British Pop Invasion

1964 was the start of the British 'pop' invasion of the United States and the world was never the same. The Beatles paved the way for countless British bands and performers to find international success during the 1960s, taking the US and other international charts by storm. British Pop Invasion is a photographic record of that era using hundreds of rare Daily Mirror images, with text by respected author Alan J. Whiticker. At more than 300 pages, this book is a must for pop culture historians, baby boomers of the era and music lovers of any age.

Before The Beatles landed on American shores in February 1964 only two British acts had topped the Billboard singles chart. In the first quarter of 1964, however, the Beatles alone accounted for sixty percent of all recorded music sold in the United States; in 1964 and 1965 British acts occupied the number one position for 52 of the 104 weeks; and from 1964 through to 1970, the Rolling Stones, Herman’s Hermits, the Dave Clark Five, the Animals, the Kinks, the Hollies, the Yardbirds and the Who placed more than one hundred and thirty songs on the American Top Forty. In The British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence, Simon Philo illustrates how this remarkable event in cultural history disrupted and even reversed pop culture’s flow of influence, goods, and ideas—orchestrating a dramatic turn-around in the commercial fortunes of British pop in North America that turned the 1960s into “The Sixties.” Focusing on key works and performers, The British Invasion tracks the journey of this musical phenomenon from peripheral irrelevance through exotic novelty into the heart of mainstream rock. Throughout, Philo explores how and why British music from the period came to achieve such unprecedented heights of commercial, artistic, and cultural dominance. The British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence will appeal to fans, students and scholars of popular music history—indeed anyone interested in understanding the fascinating relationship between popular music and culture.

Examines the British influences on American culture between 1964 and 1969, discussing rock bands such as The Beatles, the Yardbirds, supermodel Twiggy and Mary Quant minidresses, James Bond films, and more.

Musical floodgates were opened after the Beatles' first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 9, 1964. Suddenly, the U.S. record charts, radio, and television were overrun with British rock and pop musicians. Although this British Invasion was the first exposure many Americans had to popular music from the United Kingdom, British pop — and more specifically British rock and roll — had been developing since the middle of the 1950s. Author James Perone here chronicles the development of British rock, from the 1950s imitators of Elvis Presley and other American rockabilly artists, to the new blends of rockabilly, R&B, Motown, and electric blues that defined the British Invasion as we recognize it today. Die-hard fans of the Beatles, the Who, and the Kinks will all want a copy, as will anyone interested in the 1960s more generally. May 1964 saw major gang-style battles break out in British resort communities between the Mods and the Rockers. The tensions between the two groups had been developing for several years, with each group claiming their own sense of culture and style. The Mods wore designer clothing, rode Vespa motor scooters, and shared an affinity for black American soul music, while the Rockers favored powerful motorcycles, greased-back hair, and 1950s American rock and roll. It was within this context that the sounds of the British Invasion developed. Mods, Rockers, and the Music of the British Invasion chronicles the development of British rock through the iconic artists who inspired the movement, as well as through the bands who later found incredible success overseas. In addition to analyzing the music in the context of the British youth culture of the early 1960s, Perone analyzes the reasons that the British bands came to so thoroughly dominate the record charts and airwaves in the United States. The contributions of Cliff Richard, Billy Fury, Johnny Kidd and the Pirates, Tommy Steele, the Tornados, Tony Sheridan, Blues Incorporated, and others to the development of British rock and roll are examined, as are the contributions and commercial and artistic impact of major British Invasion artists such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Dave Clark Five, the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Who, the Kinks, and others. After investigating these groups and their influences upon one another, Perone concludes by examining the commercial and stylistic impact British rock musicians had on the American music of the time.

Preface. Acknowledgements. Introduction. 1. The Velvet Glove: The Art of Production. 2. A Question of Balance: Engineering Art. 3. 4. 5. Red-Light Fever: Musicians. 6. Please Please Me. 7. Discography. Bibliography.

The Americans hadn’t seen anything like it since the War of Independence! The British pop invasion of the 60s went on to transform music – not just in the States and back home in the UK, but around the world. Inspired by the likes of Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis, the Brits had a point to prove that they could take on the Americans in their own back yard. A host of exciting new bands, singers, and showstoppers took the US by storm. Together, they dominated the charts, and left behind a legacy of outstanding recordings and performances that still resonate today. Now you can relive the heady times of the British Invasion with this superb book. It chronicles some of the bands that made it big from the two giants; The Beatles and the Rolling Stones to such pop combos as Herman’s Hermits, The Animals, Freddie And The Dreamers and the Dave Clark Five. The songs that topped the charts are also featured which alltogether brings to life an era when pop music was so exciting, magical – and all about the Brits.

A photographic record of the era using hundreds of rare Daily Mirror images, many of them unpublished or locked away for decades.

Chronicles the story of the British band through its sensational successes of the 1960s and the four solo careers its breakup spawned in 1970, looking at the band's formation and how its music defined a generation.