenged. This document was given to Addo 16 years before Britain's Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833. The British empire still forced enslaved people to work under 'apprenticeships' until 1838.

Barbados, Reproduction, Lent by Peter Brathwaite

Sample of Penistone cloth, 1783

Unrecorded maker

After being manufactured and dyed in South Yorkshire, this cloth was sentto Turner's Hall, the Fitzherbert family's slave plantation in Barbados. Attached to the fragment is a note that reads:

"Penistone sent for negro clothing 1783 which for substance, strength and unchangeable colour, is best adapted to that purpose."

The Fitzherberts' purchased large quantities of this cloth to make garments for enslaved workers to wear on their plantation.

Derby, UK, Paper, textiIe, ink, On loan from Derbyshire Record Office, D239/M/E/20785

Letter to Josiah Wedgwood on the abolition of the slave trade, 1793

Olaudah Equiano

Olaudah Equiano was a Sierra-Leonean-born abolitionist, author and campaigner, following his own freedom from enslavement. In this letter to British ceramist Josiah Wedgwood, he shares his fears of being kidnapped and sold back into slavery while travelling to the port city of Bristol. This illustrates the trust between the pair, as well as the risks Equiano faced in campaigning against slavery while living as a free Black man in Britain.

London, Ink on paper, V&A Wedgwood Collection. Presented by Art Fund with major support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, private donations and a public appeal V&A: E31-24058

Transcript of letter

London, August 21st, 1793

D[ea]r Worthy Sir,

I am with great respects - hope you are well -

D[ea]r Sir I hope you do remember that you did once tell me if that I was to be molested by the press gang to write to Mr Phillip Steven - at the.Admiralty-

I will now take it a great favour to inform me, if I may act so in case I am molested - I mean next week to be in Bristol - where I have some of my narrative engaged - I am very apt to think I must have enemys [sic] there

Dear Sir, I leave London - on Friday 23^rd inst- therefore will take it a particular favour if you will be kind enough as to direct to me few lines at the post office - till called for - Bristol -

Worthy Sir,

I am with all the respects ever yours to command, Gustavus Vassa,

The African

Anti-slavery medallion, 1787

William Hackwood for Josiah Wedgwood and Sons

Alongside the kneeling figure in chains on this medallion reads the plea 'Am I not a man and a brother?' This medallion became a popular symbol of abolition. The design was replicated across accessories from bags to hairpins, appealing to a growing number of people who opposed slavery. While British ceramicist Josiah Wedgwood supported abolition, his company still sold products, like sugar bowls, that met demands for goods produced by enslaved people.

Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent, UK, Jasperware clay with applied relief, V&A Wedgwood Collection. Presented by Art Fund with major support from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, private donations and a public appeal, V&A: WE.7831-2014

Haytian stamps

These stamps commemorate key events in the Haytian Revolution, a rebellion against slavery and French colonial rule. One depicts the Bois Caiman ceremony, a Vodou ritual that preceded the first battle in 1791. The other shows Haytian revolutionary Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniere on the battlefield during the Battle of Crete-a-Pierrot in 1802. After a series of organised conflicts, Hayti gained independence in 1804, becoming the first country to overthrow European colonialism and slavery in a slave-led revolution.

Stamp depicting the Bois Caiman ceremony, 1968

Raoul Dupoux (artist), Austrian State Printing House (printer)

Hayti Reproduction, Courtesy of the Haiti Philatelic Society

Stamp depicting the Battle of Crete-a-Pierrot for the 150th anniversary of Independence, 1954

Georges Remponeau (artist), Waterlow & Sons Ltd (printer)

Hayti Reproduction, Courtesy of the Haiti Philatelic Society

Banknote, 2002

Bank of Jamaica

Over 11 days in December 1832, enslaved Baptist preacher Samuel Sharpe led the Baptist War in Jamaica. Word had reached the Caribbean island of the debates in British parliament about freeing enslaved people. More than 60,000 enslaved people took part in the war, and Sharpe was later executed for his role. Slavery was abolished across the British empire a year later, although many were forced to work under 'apprenticeships' until 1838. Sharpe is honoured here on Jamaica's $50 note.

Jamaica, Paper

The Soucouyant Visitation, 1985

John Lyons

A soucouyant is a Trinidadian folklore spirit who shapeshifts from her human form. She is depicted here as a fireball entering a sIeeping victim's home. Like many folklore characters, the soucouyant emerged from the mixing of folklore and African Orisha tales from different ethnic, tribal and regional origins, which happened when Black African people from across the continent were trafficked into slavery. These folklore spirits continue to inspire new storytelling and carnival characters today.

England, Oil on canvas, Lent by John Lyons, courtesy of Felix & Spear

Red Coats and Flags, 2023

Sokari Douglas Camp

Enslaved plantation workers marked their limited 'leisure' time with musical masquerade ceremonies that recalled African traditions. Workers disguised themselves in costumes and performed dances that subverted the authority held over them. Honouring this resistance amid adversity, contemporary sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp dressed these metal figures as British military guards, mocking their colonial authority. These sculptures trace the links between African masquerades, Caribbean carnival traditions and carnival celebrations around Britain.

England, Mild steel, acrylic paint, gold leaf, Courtesy of the artist and October GaIlery, London

Green Across,
2025

Sir Frank Bowling

Renowned abstract artist Frank Bowling has celebrated Guyana's landscapes and vibrant colours throughout his career. He created Green Across for this exhibition. Bowling says the painting 'is like a square being torn apart'. The word 'across' in the title invites reflection on the voluntary and involuntary movement of people.

London, Acrylic on canvas with marouflage, Courtesy of the artist

Europe's enrichment from African chattel transatlantic enslavement

These graphs visualise research into ships departing from the West African coast carrying Black Africans across the Atlantic ocean forenslavement in the Americas and Caribbean. More African people were taken to Brazil than any other country.

Following the 1807 abolition of slave trading across the British empire, indentured labourers on British owned slave plantations throughout the Caribbean were recruited from India and China.

Images and recordings provided by: slavevoyages.org

Rice University

Original music by Bankey Ojo, 'Voyages (Papa)', 2026

Running time: 2 minutes and 30 seconds

Religion

British and other European empires used religion to extend their control in colonised countries, sending religious representatives, known as missionaries, to uphold colonial views of faith. Britain produced new religious publications to 'normalise' slavery and forced millions of enslaved Africans to convert to a denomination of Christianity.

Resistance to this oppression inspired songs of rebellion and hybrid faiths, like Africanised Christianity. From this emerged the gospel voice, which set the vocal standard for all contemporary music to come.

Christianity in Ethiopia

Christianity has been practised in Ethiopia since the fourth century AD, long before European contact.

Research for this exhibition revealed that Aleka Zeneb, scribe of Emperor Tewodros of Ethiopia, wrote this songbook in Ge'ez, the sacred languageof the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. British soldiers looted the songbook and case from Maqdala in Ethiopia during their raid on the palace in 1868.The objects were sold to the V&A a year later.

Psalter (songbook)with canticles,Song of Songs and praises of the Virgin Mary, 1800s

Aleka Zeneb (scribe)

Ethiopia, Ink on parchment, leather V&A: MSL/1869/185/1

Leather carrying case, 1800s

Unrecorded maker

Ethiopia, Leather, V&A: MSL/1869/185/2

King James Version, first edition, 1611

Robert Barker (printer)

Christian faith practices, from prayer rituals to annual celebrations, are often illuminated by song. In 1604, King James VI and I called for an updated English translation of the Holy Bible. Named after him, it remains the most widely-read version in the world. The Holy Bible has inspired hymns, classical music and popular songs that both affirmed faith and challenged the authority of organised religion. This large-scale version was used in church services.

London, Printed ink on paper, leather, Lent by University of Glasgow Library, Archives and Special Collections, Sp Coll Euing Dr-a.3

Select parts of the Holy Bible, for the use of Negro Slaves in the British West India-islands, 1807

Law and Gilbert (printer)

Referred to as the 'Slave Bible', this abridged version was published in 1807 - the year Britain abolished slave trading. Passages were deliberately removed, including Old Testament books like Exodus, in which Moses leads slaves out of Egypt, as well as Psalms, which inspires songs of salvation and praise.

Representatives of the church sanctioned these deletions to spread a colonial interpretation of Christianity and coerce enslaved people into believing that their captivity was God's will.

London, Printed ink on paper, pasteboard, Lent by University of Glasgow Library, Archives and Special Collections, Sp Coll Euing Da-g.23

Sermon book, 1773

John Newton

John Newton, an English slave trader turned clergyman, wrote this book of sermons. In the 1740s and '50s, he took part in voyages to trade African people into slavery. After surviving a violent storm at sea, Newton renounced his involvement and went on to support abolition.

Newton became a priest in 1764. He wrote these sermons, which inspired the hymn 'Amazing Grace'. Its message of personal salvation and remorse has remained hugely popular with worshippers worldwide.

Buckinghamshire, UK, Paper, ink, cloth,gold foil, Courtesy of Lambeth Palace Library MS 2490

The Ordinance of Baptism, as administered by missionaries connected with the Baptist Missionaries Society to 135 persons near BrownsTown, Jamaica in 1842, 1843(published)

George Baxter (print maker)

Mass conversions to Christianity were common throughout the Americas and Caribbean before, during and after slavery. Colonisers believed that rebellion against their authority would be less likely if the enslaved population followed the same faith as them. This painting shows a mass baptism taking place 10 years after the abolition of slavery, reflecting the ongoing efforts to maintain power through religion.

England, Printed ink on paper, Bequeathed by Francis William Baxter, V&A: E.2777-1932

A dance for Oxum, Goddess of the Waterfalls, 2007

Roderick Steel

The Candomble religion emerged among enslaved Africans in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. Banned from following their personal religions, many were forced to convert to the faiths of their European colonisers and enslavers. As a combination of retained West and Central African religious practices and European Catholicism, Candomble marks a rejection of colonial power. This photograph captures dancing at the Festa das Ya bas, a feast celebrating Oxum, Candomble's Goddess of Waterfalls.

lle Alaketu Axe Aira, Brazil, Reproduction, Courtesy of Roderick Steel

Untitled (Parodi /'en/er/Paradis et En/er/ Heaven and Hell), 1946

Hector Hyppolite

Haytian Vodou emerged from the mixing of faith and spiritual practices of enslaved people from African countries who were trafficked to Hayti. There, it took on influences from European religions, imposed by colonisers and slave traders. Haytian Vodou's existence shows a determination by enslaved people and their descendants to retain elements of their indigenous identities, despite facing violent punishments. In this painting, Hector Hyppolite, a third-generation Haytian Vodou priest, depicts the final destinations of the faithful or the unfaithful.

Hayti, Oil on board, Courtesy of The Museum of Everything

Allah Akbar, about 1940

Paul E. Guillot

Different faiths inspire different musical responses. The image's title recalls the spoken Islamic devotion Allahu Akbar (God is Most Great!). While music is not integrated into formal Islamic worship, the recitation of Arabic religious devotions follows a melodious rhythm, sometimes supported by percussion. The composition of this photograph romanticises Muslims in prayer, representing stereotypical ideas of Muslim Arabs crossing deserts using camels as transport and wearing traditional dress.

Unrecorded location, Reproduction of carbon print photograph, The Royal Photographic Society Collection at the V&A, acquired with the generous assistance of The National Lottery Heritage Fund and Art Fund, V&A: RPS.2536-2024

Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia, 1924

Bassano Ltd

Haile Selassie, born Tafari Makonnen with the noble title Ras Tafari, was the last emperor of Ethiopia. He spoke out against the threat of European invasion ahead of the Second World War and later fought Italian occupiers. He is revered by followers of Rastafarianism, who believe he was the living embodiment of Jah (God), a belief drawn from Old Testament prophecies of a Black messiah descended from King Solomon and Queen Sheba. Selassie is celebrated in music throughout the African diaspora, with his titles 'the Conquering Lion of Judah', 'Jah Rasta Tafari' and 'Selassie I' woven into lyrics.

London, Bromide print photograph, Lent by the National Portrait Gallery, London. Acquired, 1996, NPG x84381

Systema Naturae, 10th edition, volume 1, 1758-9

Carl Linnaeus

Swedish naturalist and taxonomist Carl Linnaeus coined the name Homo sapiens for human beings. His landmark publication ranked humans into 'varieties', based on geography and perceived traits. Although Linnaeus didn't use the word race and his system came at a time when slavery was already widespread, his classifications were exploited to support race science and eugenics. Linnaeus's work still directly influences how certain races, cuItures and their artistic expressions are seen as inferior today.

Sweden, Leather, board paper, ink, Lent by the Linnean Society of London BL.18

Sound experience Track list

'Reflected Fragments (Koromanti)', Bankey Ojo, 2026

'Fragments of Angola', Bankey Ojo, 2026

'Passage of Time B (Koromanti)', Bankey Ojo, 2026

'Hark My Soul! It is the Lord' Newton & Cowper, The Coventry Singers, 2013

'Allegri: Miserere Mei, Deus' (Psalm 51), The Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Richard Marlow, 1993

'Abatatchin Hoy, Alemu Aga (Beguena)', 2022

'Woke Up this Morning (With my Mind Stayed on Freedom)', Resistance Revival Chorus, 2020

'Amazing Grace', The Singing Stewarts, 1976

'Az-Zumar, Chapter 39 verse 53', AI-Qur'an Al-Karim (The Holy Koran), Shaykh Ali AI-Hudhaify, 2011

By 1900, Britain was the seat of the most powerful empire in the world, ruling over vast territories. Its industrial might and wealth were built on domestic and colonial labour alike – workers who, despite exploitative conditions, found strength, escape and entertainment in music and song.

Music permeated every aspect of life. Black music makers and entertainers from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the USA found new performance and recording opportunities in Britain. After the two World Wars ended, Commonwealth citizens brought more styles to Britain, transforming the country’s musical and social landscape.

Sound experience track list

‘Dixie Jass Band One-Step’, The Original Jazzland Jass Band, 1916

‘Traditional: Deep River (Arr. Isata Kanneh-Mason for Ensemble)’, The Kanneh-Masons, 2025

‘Memphis Blues’, Harlem Hellfighters (led by James Reese Europe), 1916 –17

‘My Landlady (ft. Freddy Grant’s Caribbean Rhythm)’, Lord Kitchener, 1952

‘Victory Test Match’, Lord Beginner, 1950

‘Calypso Blues’, Mona Baptiste, 1951

‘Ping Pong Samba (Instrumental)’, Sterling Betancourt with Russell Henderson’s Calypso Band, 1952

‘Ghana Freedom’, E.T. Mensah, The Tempos, 1957

‘Music for Gong Gong’, Osibisa, Universal Music Operations Ltd, 1971

‘Let's have a Party (Pt. 1)’, Winifred Atwell, 1953

‘Bo Diddley’, Bo Diddley, 1958

‘Angi’, Davy Graham, 1963

‘This Train’, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 1939

‘Hound Dog’, Big Mama Thornton, 1953

‘Hound Dog’, Elvis Presley, 1956

‘Gee’s Boogie’, Rico’s Combo, 1960

‘Goldfinger’, Shirley Bassey, 1964

‘Diamonds are Forever’, Shirley Bassey,1971

‘Moonraker’, Shirley Bassey, 1979

‘Albe-Jo Sho’, Amie Kallon, 2011

‘Modern’ Britain: 1900–1948

Music accompanied Britain’s journey through conflict and progress. New technologies – from gramophones and radios to cinema and television – began to inform and entertain millions across the empire, but this progress was repeatedly disrupted.

Global wars, political upheaval, pro-independence movements and economic strife erupted alongside race, class and gender inequalities within British society.

Genres like gospel, blues and jazz reflected the tensions of the time while offering hope and resistance. Music became not just a response to Britain’s journey, but the soundtrack to its transformation.

Phonographic message to Queen Victoria from Emperor Menelik II, 1898

Emperor Menelik II

American inventor Thomas Edison revolutionised sound recordings when he created the first wax cylinder in the 1870s. His invention captured soundwave vibrations to be replayed on a phonograph (an early form of the gramophone). In 1898, on a visit to Ethiopia, a British delegation played a recording of Queen Victoria for Emperor Menelik II and Empress Taytu. The pair recorded a response for the Queen on the cylinder in this case, marking an early use of audio technology in international relations.

Ethiopia, Strawboard, paper, His Majesty The King, RCIN 5100159

The early music industry

Gramophones revolutionised access to music, enabling people to own and replay recorded music at home for the first time. Engineers and recording agents like Fred Gaisberg travelled the European colonial route to record music and songs from North and East Africa and India, as his diary reveals. Theatre also benefited from developments in technology, using pre-recorded sound effects to enhance live performances.

Two sound effect recordings from a set of ten, 1920s, The Columbia Gramophone Co., Ltd., London, Incised shellac. Given by John Merison, V&A: S.551:1 to 11-2017

Berliner Gramophone, 1895, Berliner Gramophone Company, Philadelphia, USA, Metal, papier mâché, ebonite, oak. Courtesy of EMI Archive Trust, EMIAT.151

Diary belonging to Frederick William Gaisberg, 1899–1903, Frederick William Gaisberg, London, Ink on paper. Courtesy of EMI Archive Trust, EMIAT.3036

‘Dixie Jass Band One-Step’, 1916

The Original Dixieland Jass Band

You are listening to the first widely recognised commercial jazz recording from 1917 by the Original Dixieland Jass Band, a quintet of white male musicians. The group recorded this song for the Victor Talking Machine Company, a pioneering sound recording company and phonograph manufacturer.

Victor Talking Machine Company, 1917

Newspaper cutting, Astley’s – Mr. Pablo Fanque and his trained steed, 1847

Illustrated London News

Norwich-born William Darby, known professionally as Pablo Fanque, was Britain’s first Black circus owner. He began as an apprentice at William Batty’s circus and rose to fame as an equestrian performer, as illustrated in this cutting. Music was central to circus experiences. Brass band parades announced the arrival of a circus in town, while live music accompanied acrobatics, comedy and dramatic acts during the show.

London

Printed ink on paper

V&A: THM/LON/ASTL

Cunard Line: To All Parts Of The World, about 1920

Ulrich Gutersohn, Thomas Forman & Sons Ltd (printer)

By the 1920s, ships were increasingly used for leisure travel. As shown here, a ship’s structure reflected the social class divisions of the day, with separate areas providing distinct travel experiences. By the 1920s, jazz music had become a popular form of onboard entertainment. As music recording technology advanced, sea (and later air) travel became increasingly important for musicians’ careers.

Overseas work helped boost their reputation, and many performed on ships along the way.

Nottingham, UK

Paper

Gift of the American Friends of the V&A; Gift to the American Friends by Leslie, Judith and Gabri Schreyer and Alice Schreyer Batko

V&A: E.1829-2004

Batons belonging to Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, early 1900s

Unrecorded makers

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor trained at London’s Royal College of Music and was soon in high demand as a composer and conductor. In 1900,

he was commissioned to compose music for the first Pan-African Conference, a global pro-independence movement. These varied composer batons pay tribute to Coleridge-Taylor’s talent, reflecting the breadth of his practice. While adhering to the ideas and expectations of his classical music education, he also composed and collaborated on music related to his African-descendant identity.

UK

Wood, paper, glass

On loan from the Royal College of Music

PPHC000128

‘Daddy Your Mama Is Lonesome’ single as performed by Mamie Smith, 1921

Okeh Records

African American singer and actress Mamie Smith made history in 1920 when she became the first blues artist to record a song, ‘Crazy Blues’. The following year her label, Okeh Records, began issuing recordings by African American artists under the category of ‘race records’, as written on the front of this single. Until 1949 America’s Billboard music chart categorised the sale of Black music under ‘race’ and ‘sepia’ titles.

New York, USA

Shellac, paper

Record sleeve for Blackbirds of 1928, 1930s (recorded)

Sutton Records

Blackbirds was a revue (multi-act) musical led by African American performers. After launching in New York, it opened at the London Pavilion in September 1926 starring famous singer and dancer Florence Mills. The production fuelled British audiences’ fascination with jazz and its dance crazes. This sleeve is for a compilation of songs inspired by the musical, recorded by esteemed gospel, blues and jazz singer Ethel Waters. Jazz pioneers like Duke Ellington also recorded Blackbirds songs.

USA

Paper

Given by the Bunnett Muir Musical Theatre Archive Trust

V&A: BMT/2/1/259b

Evolution of Swing, 1939

Raymond Steth

Artist Raymond Steth submitted this print to an art project run by US President Roosevelt to support unemployed artists during the Great Depression. It illustrates the development of swing, a Black musical style, and its journey through the African diaspora. The bottom right corner depicts its origins, showing a cultural event in rural Africa. In the centre, Steth depicts the horrors of enslaved African people being trafficked across the ocean. In the top left, swing musicians and dancers perform in an urban metropolis in modern America.

USA

Reproduction of lithograph

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Pennsylvania W. P. A.

1943 (43.46.55)

Sheet music for Stardust, 1929

Mitchell Parish (lyricist), Hoagy Carmichael (composer), Lawrence Wright Music Co. (publishers)

The career of Grenadian-born Leslie Hutchinson, known as ‘Hutch’, testifies to the popularity of jazz in the years between the two world wars. Starting out in America before moving to Paris, he soon received invitations to London’s West End. From theatre, music halls and cabaret to radio and cinema, Hutchinson’s appeal lay in his skilled interpretations of the mood, message and style of popular jazz composers and lyricists. Hutchinson’s appearance on this sheet music shows that the performer was as central as the music.

London

Printed ink on paper

Gabrielle Enthoven Collection

V&A: S.729-2014

Correspondence and musical manuscripts from Count Basie’s New Testament band, 1940s–50s

Various artists

Count Basie was a pianist and band leader central to making swing music – jazz’s early upbeat subgenre – hugely popular. Jazz captivated young people globally, transforming how they dressed, spoke and viewed the world. Among these was Charlie Watts, drummer for The Rolling Stones, whose passion for jazz inspired him to collect memorabilia like this correspondence with jazz legend WC Handy and manuscripts handwritten by members of Basie’s New Testament band.

USA

Ink on paper

Courtesy of Seraphina Watts in loving memory of her beloved father, Charlie Watts

Folder for sheet music owned by Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson, 1950s

Unrecorded maker

Leslie ‘Jiver’ Hutchinson’s career connects military bands and jazz in Britain. Born in Jamaica in 1906, Hutchinson learned the trumpet while serving with the British West India Regiment and played at the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. Hutchinson performed across London’s jazz scene with a variety of talents, including conductor Ken ‘Snakehips’ Johnson, bandleader Bert Ambrose, singer Adelaide Hall and pianist Fela Sowande. In 1944, he launched his All Star Coloured Band. This book held musical scores for the band’s tenor saxophonist.

Probably UK

Faux leather, cotton, paper

Courtesy of Elaine Delmar

V&A: S.64-2026

Photograph of Rudolph Evans and Stanley Carter, about 1930s–40s

Comm. Carlo Gherlone

Rudolph Evans, known as André de Dakar, was a jazz performer. Born in Panama and raised in Jamaica, Evans was among many Caribbean men who joined the British West Indies Regiment during the First World War. In 1944, he opened the Caribbean Club in London’s Piccadilly. The club entertained Black members of the British, Caribbean and American armed forces, showcasing live jazz, calypso and international music. Here Evans is seen alongside Guyanese pianist Stanley Carter.

Turin, Italy

Reproduction

Courtesy of Rhoda Dakar and family

The Drop, 2019

Michael Elliot

After the Second World War, Britain appealed to its empire to come and ‘rebuild the Mother Country’. The 1948 British Nationality Act enticed many with the promise of a new Commonwealth citizenship. Over 1,000 people arrived on British shores aboard the HMT Windrush in June 1948. This painting’s underwater setting evokes tensions between identity, belonging and migration. The luggage tags tethered to teabags – a marker of British culture – invite reflection on the weight of the 2017 Windrush scandal, when administrative failures and hostile immigration policies by the British government led to wrongful deportations.

Jamaica

Acrylic on canvas, varnish

Michael Elliot. Courtesy of the artist

Bowtie belonging to Lord Woodbine, 1950s–60s

Unrecorded maker

Calypso musician Harold Phillips, known as Lord Woodbine, settled in Liverpool after travelling from Trinidad to Britain on HMT Windrush. He founded the All Caribbean Steel Band and managed several music venues in Liverpool, where he was renowned for his debonair style and often wore this bowtie. While managing The New Cabaret Artists’ Club, Woodbine hosted The Silver Beetles before they became The Beatles. Woodbine drove the band to Hamburg in Germany to perform live, which became a major event in their development.

Unrecorded location

Velvet, satin, elastic

Carol Phillips and the Phillips family

Calypso in the UK

‘My Landlady (feat. Freddy Grant’s Caribbean Rhythm)’, 1952 by Lord Kitchener

‘Victory Test Match’, 1950 by Lord Beginner

‘Calypso Blues’, 1957 by Mona Baptise

Over 1,000 passengers arrived in Britain on HMT Windrush in 1948. Among them were Trinidadian singers and musicians who would go on to popularise calypso in the UK, including Aldwyn ‘Lord Kitchener’ Roberts, Egbert ‘Lord Beginner’ Moore and Mona Baptiste.

Melodisc Music Limited, 1952

Too Much Ltd t/a Honest Jon’s Records, 1950

Kollective Neighbouring Rights Records B.V., 1957

Acetate recording of live performances by Charlie Parker, late 1940s

Charlie Parker (performer), Norman Granz (producer), Dean Benedetti (recorder)

This acetate (initial pressing of live studio recording) records groundbreaking live performances by renowned saxophonist Charlie Parker. Alongside musicians Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk, Parker was a pioneer of Bebop, a free-owing, expressive jazz style that de ed conventional performance rules and time limits. Charlie Watts, drummer for the Rolling Stones, bought a collection of these recordings for his collection of jazz memorabilia.

USA

Acetate records

Courtesy of Seraphina Watts in loving memory of her beloved father, Charlie Watts

Diary belonging to Arthur Roberts, 1921

Arthur Roberts

The two world wars invite reflection on African and Caribbean-descendant volunteers from countries colonised by Britain who fought to protect Britain from a similar fate. One such person was Arthur Roberts, who was raised in Glasgow and joined the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1917. This diary vividly documents his time fighting in the First World War, including a chilling account of his involvement in the Battle of Passchendaele in western Belgium, which came at the cost of 250,000 casualties.

Scotland

Paper, ink, watercolour, pencil

IWM (Imperial War Museums)

Documents.24472/A

Photograph of James Reese Europe entertaining injured soldiers, 1918

Unrecorded US Army Signal Corps photographer

James Reese Europe was a musician, conductor and US Army lieutenant. Stationed in Paris during the First World War, he led his regiment’s Harlem Hellfighters’ band, lifting morale and introducing many to new music. Before the war, Europe had led his own orchestra, helped popularise new dances like the Foxtrot, and brought early jazz to New York’s Carnegie Hall. Blending ragtime, military band and classical music, he contributed to the foundation of modern jazz.

Paris

Reproduction

Retrieved from the Library of Congress

Royal Air Force uniform jacket worn by Flight Lieutenant Cyril ‘Cy’ Grant, 1943

Austin Reed Taylors

Guyanese-born musician, actor and author Cyril ‘Cy’ Grant was the rst Black person to perform regularly on British TV, often singing the news in a calypso style. While serving as a navigator in 1943 during the Second World War, Grant was shot down and spent two years in a prisoner of war camp in Germany. A newspaper article about his capture referred to him as ‘A Member of the RAF of Indeterminate Race’ – a phrase he later incorporated into as the title of his 2006 memoir

UK

Wool, silk, brass

By courtesy of the Trustees of the Royal Air Force Museum

Photograph of Auxiliary Territorial Service volunteers, 1944

Unrecorded photographer

This photograph shows volunteers from British Honduras (now Belize) at the Auxiliary Territorial Service training camp outside London during the Second World War. The Service recruited women from across the British empire to support the war effort, in roles from ammunition inspectors and mechanics to butchers and bakers. Second from the right in the second row is Nadia Cattouse, who later became a folk singer, musician, actor and activist, appearing on BBC shows for over 30 years.

Guildford, UK

Reproduction

Courtesy of Pepita Bird and Michael Lindup

Jazz in Britain

Trace the evolution of jazz in Britain from the early 1900s to the 1970s. Animated stills, archival footage and film clips document jazz taking root in Britain and becoming a vehicle for creative expression, cultural defiance and social transformation.

Images and recordings provided by:

BBC

Brighton Dome

British Pathé

Retro AdArchives/Alamy

V&A

Running time: 7 minutes

Jazz in Britain AV Transcript:

British Jazz | Panorama: The Jazz Club

1959

BBC

[Interviewer]: What does jazz mean to you? I mean, what do you feel about it?

[Interviewee]: Erm, well, it’s sort of a feeling. Something that you express.

[Interviewer]: A feeling that you can’t get in any other way or not?

[Interviewee]: Er, not really. Unless you’ve got some sort of object in life.

[Interviewer]: Well what sort of object in life have you got?

[Interviewee]: Just music.

British Jazz | Panorama: The Jazz Club

1959

BBC

[Interviewer]: Why do you play jazz?

[Interviewee]: Well, because I like it an, er, it’s a way of relaxing and the music’s good.

[Interviewer]: You like it better than other music?

[Interviewee]: Yes, yes I do.

[Interviewer]: Why?

[Interviewee]: Because there’s a certain amount of freedom in jazz and, er, self-expression that there isn’t in other kinds of music.

British Jazz | Panorama: The Jazz Club

1959

BBC

[Interviewer]: What brought you into jazz?

[Interviewee]: Well, I, erm, I drifted into it. I started off playing ‘legitimate’ music.

[Interviewer]: What do you mean by legitimate music?

[Interviewee]: Erm, music, shall we say, written music. My father was a trumpet player. I started off playing in a pit band. In an orchestra.

British Jazz | Panorama: The Jazz Club

1959

BBC

[Interviewer]: What do you get out of jazz?

[Interviewee]: Well, first of all, I think I get complete satisfaction out of doing something, which is... I’m creating something all the time. I, every note I play I do something that is completely my own and I think it’s more or less original and I’m very happy about that.

At ‘Home’ in Britain: 1948–1969

Britain’s postwar recovery created a new social rhythm, soundtracked by music that offered an escape from the disillusionment of continued rationing, intergenerational conflict and racial tensions. Optimism arrived with new music reflecting young people’s viewpoints. The rise of the teenager fuelled rebellion, while affordable records and the first charts sparked a musical revolution.

Jazz, folk, blues, soul, and rock ’n’ roll challenged everything from traditional values to conservative dress styles, while the Swinging Sixties brought more imported music from Africa, Brazil and the USA. ‘Home’ was on the dancefloor, on the radio and on television screens.

Winifred Atwell’s ‘other’ piano, early 1900s

Chappell Pianos

Trinidad-born pianist Winifred Atwell made history in 1954 as the first Black British artist to top the UK Singles Chart with her ragtime hit ‘Let’s Have Another Party’, just two years after the charts began. Onstage, she switched between a grand piano and her famous ‘other’ piano, blending classical skill with modern air. Atwell encouraged fans to carve their names into the sides of this piano. Look closely and you can see these lasting symbols of her connection with audiences.

UK

Bronze, brass, steel, leather, wood, ivory

Sir Richard Stilgoe

Dancing in Time: The Swim, 2026

LR Vandy

This sculpture captures the energy of a defining musical moment. It celebrates The Swim, a dance made famous by Bobby Freeman’s 1958 rock ‘n’ roll hit ‘C’mon and Swim’. Travelling across the Atlantic, rock ‘n’ roll had a profound influence on Britain in the Swinging Sixties, sparking new youth subcultures and styles. Freeman’s song played regularly at Manchester’s Twisted Wheel club, where DJ Roger Eagle’s all-night soul and R&B sessions helped lay the foundations for the northern soul movement.

Kent, UK

Manila rope, wood, metal, jute

V&A: S.14-2026

Guitar owned by Davey Graham, 2007

C F Martin

Leicestershire-born multi-instrumentalist and arranger Davey Graham shaped the folk revival in post war Britain. His performance in a 1959 Ken Russell documentary inspired the future generation of rock guitarists. Graham recorded and performed with influential British talents Nadia Cattouse, Alexis Korner, Long John Baldry, Martin Carthy and Shirley Collins, as well as travelling widely to immerse himself in global musical traditions. His track ‘Angi’ became a folk staple, famously reinterpreted by American folk rock duo Simon and Garfunkel.

UK

Sitka spruce, East Indian rosewood, black ebony

Lent by Carol Ballard

Les Paul guitar, 1964–78

Gibson

Bo Diddley, born Ellas Bates, was a pioneering guitarist and singer who bridged blues and rock ‘n’ roll. Known as ‘The Originator’, he established the ‘rhythm stomp’ and introduced distortion and reverberation as part of song play. In 1958, Diddley co-designed an electric guitar shaped like a cigar box. British musician Pete Townshend, co-founder of The Who, responded to the rebellious power of the electric guitar with his signature ‘windmill’ style of play, destroying his instrument as he did this model at the end of a performance.

USA

Rosewood, mother of pearl, plastic

Given by Allan Smith & Pete Townshend through John Entwistle

V&A: S.12-1978

John Lee Hooker and the evolution of the blues, 1951

Clemens Kalischer

Here, John Lee Hooker, one of the most influential blues musicians, sits in front of a blackboard diagram exploring the roots of the blues. Born in Mississippi, he popularised the state’s Delta blues music. His electric boogie-woogie style was rooted in the field songs of enslaved African Americans, modernised on the electric guitar. British artists like The Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton began their musical journeys with the blues, taking inspiration from Hooker.

Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA

Reproduction of photograph

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African

American History and Culture, © Clemens Kalischer Photos

Sound system pre-amplifier, 2024

Percival Miller

Percival Miller, known professionally as Metro, became one of Britain’s most respected sound system engineers. Born in Jamaica in 1941, he moved to England as a teenager and quickly honed his technical skills. The intricate inner workings of this pre-amplifier show the complex engineering skills behind the enjoyment of amplified sound from speaker boxes. Miller’s technical prowess shaped the British reggae and sound system scene.

London

Metal, wood, wire, glass

The Family of Percival Miller

V&A: S.527-2025

Record box, 2000s

Vincent Forbes

Vincent Forbes, known as Duke Vin, introduced Britain to sound system culture. After starting out as a DJ in Kingston, Jamaica, he moved to England in 1954 and launched his own sound system. Forbes was highly revered, appearing across venues like London’s Marquee Club and the Flamingo Club, with an annual spot at Notting Hill Carnival from the 1960s. He decorated pizza boxes like this one and used them to store his seven-inch records.

London

Cardboard, paper, adhesive

Courtesy of David Hill

Reggae and sound system culture

By the 1960s reggae music and culture was thriving in Britain. Sound system operators competed to play the best Caribbean and British records while Black entrepreneurs set up independent labels to record and distribute songs neglected by the mainstream. Frequently facing discriminatory policing, venue owners worked tirelessly to continue operating for their communities. Clubs and venues like The New Four Aces and The Cue Club created safe spaces to enjoy Black music and culture.

‘Gees Boogie’ / ‘Hitch & Scramble’ vinyl record by Rico’s Combo, 1962

Rico’s Combo, Planetone Recording Co. Ltd

Vinyl record, paper

Club sign for The New Four Aces, about 1985

Newton Dunbar

Plastic

Lent by Natalie and Nicholas Dunbar, children of Newton Dunbar

Search warrant issued to the Four Aces Club, 1997

Metropolitan Police

Ink on paper

Lent by Natalie and Nicholas Dunbar, children of Newton Dunbar

Stokely Carmichael at The Cue Club, 1967 (taken), 2024 (printed)

Charlie Phillips

Inkjet print

Funded by the Photographs Acquisition Group

V&A: PH.443-2025

Rock ‘n’ roll

Rock ‘n’ roll’s musical roots lie in rural Black queer communities. Musicians and singers like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Big Mama Thornton fused gospel’s unrestrained vocals with the blues’ social criticism and the raw energy of rural sounds like skiffle and country. As rock ‘n’ roll reached wider audiences, fans like Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis came to be seen as its global representatives. Elvis famously reworked Thornton’s ‘Hound Dog’ while Lewis replicated Little Richard’s onstage exuberance.

Photograph of Sister Rosetta Tharpe performing at Drury Lane Theatre, 1959

Harry Hammond

London

Reproduction from negative

V&A: S.12200-2009

Press photograph of Big Mama Thornton for Arhoolie Records, about 1958–70

Jim Marshall

USA

Reproduction

© Jim Marshall Photography LLC / Courtesy of Jim Marshall Photography LLC

Four Fingers, 1956

Alfred Wertheimer

USA

Reproduction

Post-war Black music in Britain

Many teenagers across Britain, Europe and America were disillusioned in the years after the First and Second World Wars. Watch a montage of the musical styles – pop, folk, blues, R&B, rock ’n’ roll, ska, rocksteady and funk – that reflected their critical and rebellious views during this period of major social change.

Images and recordings provided by:

Adrian Boot

Brian Shuel

British Pathé

Derek Preston

The Freddy Bannister Estate

Getty Images

Paul Popper

Pop Weekly

Popperfoto

Redferns

V&A

Running time: 7 minutes

Post-war Black music in Britain AV Transcript

News | The Notting Hill Riots: Notting Hill. Shameful Episode

1958

British Pathé

Something new and ugly raises its head in Britain. In Notting Hill Gate, only a mile or two from London’s west end, and the quietest street may flare up at any moment.

Most disturbing feature of the riots is the suspicion that not all the troublemakers are locals. Some of the gangs who break windows or throw bottles or burning torches have arrived by car. Opinions differ about Britain’s racial problems, but the mentality which tries to solve them with coshes and broken railings has no place in the British way of life. This violence is evil.

News | The launch of Radio Caroline: Pirate Radio Afloat

1964

British Pathé

Riding at anchor of Harwich and safely outside the three-mile limit, the innocent looking ex-ferry boat Caroline is causing quite a stir in official circles. She’s a floating broadcasting station hoping to make a big thing out of commercial radio and waiting for the advertisements to roll in. “I’m no pirate,” insists Captain Mckay, even if the radio crew are. No danger to his ship so far.

[…]

Generators supply power for the wireless transmitter. Caroline radio is on the air 12 hours a day, 6am to 6pm. Between those hours they think there’s a public large enough to attract local advertising revenue. Crew technicians have comfortable off-duty quarters and to all indications, Caroline is a happy ship. The radio company believe it’s all perfectly legal. In the ship’s studio they broadcast with no more concern than if it were all in Broadcasting House.

[DJ Simon Dee]: “This is Radio Caroline on 1-9-9, England’s first commercial radio station. My name’s Simon Dee, with you for the next two hours.”

Dame Shirley Bassey and James Bond

Cardiff-born Shirley Bassey has been recording for seven decades. As a teenage jazz singer in 1956, the BBC banned her first single ‘Burn My Candle’ due to its suggestive song lyrics.

She went on to define the sound of the James Bond films, recording more theme songs than any other artist. Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker set the standard for cinematic vocals. She performed in this striking gown during the 2013 Academy Awards’ James Bond tribute.

Poster for Goldfinger film, 1964 (made), 2025 (printed)

EON Productions Ltd

UK

Printed ink on paper

© 2026 MGM. All Rights Reserved

Dress worn by Shirley Bassey at the 85th Academy Awards, 2013

Isabell Kristensen

Monaco

Tulle, sequins

Courtesy of Isabell Kristensen

Carnival paintings

These works by Sierra Leonean painter Olayinka Burney-Nicol and British painter Tam Joseph capture Carnival’s dual expression of African identity – both indigenous and diasporic. Burney-Nicol’s Goboi Devil Dancer shows a popular masquerade figure in Sierra Leone while Joseph’s The Spirit of the Carnival shows a Trinidadian masquerade performer in Britain encircled by a throng of police, inviting reflection on their continual presence at this cultural event.

Goboi Devil Dancer, 1972

Olayinka Burney-Nicol

Sierra Leone

Oil on canvas

Bristol Museums & Archives, A/SIER/185

Spirit of the Carnival, 1988

Tam Joseph

UK

Screenprint

V&A: E.1233-1995

‘Albe-Jo Sho’, 2011

Amie Kallon

The Goboi Dancer is a revered eastern Sierra Leonean cultural figure, brought to life at public events from celebrations to tributes, by the Mende people. Sierra Leonean folk musician Amie Kallon reiterates the importance of retaining memory and tradition through song in her work.

Supersound Ltd, 2011

The World Today is Indebted to Us for the Benefits of Civilisation, 1986

Eddie Chambers, Philip Taylor Sky, U-Print Collective

Bearing the colours of Pan-Africanism, this poster shows Marcus Garvey in a repeated pattern alongside Benin’s Queen Mother Idia. Garveyism refers to the Black nationalist politics of Marcus Garvey and Amy Ashwood Garvey, founders of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The movement sought political and social freedom from colonial and post-colonial control. Marcus’ writing and Amy’s activism in the UK and US remain highly influential and are often referenced in reggae and rap music.

UK

Screenprint

V&A: E.68-1988

Three steel pans, 1950s

Unrecorded photographer

Steel pans are an anti-colonial creation and the only non-electronic musical instrument invented in the last 100 years. Formed from oil drums in Trinidad in the 1930s, the pans photographed here are evidence of rebellion against British colonial restrictions on public music performances. Hammering the base of an oil drum creates indentations that produce different musical notes when struck with rubber-topped sticks.

Probably Trinidad and Tobago

Reproduction

West Indiana & Special Collections, University of the West Indies

Steel pan owned by Russell Henderson, unrecorded date

Unrecorded maker

Russell Henderson led children on the first steel pan march through the streets of London’s Notting Hill during a performance with fellow Trinidadian musicians Sterling Betancourt and Ralph Cherrie. A celebrated jazz pianist, Henderson embraced the steel pan after seeing the Trinidad All Steel Pan Percussion Orchestra at the 1951 Festival of Britain. He collaborated with Trinidadian guitarist Fitzroy Coleman, Jamaican saxophonist Joe Harriott and British jazz saxophonist Ronnie Scott, championing Caribbean music across Britain.

England

Steel

Lent by Angus Henderson

The funeral of Kelso Cochrane, 1959

Unrecorded photographer

This photograph captures the burial of Antiguan carpenter Kelso Cochrane. He was stabbed to death in Notting Hill in May 1959. His murder shocked Britain, coming just months after race riots in the area, which also spread to Nottingham. Activists Amy Ashwood Garvey and Claudia Jones protested against this race-driven violence and demanded laws against inciting racial hatred. Jones also worked on creating an indoor carnival as a means of social cohesion.

London

Reproduction of digital file

PA Photos / TopFoto

The first masquerade band to parade in Notting Hill Carnival

These sketches explore costume and design ideas for the first masquerade band at London’s Notting Hill Carnival. Guyanese-born artist Peter Minshall was raised in Trinidad and trained at London’s Central Saint Martin’s art college in the 1960s. Returning home, he shaped the visual identity of masquerade costumes across Trinidad and Tobago. His work celebrates African diasporic identity with cultural precision and creative flair. Minshall has also designed costumes for Olympic opening ceremonies.

Design for Metronome Steel Band logo, 1976

Peter Minshall

London

Reproduction of original design

Courtesy of Peter Minshall

Costume design for Sky Tribe, 1976

Peter Minshall

London

Reproduction of original design

Courtesy of Peter Minshall

Notting Hill March, 1963

John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins

In 1963, Trinidadian activist Claudia Jones and Tobagonian actor Pearl Prescod led a London march in solidarity with the American Civil Rights Movement’s March on Washington, with Prescod’s live rendition of ‘We Shall Overcome’ filling the streets. Similar protests unfolded across Britain, including the five-month Bristol Bus Boycott the same year, which forced the company to end its discriminatory ban on non-white conductors and drivers. It wasn’t until 1965 that the UK introduced race equality legislation.

London

Reproduction

© 1963 ESTATE OF J V L HOPKINS

Notting Hill Carnival, 1968

Charlie Phillips

In the aftermath of the 1958 race riots in London, activist Claudia Jones organised Britain’s first Caribbean carnival as an indoor celebration of music and culture. In 1966, social worker Rhaune Laslett brought that spirit to the streets of Notting Hill with an outdoor festival celebrating the area’s diversity. This photograph, taken just two years later, shows Notting Hill Carnival’s rapid growth – a celebration that is now Europe’s biggest street festival.

London

Inkjet print

Funded by the Photographs Acquisitions Group

© Charlie Roots Photo Archive

V&A: PH.445-2025

Flag of Ghana, 1957

Theodosia Okoh

On 6 March 1957, Ghana became the first African nation to gain independence from Britain under President Kwame Nkrumah. Artist Theodosia Okoh designed their new flag, featuring the Pan African colours and a central black star. Music soundtracked pro-independence movements across Africa and the diaspora. Musicians Alfred Payne and Kofi Mensah recorded ‘Freedom for Ghana’ with Calypsonian Young Tiger while highlife musician E.T. Mensah’s ‘Ghana Freedom’ became the country’s unofficial anthem. Jamaica and Trinidad followed with independence in 1962.

Ghana

Reproduction

YAY Media AS /Alamy

Reading Music Festival contact sheet, 1971

Michael Putland

Black rock-fusion group Osibisa performed at the first Reading Music Festival in 1971. Bringing together musicians from Ghana, the Caribbean and Britain, Osibisa energised audiences with their fusion of highlife, soul, rock and funk. Facing opposition to his National Jazz & Blues Festival from local politicians, promoter and Marquee Club owner Harold Pendleton transferred the festival to Reading, where councillors offered him a site to mark the city’s 850th anniversary.

Reading, UK

Reproduction

© Michael Putland Archive