Born of austerity and a love of American folk, skiffle was basic, direct, and thrillingly raw. A kind of make do and mend pop. But this was a make do and mend time.
Post-war Britain was a drab, bankrupt and almost broken country. Cities were still littered with bomb sites and rationing was still in place until 1954. But teenagers were discovering new music in the nation's coffee houses via the wondrous technology of jukeboxes and freshly imported records.
And one record in particular resonated with the UK's youth: Leadbelly's Rock Island Line. The musicians who emerged from the skiffle scene read like a virtual who's who of British pop music: Cliff Richard, Martin Carthy, Mark Knopfler, Mickie Most, Jimmy Page, and Lennon and McCartney all found inspiration and nominal success in this new scene.
Please note: Unlike the radio programmes, the music is restricted because of copyright, and therefore all the songs have been shortened and edited.
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