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Dr Adrian Horn, Honorary Research Associate in the Department of History publishes book

Date: 18 May 2009

Postwar Youth Culture Explored - Dr Adrian Horn, Honorary Research Associate in the Department of History, has written a book examining the rise of the teenager in the 1950s. "Juke box Britain: Americanisation and youth culture 1945-1960" (Manchester University Press) examines the cultural changes of the postwar years, when the number of jukeboxes rose from 100 in 1945 to over 15,000 in 1958. The first ones were made by the Hawtin's factory in Blackpool and later by the Ditchburn Company of Lytham St. Annes. The Establishment saw this new youth culture of milk bars, cafes and coffee bars as American and degenerate, but Dr Horn disagrees with the common assumption that British youth underwent a period of massive Americanisation, saying instead that it combined with local styles to create a hybrid culture. › To view the full story