Visiting the O2 and getting to see the British Musical Experience was absolutely amazing. I wasn't quite sure what exactly to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised upon my arrival. It was like nothing I have ever seen before; there were seven different rooms filled with memorabilia, historical documents, clothing, and tons of information about important events and music starting from the 1940's all the way up to present day. The room that featured the 1960's was by far my favorite because this room had most of my favorite musicians and trends. What was really interesting was looking at all the different trends that had evolved from other influences. The type of music, clothing, dancing, and world events that were taking place had a definite influence on the trends of the 1960's and all other time periods as well. One machine I used allowed me to focus on a popular photograph and then gave me all of the historical information surrounding the particular photo. One picture brought up the death of John F. Kennedy. JFK's death had a major influence on the music of that day. JFK, the young and popular President of the United States, was greatly loved by Americans and especially by the American youth who really identified with him. He had promised change for the better and brought hopes of a brighter future. When JFK died many young Americans felt as if they had no one to identify with and help them through their teenage angst. These feelings paved the way for many rocking roll bands, especially the Beatles, to become popular among the youth of America. The four young men of the Beatles sang about teenage love and other popular things that young people identify with. The Beatles helped to heal the wound that JFK’s death had caused.
One activity called the “Atlantic Crossing” showed how American and British musicians influenced each other. One example of this was the early American rock and rollers who had a profound influence on the different members of the Beatles. Musicians such as Buddy Holly and others were real sources of inspiration to the band. What is really amazing is that the Beatles were heavily influenced by mostly American musicians and after their “American invasion”, the Beatles became a new source of inspiration for all other musicians to follow. This shows the give and take relationship between American and England. No one country can be given credit for different types of music because people can be influenced by other people all over the world. The give and take relationship between America and England shows how rock and roll and other popular trends evolved.
Another interesting display had the infamous outfits that the many musicians in each era had worn. In the 1945-1962 room, the clothing consisted of more plain and formal pieces that were definitely novel but not too out there. As I moved from one room to another it was crazy to see how clothing had evolved. Starting with the more formal attire, each room after the first contained outfits that were more revealing, eye catching, and peculiar. By the time I had reached the 1993 to present day room, the clothing had completely changed. Musicians started out wearing suits and pretty dresses and as time went on musicians expanded their looks from the previous generations. Another display showed a pair of reading glasses from the 1960’s. The glasses were plain and simply served the purpose of enhancing one’s eyesight. When I got into the 1980’s room, the pairs of glasses were huge, oddly shaped and colored, and encrusted with rhinestones. I think I would be correct in saying that these glasses were not used to help eyesight!
There was one station at the BME where you could select a certain type of dance and after showing the dance, it recorded you trying the dance yourself. This I could not resist, and so my roommate and I brought out are dancing shoes and started to groove. We tried to do the twist because this was a dance that had been extremely popular in 1960’s. It was different from dances that had come before it because earlier dances usually involved a partner, but the twist could be done with one person. I think the twist was also a bit more risqué than dances before it had been. That was to be expected though as music had become more sexy and, to some, more vulgar the types of dances to the music did the same.
The BME gave me so much insight into the world of music and how it has changed and evolved throughout time. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in music!
