The mid 60's was a unique time in music history, known as the British Invasion. Many English rock 'n' roll and pop bands appeared to be crossing the border and flooding the U.S charts with their music.
Many british pop bands took influence from genre known as Skiffle, a combination of country and folk music. What many aspiring artists took from Skiffle was its do it yourself attitude towards the industry. This included homemade instruments, so performers didn't have to buy expensive equipment to actually play the music. Infact, many Artists who achieved fame during the British Invasion are said to have previous turns as a skiffle band. The most famous of all, The Quarry Men, who soon went to become known as The Beatles. The DIY genre became a stepping stone to the explosion which was The British Invasion.
Band such as The Kinks, The Hollies, The Who, Gerry and the Pacemakers, including the Mindbenders and Wayne Fontana all had hit singles during the invasion. Other succesful tracks included: 'House of the rising sun' by the Animals and many artists such as the Troggs, with their hit 'Wild Thing.' It marked a time of international success for many British rock n roll and pop bands at the time.
The sound of the British Invasion was very similar to that of the Merseybeat sound.
The Merseybeat scene was born featuring the strong use of vocal harmonies and driving rhythms. Taking influence from American Rock ‘n’ Roll bands such as Buddy Holly and the Crickets. This was another stepping stone to The British Invasion.Catchy melody lines, full of consistent harmonys and hooks. Clean guitar, Four to the floor drums and walking basslines all combined to gain the popularity in the U.S charts.
In 1964 with over 73million American viewers watched the Ed Sullivan show, with over 50,000 requests' for tickets to a studio that held 703. During their appearance The Beatles played five songs in the following order... All My Loving,Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. On this night America came to a 'stand still', Criminal Activity amongst the Major Towns and Cities was put on hold and getting a bus or taxi in New York was almost impossible, until their performance was over. The Beatles launch of British music in America become known as The British Invasion, as
The Beatles are the only British band to simultaneously remain in the Top Five in the U.S charts and to sell over 2 million records, in one month. With over 73million American viewers watched the Ed Sullivan show, The Beatles played songs such as She Loves You, I Saw Her Standing There and I Want To Hold Your Hand. On this night America came to a 'stand still'.
Image and Fashion
In the mid 60's, the image britain created for themselves was a formal dress code. This included fitted suits, ties and leather shoes. The color theme was mainly black or/and white. Band members had a smart short/trimmed haircut, including the infamous "moptop" hairstyle.
Essential Listening
The Kinks - You really got me.
The Who - My Generation
The Beatles - I saw her standing there
The Animals - House of the rising sun
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seen as though of none of the video and image upload sites weren't working i've left the links.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVA8dOgeMfQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmApPRVm5xw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4B-13Eg9UI&feature=related
