ABSTRACT
The second folk revival of the twentieth century, which began in earnest towards the end of the Second World War, has been recorded as a more accurate representation of 'workers' music'. This chapter examines the socio-cultural constructions surrounding the uses of folk music in Britain during and after the Second World War. There have been a few attempts to develop historical accounts of the British folk song revival from the post-war era onward. In doing so, it contextualises sectarian folk-versus-popular dichotomies. Despite austerity, the utopianism of the immediate post-World War II years helped to develop a different attitude towards urban life. Radio introduced almost 'round the clock' entertainment into the home and workplace for the first time in history, although this did not always appear to be the primary aim of the middlebrow public corporation that controlled most of it, namely the BBC.
