Bio
Liam writes, records and performs music for children and families with his band Johnny and the Raindrops.
He has a PhD in music made for children and has written a book called 'Spinning the Child: Musical Constructions of Childhood through Records, Radio and Television' (Routledge 2020) which looks at how recorded music contributes to constructions of childhood in specific socio-historical settings.
The book examines how ideals of entertainment, education, ‘the child’ and ‘the family’ have been communicated through folk music, the BBC’s children’s radio broadcasting, the children’s songs of Woody Guthrie, the curriculum-based music of Sesame Street, the music of The Muppet Show, Bagpuss and other television shows, the contemporary children’s music industry and other case studies.
Liam has also published journal articles about jazz music on children's television, the Music Hall songs of the Muppet Show, 'Auto-tuning Hannah Montana' and other aspects of music for children.
He works as a researcher looking at arts and music education and special needs education.
