MOBO stars, Black Sabbath and more - Birmingham’s vibrant and diverse music scene uncovered

From award-winning MOBO stars to Black Sabbath - Stephen Pennell documents Birmingham’s vibrant and diverse music scene with reviews as well as interviews in his new book King City: Adventures into Birmingham’s Diverse Music Culture
Author Stephen Pennell and Birmingham artist Lady LeshurrAuthor Stephen Pennell and Birmingham artist Lady Leshurr
Author Stephen Pennell and Birmingham artist Lady Leshurr

Stephen Pennell was once told by someone that his gig reviews made them feel like they were missing out.

As a writer for the music and culture website Counteract, Stephen has championed Birmingham’s culture for years after being inspired by his city’s music heritage.

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From rock legends such as Robert Plant and Black Sabbath, to soul and the reggae sounds of UB40, Birmingham has a music history to be proud of.

But it’s the city’s current music scene and fearless acts that have inspired him to put pen to paper to create King City: Adventures Into Birmingham’s Diverse Music Culture.

Laura MvulaLaura Mvula
Laura Mvula

What is King City about?

In this new decade there is a range of exciting new indie bands, rappers and singer-songwriters which are surrounded by a collective of DJs, historic venues, and the bloggers and vloggers who promote them.

In King City, Stephen’s reviews and musings shine a light on Birmingham’s finest up-and-coming performers playing the city’s most iconic venues.

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With a nod to the past, the book also touches on the city’s prestigious history, as well as the more recent indie scene which emerged in Digbeth in the early 2010s.

Ozzy Osbourne will be at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena in 2022Ozzy Osbourne will be at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena in 2022
Ozzy Osbourne will be at Nottingham Motorpoint Arena in 2022

He said: “I spend a lot of nights in Digbeth and I thought I could write about the nightlife in the area and that was the genesis of the book, which then expanded from nightlife to some of our best music venues like the Flapper, the 02, the Hair and Hounds and the Falcon - all of the classic Birmingham venues, so it widened from that initial point.

“The first chapter is about when the BBC show The Rap Game UK came to Birmingham and when we went to the filming of that in Digbeth.

“In the late 70s early 80s, if you didn’t know about reggae you might not know that apart from Bob Marley, Birmingham had the biggest reggae acts in the world including Musical Youth and UB40, and what’s happening now in Birmingham is there is a big indie scene bubbling under again, but where we are really shining is in rap; four out of the last six Best Female winners of the MOBO Awards have Birmingham connections, including Laura Mvula, Lady Leisha and Stefflon Don who were all born in Birmingham as well as Mahali, who came to the city to study.

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“Then there’s the likes of Mist and Jaykae so there’s a lot of big rappers from the city at the moment which I talk about in the book as well.”

Stephen Pennell (right) with outside the Sunflower Lounge with Phil Etheridge from The TwangStephen Pennell (right) with outside the Sunflower Lounge with Phil Etheridge from The Twang
Stephen Pennell (right) with outside the Sunflower Lounge with Phil Etheridge from The Twang

The title of the book comes from the name of the song by the indie band Swim Deep, an act which helped to create the city’s much hyped ‘B-town’ music scene with the likes of Peace, Jaws and Superfood in the early 2010s.

“There’s two Peace reviews in the book and a Swim Deep and Jaws review because they were the precursors really for a lot of the Birmingham bands that are making it now in the indie scene.

“People get to a certain age and they think they’ve seen it all before, but you’ve got to see it through the prism of somebody who is 18 and can’t remember Oasis, because this is their time because it’s new to them so why compare people with what’s gone before or unfavourably to what’s gone before, because this is for the kids now and I think the likes of Peace and Swim Deep helped to pave the way for the exciting new acts in the city now which are also talked about in the book.”

When will the book be released?

King City: Adventures Into Birmingham’s Diverse Music Culture, will be released later this month on September 24 and is available to pre-order now on Amazon.

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