For all those teachers whose last foray into a record shop was to buy the Gypsy Kings album, the “Teaching Pop Music” conference, held at the University of London’s Institute of Education yesterday and today, could have some of the answers.

The programme aimed to help those teaching popular music, and included advice on how to get into the music business.

But before tuning those air

guitars, there was work to be done. Allan Moore, reader in music at Surrey University, gave a presentation on “methodology and process of interrogaton, illustrated through a few well-known songs”.

Also appearing was Nickie Dibben, from the University of Sheffield, who offers help on “analysing music videos and recordings of contemporary female pop performers to show how music mediates social constructions of gender”.

And if this wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll enough, Aki Nawaz from Fun-da-mental and Nation Records explained his cutting-edge credentials: “Fuelled by the same ethos as Public Enemy, smashing down “stereotypical” theories and causing mental confusion, pushing two or more opposing concepts and making something new; transforming and recreating musical ideas”.

Bring back the Carpenters.