The Lost and Found Musical History of Merthyr Tydfil: Conference presentation at Massey University, Wellington, December 2017

This paper proposes to explore how memories and memorabilia of popular music activity in the valley’s town of Merthyr Tydfil (Near Cardiff) can assist the construction of a localised alternative history of popular music, that resonates positively and negatively with the hegemonic mainstream. This will be presented via providing a case study of a project I am currently working on, which investigates musical engagement in this ex mining town in South Wales, between the years 1955 to 1975.

The presentation will analyze not only selected digital stories I have recorded and recordings I have collected, but also countless photographs that have been donated by the community: all of these materials are being showcased in a forthcoming popular music exhibition taking place in Merthyr Tydfil Town Hall in January 2018. The presentation will also reflect upon a series of intergenerational activities (funded by the AHRC) taking place in November 2016, where school aged children in the town reenact/find some of the hidden ‘musical histories’ provided by the older community.
Building on the ‘hidden history’ work of academics such as Lipsitz (2007) and Brocken (2009), the aim of the project and this paper is to explore how an instance of localized lost musical narratives resonates with mainstream histories.