When the ravages of Alzheimer’s leave an elderly woman marooned in painful memories of October 1950, her grandchild comes up with a creative strategy.
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Major initiative to celebrate black musicians in the UK
(L to R) Errollyn Wallen, John Blanke and Ignatius Sancho
[(L to R) Benramsden/CC/public domain/Thomas Gainsborough]
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IN JANUARY this year, a blue plaque was installed in Greenwich, South London, commemorating John Blanke. A trumpeter in the Tudor courts of Henry VII and Henry VIII, Blanke is the first black Briton for whom there is both an image and documentation.
It’s Blanke who will provide the starting point for a landmark exhibition exploring the history of black British music.
“The project will map the long history of African and Caribbean contributions to British popular music,” says Mykaell Riley, the driving force behind the exhibition. “Our timeline will kick off with John Blanke in the early 1500s and will end with contemporary contributions.”
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