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Acknowledgments

This book is the culmination of many years’ work. It is the product of scores of interviews in cafés, libraries, and front rooms; of early-morning writing routines in bedrooms, in offices, and at kitchen tables; of conversations with friends, loved ones, and colleagues; and of an infinite number of cups of very strong coffee. Because of this, there are a great many people without whom a book of this kind would never have been possible. First of all, a huge thank-you to all those people who took the time to talk to a young student about their memories of 1980s Handsworth. All of them shaped this book in indispensable ways, though special thanks are due to Vanley Burke, Pogus Caesar, and Brian Homer, who gave up far more of their time than they had to and have subsequently become much-valued collaborators and friends. Thanks also to all those photographers who granted me permission to use their work in this book and to the Arts and Humanities Research Council, which at various points provided a crucial source of funding that allowed me the time and space to research and write it.

Academically, over the years a large number of colleagues have offered invaluable support, guidance, and friendship. At the University of Birmingham, I am grateful to the late Michael Green for the coffees, cakes, and crucial cultural studies connection. Thanks to Dave Gunning, who cosupervised my PhD; Tony Kushner, who examined it and helped me to think about how I could develop it; and Richard Clay, for too many pints to mention. Thanks also to Chris Moores and Gavin Schaffer, for the advice and, just as important, the football chat. The History Department at Queen’s has provided an incredibly supportive environment in which to finish this project, and thanks particularly to Sean O’Connell, who kindly read sections of the final manuscript. I would also like to thank the anonymous reviewers of that manuscript and James Vernon, the editor of the Berkeley Series in British Studies at University of California Press, who bought into the project from the beginning and offered input and feedback that went far beyond the call of duty. What follows is an infinitely better book because of it. Finally, it is difficult to quantify the debt of gratitude I owe to Matthew Hilton for believing in an enthusiastic MA student and for subsequently becoming a much-valued PhD supervisor, collaborator, mentor, and friend. Thank you.

I would also like to thank my friends and family. Thanks to Josie Kelly, who employed me as a postgrad on the basis of a Specials badge and to whom I will eventually return her voice recorder. Thanks to the Hall Green and Badock crews for the endless nights of escapism, and to my brother Laurence Connell for always being there. Finally, I would like to thank my parents. My mother, Myra Connell, has read almost every draft of everything I have ever written. She has been a constant source of emotional and intellectual support and remains a complete inspiration. My father, John Dalton, provided the initial spark for many of this book’s key themes through his involvement in Birmingham’s community arts scene. He died in March 2013 and left a big gap behind. Without either mum or dad, none of this would be possible.