Children of the Ghetto: Black British Music

P.P. Arnold has been a powerhouse presence in music since the 1960s. Discovered by Mick Jagger after arriving in the UK as an Ikette with the Ike & Tina Turner Revue, she went on to record iconic hits like The First Cut Is the Deepest and Angel of the Morning. A muse and collaborator to legends from the Small Faces and Eric Clapton to Paul Weller and Primal Scream, her soulful voice spans six decades of R&B, rock and pop history. Following her acclaimed Glastonbury debut in 2022, she returns to the festival this year for a special solo set. Her memoir Soul Survivor and a career-spanning retrospective both celebrate her remarkable journey in music.

Kevin Le Gendre is a journalist and broadcaster with a special interest in black music, literature and culture. Since the late ‘90s he has written about soul, funk, jazz and hip-hop, as well as African and Caribbean authors for many publications, including Echoes, Jazzwise, The Guardian, The Independent, and Times Literary Supplement Online. He contributes to BBC Radio arts programmes and has presented several documentaries. His books include Hear My Train A Comin’: The Songs of Jimi Hendrix and two volumes of Black Music in Britain: Don’t Stop The Carnival and Children of The Ghetto.

Courtney Pine is a pioneering British jazz saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist who has transformed the UK jazz scene over the past 30 years. His 1986 debut album Journey to the Urge Within brought him mainstream attention, and he has since released 16 acclaimed albums and earned an OBE and CBE for services to music. A Mercury Prize nominee and Gold Badge award recipient, Pine continues to tour globally with his award-winning band. He has also presented major radio and TV programmes, including Jazz Crusade on BBC Radio 2, and was recently commissioned by Tate for a Matisse-inspired performance.

Dr Aleema Gray is an award-winning Jamaican-born curator, researcher and public historian based in London. She was awarded the Yesu Persaud Scholarship for her PhD entitled Bun Babylon; A Community-engaged History of Rastafari in Britain. Aleema’s practice is driven by a concern for more historically contingent ways of understanding the present, especially in relation to notions of belonging, memory, and contested heritage in the African and Caribbean diaspora. She was the Lead Curator for Beyond the Bassline: 500 years of Black British Music at the British Library and the founder of HOUSE OF DREAD, an anti-disciplinary heritage studio.

This is an in-person only event in the British Library Knowledge Centre. Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event.  If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk

There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, half-price tickets for students and under 26s, free entry for carers as well as a number of other concessions.