Undergraduate student Isabella Skinner discusses legendary band Cornershop, their discography, and impact upon British Asian culture.
This particular case study, focused on the English band Cornershop as well as British/South Asian culture during the 1980s/1990s, was researched for a project called ‘Media Transformations and Popular Music Archives’ as part of the University of Auckland Summer Research programme.
I had not heard of Cornershop or their music before undertaking this research but was the first case study chosen because of Cornershop’s music acting as an ‘archive’ in its own way. This is evident through the representation of life during that time and also British South Asian culture.
This comes in the form of photography/album covers (eg. their EP ‘In the Days of Ford Cortina’), film & literature (‘Hanif Kureishi Scene’) and construction of history (‘The Roll-Off Characteristics (Of History in the Making)’). Cornershop, fronted by Tjinder Singh, frequently includes references to political, social and cultural issues either the members have faced during their lifetime/career or in the broader British context.
This post will delve slightly into their discography and how it forms part of the Cornershop ‘archive’ which gives listeners an insight and mediates the British South Asian experience particularly during the late twentieth century.
Cornershop’s first notable hit ‘Brimful of Asha’ was released in 1997 on their well-received album ‘When I Was Born for the 7th Time’. The track was written as a recognition of the small Indian cinemas that were common within some urban English Indian neighbourhoods.
The lyrics recount Singh’s memories of Bollywood film musical scores and makes reference to popular Bollywood playback singer Asha Boshle. During one of the verses of the original version, there are numerous references to cultural icons and record labels. These include: Mohammed Rafi (Indian film playback singer), Lata Mangeshkar (Indian playback singer and music director), ‘Bolan Boogie’ (compilation album by glam rock group T Rex), Solid-state radio (portable radio receiver popular during the 1960s/1970s), Ferguson mono (tape recorder), All India Radio (public radio station), Two-in-ones (radio and cassette in one), Argo Records (record label from Chicago) and Trojan Records (British record label founded in 1968).
‘Brimful of Asha’ also points to the constructedness not just of the female persona in films but an entire set of imagined communities that these films enact. Other songs on this album are connected to ‘Beatlemania’ in the sense of the 1960s sound and covers. ‘Butter the Soul’ merges funk tendencies with cut ups, rounded off with a 60s party vibe while their Punjabi cover of ‘Norwegian Wood’ shows the band wanted to put their own twist on it.
Their preceding album ‘Woman’s Gotta Have It’ paid homage to Singh’s Indian hometown in the bookend tracks ‘6 a. m. Jullander Shere’ and ‘7.20 a. m.’ These two tracks combined come to a total of 15 minutes and have been described as levitating Punjabi grunge music by Richard Gehr in Village Voice.
Early in their career, some of their songs were commentaries on politically charged and anti-racist themes such as ‘How Can Any Asian Vote Tory?’, but also were notable for their physical actions such as burning Morrissey posters onstage. ‘England’s Dreaming’ (released on their 1994 debut album) makes clear reference to Morrissey and includes a short sample of The Smiths’ ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ with the line, ‘I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour’. The track also alludes to their own culture by counting in Punjabi at the beginning as well as repeating the phrase ‘The Powers That Be’ which is seen as a critique of racist, sexist and homophobic remarks made by Britain’s elite.
This has just been a small taste of how Cornershop’s discography, from the beginning of their career and throughout the 1990s, has served as an ‘archive’ of British South Asian identity and culture seen through the perspective of the band members. I haven’t discussed their albums and singles after the twentieth century but that could certainly be expanded upon in another blog post, particularly noting any comparisons between their music of today and their earlier compositions.
In addition to the research on Cornershop, during this case study week, I searched for any South Asian archives found predominantly in the UK.