- British Invasion
- Motown
I have decided to write about the British invasion.
I shall start off by setting the scene.
In England in the 1950's, people were still recovering from the aftermath of the 2nd World War. Britain was a very conservative country at the time, and the youth of the era were expected to grow up and get the same jobs as their parents.
At this time, American "Rock 'n' Roll" artists such as "Bill Haley and the Comets" and "Buddy Holly and the Crickets" were traveling to Britain to perform.
Their fresh and rebellious music captivated Britain's youth, Rock 'n' Roll was seen along the lines of a dance craze.
The Rock 'n' Roll fad soon died down considerably, though there was one area where it remained popular.
In Liverpool, many bands sprang up, playing music influenced by the America Rock n Roll artist, playing in pubs and clubs wherever they could.
Few dreamt of any real fame outside of Liverpool, and fewer still managed to make any real living out of the music. However, the music developed into a thriving club scene.
Although the music scene was blossoming, there was no real sign of any artist making it out of the scene.
This all changed with the Beatles, when they caught the eye of record shop owner Brian Epstein, who offered to manage the band as part of a new business venture. The Beatles accepted, and Brian Epstein set about creating an image for the band.
The image that the Beatles had at the time was an image shared by many of the bands associated with the British Invasion.
This shared style included:
- Matching clothing; primarily suits and ties
- Matching hairstyles; primarily a bobbed haircut
(an example of the matching fashion style, as demonstrated by the Beatles in 1963.
Image provided by "Azzurri_rhcp_amore" through Photobucket)
Brian Epstein had a hard time convincing the music establishment in London that anything new
and exciting could come out of Liverpool. However, the Beatles continued touring around England,
continually growing in popularity. The combination of the look and sound was something that had never
been born out of England before. This led to other bands forming up and down the country, emulating
the Rock 'n' Roll influenced sound.
Come 1962, Britain's youth had a music culture all to themselves, with the birth of other bands like;
- Gerry and the Pacemakers (another liverpudlian band managed by Brian Epstein)
- The Hollies (formed in Manchester)
- Brian Poole and the Tremeloes (formed in Essex)
- The Animals (formed in Newcastle Upon Tyne)
The Rolling Stones, forming in London, were also making a name for themselves.
They provided an alternative to the clean cut images of other British Invasion bands.
Sporting longer hair, wearing clothes that didn't match each others, and were generally perceived
to be quite rude... the original of how rock bands these days are perceived as.
They were different, in that instead of being directly influenced by the American Rock 'n' Roll bands,
they were instead influenced by Blues artists like "Howlin' Wolf", "Willie Dixon" or "Muddy Waters".
The Ravens were a band who weren't getting anywhere as far as popularity went,
until they started writing their own songs and changed their name to "The Kinks".
Over in America, the Rock 'n' Roll music that had given birth to the British bands had really tamed
down. The charts were dominated by saturated, safe pop music. The time was right for something new
to come along and shake things up again. That change happened when The Beatles travelled over to
New York on February 7th 1964, they performed on The Ed Sullivan Show for the first time 2 days later.
The show was watched by over 73 million people around America, and the Beatles were literally an
overnight success.
(The Beatles first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, playing "All My Loving", "Till There Was You", "She Loves You" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand".
This led to many other British bands crossing the Atlantic, and also playing successful performances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
The Rolling Stones, Gerry and the Pacemakers and The Animals all played on the show at various points between 1964 and 1966.
By the end of 1964, the British Invasion of America was in full swing, and British bands were playing all across the USA.
The Beatles were at the front, but were steadily gaining rivals as far as popularity went. "Herman and the Hermits", a British band from
Manchester were gaining a fan base in America to rival that of The Beatles. The Hermits also enjoyed a popular appearance on
The Ed Sullivan Show.
Back in Britain, the explosion had created a brand new youth culture in Britain which centered around capital.
London was seen as one of the most swinging cities of the time. Out of this new culture, another "soon to be famous"
band appeared.
"The Who", led by Roger Daltrey, were a band who were influenced by the enormous success of what fellow British bands
achieved in America. Their debut album "My Generation", gained immediate success in England and in the States.
Come 1966, The Beatles had started their fourth American tour with controversy. John Lennon of the band had made a statement
suggesting that their popularity had made them bigger than Jesus, which upset a lot of fans and non-fans alike.
However, they soon reaffirmed their popularity and the tour was once again a success. However, the pressures of constant touring
had come to effect the creative ability of the band, and after finishing the tour, the band announced that they were to quit touring
and focus solely on recording. The news shocked and upset millions of fans.
This led to a change in creative direction for the band, who had started experimenting with instruments that were unorthodox in pop
music, and experimenting in different styles, producing albums like "Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" and their
self-titled album commonly referred to as "The White Album".
This change in creative production would lead on to influence the Progressive Rock scene of the 70's, as well as influence early
metal bands like Black Sabbath.
Later in 1966, Robert Rafelson and Bert Schneider, two American film makers collaborated on a new TV series based
on a band with a British Invasion style.
This TV series would be called "The Monkees", and featured the band of the same name. The TV show, and the band it created,
had absolutely nothing British made, it was merely influenced by the British bands. As such, The Monkees ended up being symbolic
as the beginning of the end of the true British Invasion.
By the end of 1967, Britains domination of both British and American music scene had come to an end, but the events that had gone by would continue to influence new British and American bands alike.
The British Invasion revolutionized pop music, and had a prominent influence on a variety of succeeding genres, from
Heavy Metal, Progressive Rock, Punk, Alternative Rock... etc.
The British Invasion was also integral in cementing the general pop band line up (lead guitar and/or rhythm guitar, bass, vocals and drums).
I shall finish this blog with a few videos featuring some of the artists I have mentioned.
("House Of The Rising Sun" as performed by The Animals,
this song was the first British Invasion number one
unconnected to The Beatles. The end of the video
shows a common occurrence with performances by these
British bands, who would take a bow once the performance is over.
Video provided by "Hamish5000000")
("Satisfaction" by The Rolling Stones, video provided by
"imaStonesgirl1")
("Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles,
released on "Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
Note the change in style compared with that of their earlier material,
featured in the video earlier in the blog. Video provided by "josueharrison")
("My Generation" by The Who. The band were known for
destroying their instruments on stage,
which they do here after the performance. This is a rather
infamous performance,
as it is the performance where Pete Townsend claims to
have lost part of his hearing,
due to an exploding drum kit. Video provided by
"Mogurich")
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