From Acid Jazz to Peter Sellers, a quick-take who's who of British pop culture From the Swinging 60s and the mods, from the seventies and the punks to Generation E, Britpop and Cool Britain--the past 50 years have seen a steady stream of world-sweeping movements, trends, and styles come out of the British Isles. In this hip, fast-paced look at who's who and what's what of British popular culture, cultist Andrew Calcutt explores more than 200 key people, products, and phenomena in British popular culture. Calcutt deftly deconstructs hundreds of Brit Cult icons--such as Monty Python, J. G. Ballard, Nick Hornby, Martin Amis, Doc Martens, E-Type Jaguars, glam, and goth, Malcolm McClaren, Blur, Oasis, The Kinks, The Who, and the Stones--and identifies who or what they are, what they represent to us, and what they have, in turn, inspired. Each entry is a brief, stand-alone essay providing biographical details, analysis, observation, and opinion; but, taken together, the essays add up to a revealing portrait of the good (The Beatles), the bad (racist skinheads) and the ugly (football hooligans) of British pop culture in all its many facets.

The first account of anti-ageing and rejuvenation in modern Britain, exploring hormones, diet, electrotherapy, exercise and skin care.

This book is the first sustained critical analysis of cult British TV comedy from 1990 to the present day. The book examines 'post-alternative' comedy as both 'cult' and 'quality' TV, aimed mostly at niche audiences and often possessing a subcultural aura. It includes case studies of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and the sitcom writer Graham Linehan.

Blow Up, Get Carter, Performance, A Clockwork Orange, Quadrophenia, Naked, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels—in recent years, an industry has grown up around certain British cult movies, spawning soundtracks, videos, internet sites, and cinematic re–releases. The makers of these films have become icons of cool, revered throughout the worlds of film, music, and fashion. How has this come about? And what turns these films into lifestyles? Drawing on exclusive interviews with studio bosses, actors, filmmakers, and fans, and touring dozens of film locations,Your Face Herereveals all.

The first study to deal exclusively with the cult ofKing Charles the Martyr - Charles I as suffering, innocent king, walking in the footsteps of his Saviour to his own Calvary at Whitehall - and the political theology underpinning it, taking the story up to 1859.

What was imperial honor and how did it sustain the British Raj? If "No man may harm me with impunity" was an ancient theme of the European aristocracy, British imperialists of almost all classes in India possessed a similar vision of themselves as overlords belonging to an honorable race, so that ideals of honor condoned and sanctified their rituals, connecting them with status, power, and authority. Honor, most broadly, legitimated imperial rule, since imperialists ostensibly kept India safe from outside threats. Yet at the individual level, honor kept the "white herd" together, providing the protocols and etiquette for the imperialist, who had to conform to the strict notions of proper and improper behavior in a society that was always obsessed with maintaining its dominance over India and Indians.Examining imperial society through the prism of honor therefore opens up a new methodology for the study of British India.

This book is the first sustained critical analysis of Cult British TV comedy from 1990 to the present day. The book examines ‘post-alternative’ comedy as both ‘cult’ and ‘quality’ TV, aimed mostly at niche audiences and often possessing a subcultural aura (comedy was famously declared ‘the new ‘rock’n’roll’ in the early ‘90s). It includes case studies of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer and the sitcom writer Graham Linehan. It examines developments in sketch shows and the emergence of ‘dark’ and ‘cringe’ comedy, and considers the politics of ‘offence’ during a period in which Brass Eye, ‘Sachsgate’ and Frankie Boyle provoked different kinds of media outrage. Programmes discussed include Vic Reeves Big Night Out, Peep Show, Father Ted, The Mighty Boosh, The Fast Show and Psychoville. Cult British TV Comedy will be of interest to both students and fans of modern TV comedy.