Despite the close and longstanding links between sport and music, the relationships between these two significant cultural forms have been relatively neglected. This book addresses the oversight with a series of highly original essays written by authors from a range of academic disciplines including history, psychology, musicology and cultural studies. It deals with themes including sport in music; music in sport; the use of music in mass sporting events; and sport, music and protest. In so doing, the book raises a range of important themes such as personal and collective identity, cultural value, ideology, globalisation and the commercialisation of sport. As well as considering the sport/music nexus in Great Britain, the collection examines sport and music in Ireland, the United States, Germany and the former Soviet Union, as well as in the Olympic movement. Musical styles and genres discussed are diverse and include classical, rock, music hall and football-terrace chants. For anybody with an interest in sport, music or both, this collection will prove an enjoyable and stimulating read.

This book was previously published as a Special Issue of Sport in Society.

Anthony Bateman is an Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at The International Centre for Sports History and Culture, De Montfort University, UK. A former professional musician, he was a member of the Orchestra of Scottish Opera and the Hallé Orchestra. He is the author of Cricket, Literature and Culture: Symbolising the Nation, Destabilising Empire and is co-editor of Sporting Sounds: Relationships Between Sport and Music and The Cambridge Companion to Cricket.