Abstract
This paper examines the way pervasive influences within the built environment shape heritage and identity. With a focus on Sheffield, a northern English city strongly associated with a now largely defunct steel industry, the paper investigates how the city’s industrial past, its location and social fabric have shaped music-making, creating a distinctive scene that has become central to the city’s cultural identity. Using a combination of in-depth interviews and documentary analysis, Sheffield is presented from the mid-1970s as experiencing what can be referred to as a “sonic cycle” in which the city’s musicians refer to the sound of the drop-hammer in the steel forges being a backdrop to their childhood and a clear influence as they began their musical careers, and how the “industrial music” scene which they created has in turn shaped a new heritage identity. The paper concludes by promoting the idea that music created by local musicians forms a vital part of Sheffield’s character and is an essential ingredient for shaping alternative urban futures.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 198-222 |
| Number of pages | 25 |
| Journal | Heritage & Society |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 13 Sept 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 17 Dec 2021 |