Review:

British Black Gospel

It isn’t very often that you come across what is both a lifetime’s work and a labour of love. But that’s what this is. Steve Alexander’s Black British Gospel is the seminal guide to the subject. It charts the history of gospel from its roots in Negro spirituals, through the growth of black Pentecostal churches in the UK and up to the current day.

It is both detailed and intensely moving, especially in its stories of the early pioneers and the barriers they faced. It also shows how secular and gospel music have interacted over the years making it a valuable social and theological history of our times. It shows how initial suspicions about a more secular style in the Pentecostal churches broke down and led to an explosion of new worship music. The drums no longer belonged to the devil and we were all freed to make a great deal more noise.

The book is broken down into think-pieces, life stories and descriptions of the different bands and solo artists. It is a musicologist’s delight and even comes with a very generous and free CD.

HIGH: The moving personal stories of struggle and triumph.

LOW: The narrative doesn’t always flow as it could.

Published by: Monarch