Things May Come and Things May Go, But the Art School Dance Goes on for Ever

English underground refers to a loose, DIY network of bands, audiences, promoters, and fanzines that coalesced in England in the late 1960s and 1970s. It fused heavy psychedelia, space-bound rock jams, anarchic proto‑punk attitude, and experimental folk and drone into an alternative to the mainstream British pop and rock industry. Rather than a single sound, it describes a culture: free festivals and communal gigs, improvised sets in squats and arts colleges, independent labels and press, and a commitment to countercultural ideals. Its music tends to favor long forms, trance‑like grooves, modal or drone harmony, tape and electronics experimentation, and lyrics steeped in surrealism, political dissent, and visionary imagery.