As a lasting tribute to Britain’s musical history and to celebrate Britain’s pride in our heritage, this £5 coin is the perfect gift for those with an interest in British music while, at the same time, commemorating the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
As Britain gears up for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Royal Mint is celebrating achievements from our heritage with the release of 18 sterling silver Proof coins. Each of the £5 coins features the London 2012 logo in colour on the reverse while the Queen’s portrait by Ian Rank-Broadley FRBS graces the obverse.
The image on this £5 coin of Cornelia Parker’s sculpture entitled ‘Breathless’ represents the British music industry.
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Designer Shane Greeves worked closely with the Royal Mint Engraving Team to produce this special coin that combines a stirring quote with a symbolic image to encapsulate the emotion, the wonders and greatness of Britain and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The inscription, ‘All you need is love’, by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, links to the nation’s love of sport while the design of Cornelia Parker’s sculpture ‘Breathless’ is how people will feel with the excitement the London 2012 Games will bring.
British popular music originated in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries with the arrival of the broadside ballad. Then came the brass bands, still popular today, followed by the music halls of the Victorian era and the early twentieth-century dance bands. In the early 1960s The Beatles arrived and set the standard for popular music.
Britain’s great success in the music industry can be attributed to rock bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Who and Queen, the raw fire of punk, solo artists like David Essex, Rod Stewart and Elton John, and the manufactured acts of boy bands like East 17 and Take That, with the female versions of the Spice Girls and Girls Aloud.
Classical music has become more and more popular with over 70 Proms concerts taking place each year, culminating with The Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall when rousing patriotic music of the UK, including Elgar’s ‘Land of Hope and Glory’, is celebrated.