Isabel Thomas
Music Postgraduate Research Student
Project Title: The Music Histories of Working Men’s Clubs
Supervisors: Oskar Cox Jensen, Adam Behr, Sarah Campbell
Research Cluster: SACS Music- The Invention of Pop Music: Mainstream Song, Class, and Culture, 1520–2020. (NUAcT PhD studentship)
Prior to pursuing a PhD, Izzy spent 10+ years as a singer, teacher, conductor, music critic, events organizer and presenter in Cardiff – in varying degrees from full-time professional to voluntary community work. Currently her head resides in Newcastle and her soul in the historically radical communities of Newington Green.
The absence of working men’s clubs & institutes and similar spaces (including social clubs, workmen’s halls and miners’ institutes) from music histories has potentially created a gap in our understanding of the function of music in British social, cultural and political life, now and in the past. This research looks into founding ideologies, changes and continuities across the music of working men’s clubs from the 1840s to now, using a combination of archival sources, newspapers, media depictions, ethnography and oral histories. These institutions have reached a critical moment of decline, change or revival in the present; a greater understanding of their past may help in envisioning their futures.
- Popular music heritage
- British social history
- Music and architectural space
- Popular music theory
- Industrial heritage
- Intercultural political networks
- Music venues in policy
Izzy is a firm believer in the importance of access to a rich social and cultural life for people from all backgrounds, and in the mental health benefits of putting one’s values into practice. She gets joy from connecting people and facilitating participation in music-making. She is also a keen food scavenger, lover of languages, and fan of atheist-leaning religions.
