Everyday Music Scenes: Pubs, Clubs and ’Stutes was an RMA Study Day held over a day and a half on the 14th and 15th April 2025. It was hosted at the International Centre for Music Studies at Newcastle University, with additional locations in Newcastle city centre. The aim was to stimulate interest in studying the history and present situation of music in small, local venues that would not fit the standard criteria of ‘grassroots music venue’, with an emphasis on overlooked but widespread forms of working-class musical culture.
Club music histories can be useful for figuring out the role of music in clubs in the present, and provide stories to assist in change management. These observations are based on my experience growing up in the more conservative outskirts of clubland and playing in bands in adulthood, having eventually formed an attachment to a particular club that closed down.
“How did you get interested in working men’s clubs?”
It’s a question I get asked a lot, often by men at the bar, wondering why on earth they’re sat next to this (comparatively) young woman in glasses on her own, nursing a half-pint of cheap lager with a neutral-sounding accent. Other times it’s from bewildered middle-class friends, colleagues and acquaintances: “aren’t they horrible old racist, sexist places?”
We’re excited to announce that Pete Brown, author of Clubland: How the Working Men’s Club Shaped Britain, will be giving our keynote… with a twist! Pete will give a talk on the cultural history of pubs and clubs through the interactive medium of a ‘beer and music pairing’ session.
A non-alcoholic beer will be included so those who prefer to go without alcohol can take part. Those without a taste for beer are also invited to attend – this talk is entertaining and educational for all.
Our senses are connected: one can have a powerful impact on an other. Advertisers have known this for years, while academic experiments have tended to focus on wine and the power of classical music. Pete Brown, on the other hand, throws away class-based assumptions on taste and explores the connections between beer and a range of musical genres. He’s been delivering his show to festival audiences across the UK, and his upcoming book delves deeper into the science of taste. Lucky for us, Pete is ready to present his more academic findings for the very first time, in an interactive talk that also brings in his vast knowledge of pubs and clubs from Shakespeare’s Local, Man Walks Into A Pub: A Sociable History of Beer and Clubland: How the Working Men’s Club Shaped Britain, BBC Radio 4’s Book of the Week.
Pete Brown – Author, Broadcaster, Consultant, Beer Lover:
“Pete Brown is a British author, journalist, broadcaster and consultant specialising in food and drink. Across twelve books, his broad, fresh approach takes in social history, cultural commentary, travel writing, personal discovery and natural history, and his words are always delivered with the warmth and wit you’d expect from a great night down the pub. He writes for newspapers and magazines around the world, and is a regular contributor to radio and podcasts. He was named British Beer Writer of the Year in 2009, 2012, 2016 and 2021, has won three Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards, been shortlisted twice for the Andre Simon Awards, and in 2020 was named an “Industry Legend” at the Imbibe Hospitality Awards. He was recently accused of being the 31st most important person in the drinks industry. He lives in Norwich and London with his wife Liz, and dog Mildrid.”
Please note this is not a public event. You will need to attend the RMA Study Day ‘Everyday Music Scenes’ in order to take part.
