My Boy Lollipop - The Caribbean Comes to Britain
Stuart Maconie speaks to those who arrived from the West Indies for a new life in the UK in the 1940s, examining the culture they brought with them.
On June 22nd 1948, an ex-Troop ship called The Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury carrying nearly 500 passengers who had left behind their home in the West Indies for a new life in Britain. For them it must have been a massive culture shock. It must also have been something of a shock to the people of the UK. With the new immigrants came their slang, their customs, their food and fashion. But it was probably the music that had the first impact.
Afro-Caribbean calypsos had taken root in the folk scene of the early Sixties, but for many Britons their first experience of this new music came courtesy of an effervescent, feisty young woman from the Jamaican slums called Millie. My Boy Lollipop was recorded in Forest Hill, London, and became the first hit single for Island records. Millie even appeared on a Beatles TV special in 1964. This was the start of a cross cultural pollination.
Last on
Clips
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Lena - No one told me about the weather!
Duration: 00:25
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Rodney - Arriving by air
Duration: 00:20
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Episode 6 Preview
Duration: 01:14
Music Played
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Millie Small
My Boy Lollipop
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John Holt
Winter World Of Love
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Lord Kitchener
London Is The Place For Me
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Chubby Checker
Let's Twist Again
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Desmond Dekker & the Aces
Israelites
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Harry J. Allstars
Liquidator
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Harry Belafonte
Island In The Sun
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Millie Small
My Boy Lollipop
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Bob & Marcia
Young, Gifted And Black
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Bob Marley & The Wailers
No Woman No Cry (Live)
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Althea & Donna
Uptown Top Ranking
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The Supremes
Nathan Jones
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Amy Winehouse
Our Day Will Come
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Amy Winehouse
Our Day Will Come
Share your comments and stories
Your contributions will play a key part in this episode, take a look at the questions below and :
- Did any of your family or friends arrive on the HMS Windrush in 1948?
- Do you remember the first wave of immigrants arriving in the UK in the late Forties/early Fifties?
- What were the years like immediately after the end of WWII?
- Do you remember discovering reggae music for the first time?
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Broadcasts
- Wed 6 Feb 2013 22:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
- Tue 9 Feb 2016 23:00Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
Song Profiles
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