Everything and the Kitchen Sink: UK Film, Music and TV before The Beatles

An engaging and informative account of 'kitchen sink realism' looking at the artists, musicians, playwrights and authors who wrenched Britain out of post-war austerity and paved the way for the swinging 60s and beyond.

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink analyses 'kitchen sink realism' and the birth of 'pop cinema' in the context of contemporaneous debates surrounding politics, civil liberties, sexuality, race, immigration and urbanisation. Covering the lives and careers of well-known figures such as Alan Sillitoe, Shelagh Delaney, David Storey, Edna O'Brien and Albert Finney, as well as charting the rise of iconic British series like Coronation Street and Z-Cars, Simon Matthews offers a fascinating blend of social history, pop culture, drama and cinema. Matthews also interviews contemporary figures - including Ken Loach - about the kitchen sink era and how it inspired their work.

The book will appeal to cultural studies students, cineastes, social historians and anyone interested in the performing arts. For fans of Robert Sellers' Don't Let the Bastards Grind You Down: How One Generation of British Actors Changed the World and Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex-Drugs-and-Rock 'N Roll Generation Saved Hollywood.

** Includes a foreword by Tom Courtenay **