Join us as we uncover choral competitions, Battersea Pleasure Gardens dance halls, Caribbean music, and the ongoing impact on London’s musical life. Perfect for history enthusiasts, music lovers, and anyone curious about 1950s British culture.
Episode 153: A Celebration of Sound The Festival of Britain’s Musical Journey
Host: Hazel Baker
Hazel is an active Londoner, a keen theatre-goer and qualified CIGA London tour guide.
She has won awards for tour guiding and is proud to be involved with some great organisations. She is a freeman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors and am an honorary member of The Leaders Council.
Channel 5’s Walking Wartime Britain(Episode 3) and Yesterday Channel’s The Architecture the Railways Built (Series 3, Episode 7). Het Rampjaar 1672, Afl. 2: Vijand Engeland and Arte.fr Invitation au Voyage, À Chelsea, une femme qui trompe énormément.
Guest: David Turnbull
David Turnbull is an accredited guide with the Lambeth Tour Guides Association. A former chef, he has worked in the kitchens of numerous restaurants, clubs, and casinos across London’s West End.
For many years, David also served as a national officer for a major UK trade union, representing hotel, restaurant, and bar workers. In this role, he held positions within both the European and global trade union bodies for hospitality and tourism, giving him a deep insight into the industry and its history.
When not guiding, David enjoys exploring London’s culinary and cultural scenes, combining his love of food and history to bring stories of the city to life for his guests.
Hazel Baker: The Festival of Britain wasn’t just post-war optimism—it was a soundtrack to a nation reinventing itself. I’m Hazel Baker from London Guided Walks, and I’m joined by published author and Lambeth tour guide David Turnbull. We’re exploring the musical legacy of the 1951 Festival, 75 years on, with music at the heart of South Bank celebrations for the anniversary event You Are Here, curated by Danny Boyle.
Transcript:
David Turnbull: Hello Hazel, nice to be here and talk about the fantastic Festival of Britain.
[00:01:00]
Hazel Baker: Back in 1951, the newly built Royal Festival Hall symbolised the future. Opened by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, it hosted ambitious programmes for orchestral and choral music to lift a country still living with rationing and bomb damage.
David Turnbull: The festival’s aim mirrored this: to provide a tonic for a nation recovering from war. Classical music, traditional folk, jazz, and crooners all played a part, influenced by US GIs stationed in London. The festival reached nationwide with concerts, competitions, and recitals.
[00:06:00]
Hazel Baker: The Royal Festival Hall’s opening night has become almost mythic. Why was it so symbolically important?
David Turnbull: It was a star-studded event celebrating British composers like Elgar and Vaughan Williams, with conductors such as Sir Malcolm Sargent. Attendees included the Prime Minister Clement Attlee, Deputy PM Herbert Morrison, King, Queen, Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, Churchill, architects, and artists like Henry Moore. Performances by the London Philharmonic and Philharmonia orchestras made it historic.
[00:09:00]
Hazel Baker: I’ve performed there myself—acoustics are phenomenal.
David Turnbull: Some conductors initially struggled with the futuristic sound compared to Victorian theatres, but the leading conductors were pleased.
[00:10:00]
Hazel Baker: Choral music played a huge role.
David Turnbull: Indeed, choirs from industrial towns and rural villages performed, alongside professionals like St Paul’s Cathedral choir. National competitions and sing-alongs, encouraged by Festival Song Booklets, engaged communities across the UK, lifting spirits and offering inclusion.
[00:13:00]
Hazel Baker: I discovered the festival even went aboard an aircraft carrier, HMS Campa.
David Turnbull: Yes! It toured 10 UK ports with orchestras, local choirs, and pipe bands. Tickets were affordable, giving wider access. There was a bar, live music, and sing-alongs—it brought the festival to everyone.
[00:16:00]
Hazel Baker: Programming must have been challenging.
David Turnbull: Yes. Operas commissioned anonymously caused controversy: winners included a German, Austrian, Australian, and Alan Bush, a Communist Party member. Some works were never performed, reflecting Cold War tensions and politics. Alan Bush’s Wat Tyler premiered in East Berlin three years later.
[00:21:00]
Hazel Baker: What about Caribbean music?
David Turnbull: The festival inspired unofficial local events. The official Festival March by William Alwyn was played nationwide. Calypso by Lord Kitchener (The Festival of Britain) became the unofficial anthem. The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra brought steel pan music to London and toured across the UK, influencing events like the Notting Hill Carnival.
[00:26:00]
David Turnbull: There’s a 75th-anniversary steel pan concert planned on the South Bank this summer, featuring bands from London and the West Indies.
[00:27:00]
Hazel Baker: Battersea Pleasure Gardens and the Illuminated Dance Pavilion sound wonderful—what music and fashion defined that side of the festival?
David Turnbull: Popular music: dance bands, big bands, jazz influenced by GIs, and crooners like Vera Lynn. Joe Loss Orchestra was a highlight. There were fairgrounds, railways, the Grand Vista, and new fashion trends using materials like nylon and rayon. It was fun, energetic, and glamorous.
[00:30:00]
Hazel Baker: And your walking tour—what can people experience?
David Turnbull: I take visitors along the York Road entrance and through the festival sites, including surviving locations like the Festival Hall and landmarks like the Westminster Bridge lion. We explore routes, remnants, and stories from the 1951 festival.
[00:33:00]
Hazel Baker: Thank you for joining us. If you’re inspired, you can follow David Turnbull’s Festival of Britain Walking Tour—available as scheduled or private tours via London Guided Walks. Links for bookings, further reading, music playlists, and images are in the show notes. Follow the podcast, leave a rating or review, and share it with someone who loves London’s history and music.
David Turnbull: Thank you, Hazel.
Curious about the Festival of Britain?
Join David Turnbull on his Festival of Britain Walking Tour and explore the South Bank while uncovering the stories, music, and legacy of this iconic 1951 celebration.
📚Related Blog posts:
📕What was the Festival of Britain?
📕Festival of Britain and its Art Legacy
📕What is left of the Festival Britain in London?
