Birmingham

:This article is about the city in England. For other uses, please see Birmingham, Alabama or other places named Birmingham.

Culture and arts

:Main article: Arts in Birmingham

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Popular music

While cities such as Liverpool and Manchester have enjoyed famous music scenes that have been easily labeled by the British media, Birmingham's music styles have often proved difficult to categorise.

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In the 1960s, the "Brum Beat" era featured blues and early progressive rock bands such as the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, The Move and The Moody Blues.

Related Topics:
1960s - Brum Beat - Blues - Progressive rock - Spencer Davis Group - Traffic - The Move - The Moody Blues

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The city is often described as the birthplace of heavy metal music, with Judas Priest and Black Sabbath coming from Birmingham. The founders of Led Zeppelin; Robert Plant and John Bonham came from nearby towns, and played in local Brum Beat bands before forming Led Zeppelin.

Related Topics:
Heavy metal music - Judas Priest - Black Sabbath - Led Zeppelin - Robert Plant - John Bonham - Brum Beat

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In the 1970s members of The Move and The Idle Race formed the Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard. The 1970s also saw the rise of reggae and ska in the city, with Steel Pulse and later on UB40, The Beat and Musical Youth. Singer-songwriter Joan Armatrading had many hits during this decade.

Related Topics:
1970s - Idle Race - Electric Light Orchestra - Wizzard - Reggae - Ska - Steel Pulse - UB40 - The Beat - Musical Youth - Joan Armatrading

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The 1980s brought Duran Duran, possibly the most successful new romantic group, and Dexy's Midnight Runners, and the 1990s the Charlatans, Dodgy and Ocean Colour Scene. A house music and hip hop culture has thrived in the city since the early eighties. Recent chart success has come from Mike Skinner (a.k.a. The Streets), R&B singer Jamelia and Editors.

Related Topics:
1980s - Duran Duran - New romantic - Dexy's Midnight Runners - 1990s - Charlatans - Dodgy - Ocean Colour Scene - House music - Hip hop - The Streets - R&B - Jamelia - Editors

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Jazz is popular in the city, and the annual Birmingham International Jazz Festival is the largest of its kind in the UK.

Related Topics:
Jazz - Birmingham International Jazz Festival

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Party in the Park, a popular chart music event, is Birmingham's largest music festival.

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Classical music

The internationally-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra's home venue is Symphony Hall, where it gives frequent performances. The equally world-renowned Birmingham Royal Ballet also resides in the city as does the world's oldest vocational dance school, Elmhurst School for Dance.

Related Topics:
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra - Symphony Hall - Birmingham Royal Ballet - Elmhurst School for Dance

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The Birmingham Triennial Music Festival took place from 1784 - 1912 and was considered the grandest of its kind throughout Britain. Music was written for the festival by Mendelssohn, Gounod, Sullivan, Dvorak, Bantock and most notably Elgar, who wrote four of his most famous choral pieces for Birmingham.

Related Topics:
Birmingham Triennial Music Festival - 1784 - 1912 - Mendelssohn - Gounod - Sullivan - Dvorak - Bantock - Elgar

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Albert William Ketèlbey was born in Alma Street, Aston on 9 August 1875, the son of a teacher at the Vittoria School of Art, Ketèlbey attended the Trinity College of Music, where he beat the runner-up, Gustav Holst, for a musical scholarship.

Related Topics:
Albert William Ketèlbey - 9 August - 1875 - Gustav Holst

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Birmingham's other city-centre music venues include The National Indoor Arena (NIA), the CBSO Centre, Adrian Boult Hall (ABH) at Birmingham Conservatoire and the Birmingham Town Hall (currently closed for refurbishment), which has played host to many classical and popular music performances from the late 1800s.

Related Topics:
National Indoor Arena - Adrian Boult - Birmingham Conservatoire - Birmingham Town Hall - 1800s

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Theatre

There are many theatres in Birmingham. The four largest professional theatres are the Alexandra Theatre ("the Alex"), Birmingham Repertory Theatre ("The Rep"), the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Old Rep. The Mac and Drum arts centres also host many professional plays.

Related Topics:
Alexandra Theatre - Birmingham Repertory Theatre - Birmingham Hippodrome - Old Rep

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The Fierce Festival teams with the Birmingham Repertory Theatre annually to present an series of quirky performances from local and national companies.

Related Topics:
Fierce Festival - Birmingham Repertory Theatre

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Literature

Literary figures associated with Birmingham include J. R. R. Tolkien, Arthur Conan Doyle, Washington Irving, David Lodge, W. H. Auden and Benjamin Zephaniah.

Related Topics:
Literary figures associated with Birmingham - J. R. R. Tolkien - Arthur Conan Doyle - Washington Irving - David Lodge - W. H. Auden - Benjamin Zephaniah

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Visual art

Birmingham has one of the largest collections of Pre-Raphaelite art in the world at The Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Edward Burne-Jones was born in Birmingham, spent his first twenty years in the city, and later became the president of the Birmingham Society of Artists. The Barber Institute of Fine Arts was declared 'Gallery of the Year' by the 2004 Good Britain Guide. For a fuller list of art galleries in Birmingham, see Arts in Birmingham.

Related Topics:
Pre-Raphaelite - Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery - Edward Burne-Jones - The Barber Institute of Fine Arts - 2004 - Arts in Birmingham

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Other famous Birmingham artists include David Cox, David Bomberg, and various Afro-Caribbean artists including Pogus Caesar, Keith Piper and Donald Rodney.

Related Topics:
David Cox - David Bomberg - Pogus Caesar - Keith Piper - Donald Rodney

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Graffiti (or "spraycan art") culture appeared in the early 1980s, and graffiti art competitions are still regularly held.

Related Topics:
Graffiti - 1980s

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Festivals and shows

Birmingham is home to many national, religious and spiritual festivals including a St. George's Day party. The Birmingham Tattoo is a military show that has taken place in the city for several years. The currently biennial Caribbean- style Birmingham International Carnival was originally the Handsworth Carnival, held in Handsworth Park from 1984, but now takes place in the August of odd- numbered years, parading through the streets of Handsworth to Perry Barr Park. Birmingham Pride takes place in the 'gay village' and attracts up to 100,000 visitors each year. The city also hosts an annual arts festival (Artsfest) during September, where people can enjoy many of the regions' arts, free.

Related Topics:
St. George's Day - Birmingham Tattoo - Caribbean - Birmingham International Carnival - Handsworth Park - 1984 - Perry Barr Park - Birmingham Pride

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The city's largest single-day event is its St. Patrick's Day parade (Europe's second largest, after the one in Dublin).

Related Topics:
St. Patrick's Day - Dublin

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Film and media

Birmingham is unusual in supporting two local newspapers - the Birmingham Post and the Evening Mail - as well as the Sunday Mercury, all owned by the Trinity Mirror, who also produce The Birmingham News, a weekly freesheet distributed to homes in the leafy surburbs along with Forward, the Birmingham City Council's free newspaper distributed to homes and via community centres and public buildings.

Related Topics:
Birmingham Post - Evening Mail - Sunday Mercury - Trinity Mirror - The Birmingham News - Birmingham City Council

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The Electric Cinema on Station Street is the oldest working cinema in the UK, and Oscar Deutsch opened his first Odeon cinema in Perry Barr during the 1920s. The Birmingham Film Festival takes place annually, and the Birmingham School of Acting won a Royal Television Society award for their short film 'Soul Boy'. StarCity is said to be Europe's largest leisure and cinema complex and is not far from the Britain's only permanent drive-in cinema maintained by T-Mobile; both are in Nechells.

Related Topics:
Electric Cinema - Cinema - Oscar Deutsch - Odeon cinema - Perry Barr - 1920s - Birmingham Film Festival - Birmingham School of Acting - Royal Television Society - StarCity - T-Mobile - Nechells

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The BBC has its regional headquarters, BBC Birmingham, in the Mailbox, in the Convention Quarter (where they relocated from Pebble Mill), and many television and radio programes are produced in the city, including the world's longest running radio soap opera, The Archers. The Central TV and BBC studios are famous for many shows, including Tiswas, Crossroads, Dalziel & Pascoe, Midlands Today, the BBC Asian Network,.

Related Topics:
BBC - BBC Birmingham - Mailbox - Convention Quarter - Pebble Mill - Television - Radio - Soap opera - The Archers - Central TV - Tiswas - Crossroads - Dalziel & Pascoe - Midlands Today - BBC Asian Network

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Local radio stations include BRMB, Galaxy, BBC WM and Heart FM, and Kerrang, Birmingham's first dedicated rock station.

Related Topics:
BRMB - Galaxy - BBC WM - Heart FM - Kerrang - Rock

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Birmingham is also the hub for various national ethnic media, including The Voice, The Sikh Times, Desi Xpress, The Asian Today and Raja TV (based in the Mailbox).

Related Topics:
Ethnic - The Voice - The Sikh Times - Desi Xpress - The Asian Today - Raja TV

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