British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. These include attempts to recreate American rock 'n' roll in the mid-1950s, and, more commonly, music derived from the
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
that emerged from the 1960s. Since around 1964, with the
British InvasionThe British Invasion is used to describe rock and roll, beat and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States from 1964 to 1966. The Second British Invasion refers to MTV and New Wave acts of the 1980s...
spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock has had a considerable impact on the development of American music and subsequently rock music across the world.
The term "
rockRock music is a genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the 1960s. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country music and also drew on folk music, jazz and classical music....
" is often used in combination with other terms to describe a variety of hybrids or sub-genres, and is often contrasted with
pop musicPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
, with which it shares many structures and instrumentation. Rock music has tended to be more orientated to the albums market, putting an emphasis on innovation, virtuosity, performance and song writing by the performers. Although much too diverse to be a genre in itself, British rock has produced many of the most significant groups and performers in rock music internationally, and has initiated or significantly developed many of the most influential sub-genres, including
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
,
punkPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
,
heavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
, new romanticism, and
indie rockIndie rock is a genre of rock music that originated in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1980s. The term is often used to describe the means of production and distribution of independent underground music, as well as the style of music that was first associated with this means of...
.
Early British rock and roll
In the 1950s, Britain was well placed to receive American rock and roll music and culture. It shared a common language, had been exposed to American culture through the stationing of troops in the country, and shared many social developments, including the emergence of distinct youth sub-cultures, which in Britain included the Teddy Boys.
Trad JazzTrad jazz which is shorthand for "traditional jazz" may either refer to a music genre popular in Britain and Australia from the 1940s onward through the 1950s, or to the American "hot jazz" of the 1920s and early 1930s, which developed from the New Orleans and Ragtime styles of music...
became popular, and many of its musicians were influenced by related American styles, including Boogie Woogie and the Blues. The
skiffleSkiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in Britain in the 1950s, where it was associated with...
craze, led by
Lonnie DoneganLonnie Donegan MBE was a skiffle musician, with more than 20 UK Top 30 hits to his name. He is known as the "King of Skiffle" and is often cited as a large influence on the generation of British musicians who became famous in the 1960s...
, utilised amateurish versions of American folk songs and encouraged many of the subsequent generation of rock and roll, folk, R&B and beat musicians to start performing. At the same time British audiences were beginning to encounter American rock and roll, initially through films including
Blackboard JungleBlackboard Jungle is a 1955 social commentary film about teachers in an inner-city school. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evan Hunter.-Synopsis:...
(1955) and
Rock Around the ClockRock Around the Clock is the title of a 1956 musical motion picture that featured Bill Haley and His Comets along with Alan Freed, The Platters, and Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. It was produced by b-movie king Sam Katzman and directed by Fred F...
(1955). Both films contained the
Bill Haley & His CometsBill Haley & His Comets was an American rock and roll band that was founded in 1952 and continued until Haley's death in 1981. The band, also known by the names Bill Haley and The Comets and Bill Haley's Comets , was the earliest group of white musicians to bring rock and roll to the attention of...
hit "
Rock Around the Clock"Rock Around the Clock" is a 12-bar-blues-based song written by Max C. Freedman and James E. Myers in 1952...
", which first entered the British charts in early 1955 - four months before it reached the
US pop chartsThe Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
- topped the British charts later that year and again in 1956, and helped identify rock and roll with teenage delinquency. American rock and roll acts such as
Elvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was an American singer and actor. A cultural icon, he is commonly known simply as Elvis and is also sometimes referred to as The King of Rock 'n' Roll or The King....
,
Little RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and recording artist, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s...
and
Buddy HollyCharles Hardin Holley , known professionally as Buddy Holly, was an American singer-songwriter and a pioneer of rock and roll...
thereafter became major forces in the British charts.
The initial response of the British music industry was to attempt to produce copies of American records, recorded with session musicians and often fronted by teen idols. More grassroots British rock and rollers soon began to appear, including
Wee Willie HarrisWee Willie Harris is a British rock and roll singer. He is best known for his energetic stage shows and TV performances since the 1950s, when he was known as "Britain's wild man of rock 'n' roll".-Life and career:Formerly a pudding mixer at Peek Freans' London bakery, Harris turned professional...
and
Tommy SteeleTommy Steele OBE is an English entertainer. Steele is widely regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock 'n' roll star...
. The bland or wholly imitative form of much British rock and roll in this period meant that the American product remained dominant. However, in 1958 Britain produced its first "authentic" rock and roll song and star, when
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts...
reached number 2 in the charts with "
Move It"Move It" is a song recorded by Cliff Richard and the Drifters . Originally intended as the B-side to "Schoolboy Crush", it was released as Richard's debut single on August 29 1958 and became his first hit record. It is credited with being one of the first authentic rock and roll songs produced...
". At the same time, TV shows such as
Six-Five SpecialThe Six-Five Special is a British television programme launched in February 1957 when both television and rock and roll were in their infancy in Britain.-Description:...
and
Oh Boy! promoted the careers of British rock and rollers like
Marty WildeMarty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singer Kim Wilde....
and
Adam FaithTerence Nelhams-Wright, known as Adam Faith was an English singer, actor and financial journalist. Teen idol turned top actor then financial wizard, Faith was one of the most charted acts of the 1960s. He became the first UK artist to lodge his initial seven hits in the Top 5...
. Cliff Richard and his backing band
The ShadowsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group with a grand total of 69 UK hit singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and The Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s...
, were the most successful home grown rock and roll based acts of the era. Other leading acts included
Billy FuryBilly Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful British pop singer from the late 1950s to the early 1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
,
Joe BrownJoe Brown, MBE is an English entertainer of the 1960s and beyond.Brown has worked as a rock and roll singer and guitarist for more than five decades...
, and Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, whose 1960 hit song "
Shakin' All Over"Shakin' All Over" is a rock and roll song originally performed by Johnny Kidd and the Pirates. It was written by frontman Johnny Kidd and reached #1 in the United Kingdom in August 1960. Musicians were: Johnny Kidd , Alan Caddy , Brian Gregg , Clem Cattini , Joe Moretti .The original recording...
" became a rock and roll standard.
Beat music
In late 1950s Britain a flourishing culture of groups began to emerge, often out of the declining
skiffleSkiffle is a type of popular music with jazz, blues, folk and country influences, usually using homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a term in the United States in the first half of the twentieth century, it became popular again in Britain in the 1950s, where it was associated with...
scene, in major urban centres in the UK like
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
,
ManchesterManchester is a city and metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. In 2007, the population of the city was estimated to be 458,100...
,
BirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands county of England. Birmingham is the second-most populous British city, with a population of 1,006,500 ....
and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. This was particularly true in Liverpool, where it has been estimated that there were around 350 different bands active, often playing ballrooms, concert halls and clubs. These beat bands were heavily influenced by American groups of the era, such as
Buddy Holly and the CricketsThe Crickets are a rock & roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer/songwriter Buddy Holly in the 1950s.Their first hit record was "That'll Be the Day," released in 1957....
(from which group
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
derived their name), as well as earlier British groups such as The Shadows. After the national success of the Beatles in Britain from 1962, a number of Liverpool performers were able to follow them into the charts, including
Gerry & The PacemakersGerry & The Pacemakers were a British rock and roll group prominent during the 1960s. In common with The Beatles, they came from Liverpool and were managed by Brian Epstein. They are most remembered for being the first act to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart with their first three single...
,
The SearchersThe Searchers are an English rock band who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....
, and
Cilla BlackCilla Black OBE is a British singer, actress and television performer who has been successful as an entertainer from 1963 through the present day. She is most famous worldwide for her successful singles "Anyone Who Had A Heart", "You're My World", and "Alfie"...
. Among the most successful beat acts from Birmingham were The Spencer Davis Group and
The Moody BluesThe Moody Blues are an English band originally from Erdington in the city of Birmingham. Founding members Michael Pinder and Ray Thomas performed an initially rhythm and blues-based sound in Birmingham in 1964 along with Graeme Edge and others, and were later joined by John Lodge and Justin...
;
The AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature songs "The House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", the...
came from
NewcastleNewcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England...
, and
ThemThem was a Northern Irish band formed in Belfast in April 1964, most prominently known for the garage rock standard "Gloria" and launching singer Van Morrison's musical career...
, featuring
Van MorrisonVan Morrison is a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter with a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime...
, from
BelfastBelfast is the capital of and the largest city in Northern Ireland, a constituent country of the United Kingdom. It is the seat of devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly. It is the largest urban area in the province of Ulster, and the second largest city on the island of...
. From London, the term
Tottenham Sound was largely based around
The Dave Clark FiveThe Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. It was the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to have a chart hit in the United States ....
, but other London bands that benefited from the beat boom of this era included the Rolling Stones,
The KinksThe Kinks are an English rock group categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the British Invasion era....
and
The YardbirdsThe Yardbirds are an English rock band, notable for starting the careers of three of rock's more famous guitarists: Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, all of whom were in the top fifteen of Rolling Stones' 100 Top Guitarists list...
. The first non-
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, non-
Brian EpsteinBrian Samuel Epstein was a British music entrepreneur, and the manager of The Beatles. He also managed several other musical artists such as Gerry & The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, Cilla Black and The Remo Four...
-managed band to break through in the UK were
Freddie and the DreamersFreddie and the Dreamers were a British musical band who had a number of hit records between May 1963 and November 1965. Their act was based around the comic antics of the 5-foot-3-inch-tall Freddie Garrity, who was famous for bouncing around the stage with arms and legs flying.-UK history:The...
, who were based in Manchester, as were
Herman's HermitsHerman's Hermits were an English pop band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's management and producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening and clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
and
The HolliesThe Hollies are an English rock group from Manchester formed in the early 1960s. Known for their distinctive vocal harmony style they became one of the leading British groups of the era, and they enjoyed considerable popularity in many other countries although they did not achieve major US chart...
. The beat movement provided most of the bands responsible for the
British invasionThe British Invasion is used to describe rock and roll, beat and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States from 1964 to 1966. The Second British Invasion refers to MTV and New Wave acts of the 1980s...
of the American pop charts in the period after 1964, and furnished the model for many important developments in pop and rock music, particularly through their small group format - typically
lead guitarA lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, and guitar solos within a song structure.In rock, heavy metal, blues, jazz and fusion bands and some pop contexts as well as others, the lead guitar lines are usually supported by a second guitarist who plays...
,
rhythm guitarRhythm guitar is the use of a guitar to provide rhythmic chordal accompaniment for a singer or other instruments in a musical ensemble. In ensembles or "bands" playing within the acoustic, country, blues, rock or metal genres , a guitarist playing the rhythm part of a composition supports the...
,
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
, drums, and often keyboards, either with a lead singer or with one of the other musicians taking lead vocals and the others providing vocal harmonies.
British blues boom
In parallel with beat music, in the late 1950s and early 1960s a British blues scene was developing recreating the sounds of American R&B and later particularly the sounds of bluesmen
Robert JohnsonRobert Leroy Johnson was an American blues musician, among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. His landmark recordings from 1936–1937 display a remarkable combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced generations of musicians...
,
Howlin' WolfChester Arthur Burnett , better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential American blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player....
and
Muddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered "the Father of Chicago blues". He is also the actual father of blues musicians Big Bill Morganfield and Larry "Mud Morganfield" Williams...
. Initially led by purist blues followers such as
Alexis KornerAlexis Korner , born Alexis Andrew Nicholas Koerner, was a pioneering blues musician and broadcaster who has sometimes been referred to as "the Founding Father of British Blues"...
and
Cyril DaviesCyril Davies was one of the first British blues harmonica players and blues musician.Born at St Mildred's, 15 Hawthorn Drive, Willowbank, Denham, Buckinghamshire, near London, he was the son of William Albert Davies, a labourer, and his wife Margaret Mary...
, it reached its height of mainstream popularity in the 1960s, when it developed a distinctive and influential style dominated by electric guitar and made international stars of several proponents of the genre including The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds,
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE is an English blues-rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer. Clapton has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Yardbirds, of Cream, and as a solo performer, being the only person ever to be inducted three times...
,
Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac are a British/American rock band formed in 1967 in London, England.The only member present in the band from the very beginning is its namesake drummer Mick Fleetwood...
and
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
. A number of these moved through
Blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
to different forms of rock music, with increasing emphasis on technical virtuosity and improvisational skills. As a result British blues helped to form many of the sub-genres of rock, including
psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among garage and folk rock bands in Britain and the United States...
and
heavy metal musicHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
. Since then direct interest in the blues in Britain has declined, but many of the key performers have returned to it in recent years, new acts have emerged and there have been a renewed interest in the genre.
The Beatles and the British Invasion
The Beatles themselves were less influenced by blues music than the music of later American genres such as
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
and Motown. Their popular success in Britain in the early 1960s was matched by their new and highly influential emphases on their own song writing, and on technical production values. On 7 February 1964 the
CBS Evening NewsCBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
with
Walter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
ran a story about
The BeatlesThe Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960 who became one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed bands in the history of popular music...
' United States arrival in which the correspondent said "The British Invasion this time goes by the code name
BeatlemaniaBeatlemania was a term used during the 1960s to describe the intense fan frenzy particularly demonstrated by young teen girls directed toward The Beatles during the early years of their success. The word is a portmanteau of "Beatles" and "mania"...
". A few days later they appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show. Seventy five percent of Americans watching television that night viewed their appearance thus "launching" the invasion with a massive wave of chart success that would continue until the Beatles broke up in 1970. On 4 April 1964 the Beatles held the top 5 positions on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday; while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart, the only time to date that any act has accomplished this. During the next two years, Peter and Gordon,
The AnimalsThe Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. Known for their gritty, bluesy sound and deep-voiced frontman Eric Burdon, as exemplified by their signature songs "The House of the Rising Sun" and "We Gotta Get Out of This Place", the...
,
Manfred MannManfred Mann were a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboard player and founder, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Mann's Earth Band.-Beginnings :...
,
Petula ClarkPetula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
,
Freddie and the DreamersFreddie and the Dreamers were a British musical band who had a number of hit records between May 1963 and November 1965. Their act was based around the comic antics of the 5-foot-3-inch-tall Freddie Garrity, who was famous for bouncing around the stage with arms and legs flying.-UK history:The...
, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders,
Herman's HermitsHerman's Hermits were an English pop band, formed in Manchester in 1963 as Herman & The Hermits. The group's management and producer, Mickie Most , emphasized a simple, non-threatening and clean-cut image, although the band originally played R&B numbers...
,
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
,
The TroggsThe Troggs are an English rock band from the 1960s that had a number of hits in Britain and the USA, including their most famous song, "Wild Thing". The Troggs were from the town of Andover in southern England...
, and
DonovanDonovan , is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
would have one or more number one singles. Other acts that were part of the invasion included
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
,
The KinksThe Kinks are an English rock group categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the British Invasion era....
, and
The Dave Clark FiveThe Dave Clark Five were an English pop rock group. It was the second group of the British Invasion, after The Beatles, to have a chart hit in the United States ....
. British Invasion acts influenced fashion, haircuts and manners of the 1960s of what was to be known as the "
CountercultureCounterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition...
". In particular the Beatles' movie
A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night is a 1964 British comedy film written by Alun Owen starring The Beatles—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr—during the height of Beatlemania. It was directed by Richard Lester and originally released by United Artists...
and fashions from
Carnaby StreetCarnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in London, United Kingdom, located in the Soho district, near Oxford Street and Regent Street. It consists of twelve pedestrianised streets with numerous fashion and lifesyle retailers, including a large number of independent fashion boutiques...
led American media to proclaim England as the centre of the music and fashion world. The success of British acts of the time, particularly that of the Beatles themselves, has been seen as revitalising rock music and influenced many American bands to develop their sound and style. The growth of the British music industry itself also enabled it to discover and first establish the success of new rock artists from elsewhere in the world, notably
Jimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter...
and, in the early 1970s,
Bob MarleyRobert Nesta "Bob" Marley was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers and Bob Marley & The Wailers...
.
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic music is a style of music that is inspired or influenced by
psychedelicThe term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλείν , translating to "mind-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly ordinary fetters...
culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of
hallucinogenic drugsThe general group of pharmacological agents commonly known as hallucinogens can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and...
. It particularly grew out of blues-rock and progressive folk music and drew on non-Western sources such as Indian music's
ragaRāga refers to melodic modes used in Indian classical music. It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made. In the Indian musical tradition, rāgas are associated with different times of the day, or with seasons. Indian classical music is always set in a rāga...
s and
sitarThe sitar is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
s as well as studio effects and long instrumental passages and surreal lyrics. It emerged during the mid 1960s among progressive folk acts in
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
such as The Incredible String Band and
DonovanDonovan , is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
, as well as in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and rapidly moved into rock and pop music being taken up by acts including the Beatles, The Yardbirds, The Moody Blues, Small Faces,
The MoveThe Move were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s from Birmingham, England, and were among the most popular British bands to not find any success in the US....
,
TrafficTraffic were an English rock band formed in 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason. They began as a psychedelic rock group influenced by The Beatles when releasing early pop singles , and diversified their sound through the use of instruments such as keyboards,like the...
,
CreamCream were a 1960s British blues-rock band and supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker. Their sound was characterised by a hybrid of blues, hard rock and psychedelic rock...
and
Pink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band who, in the late 1960s, earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and in the 1970s, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art,...
.
Psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among garage and folk rock bands in Britain and the United States...
bridged the transition from early
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
to
progressive rockProgressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility."...
,
art rockArt rock is a term describing a subgenre of rock music that tends to have "experimental or avant-garde influences" and emphasizes "novel sonic texture." Art rock is an "intrinsically album-based" form, which takes "advantage of the format's capacity for longer, more complex compositions and...
,
experimental rockExperimental rock or avant-garde rock is a type of music based on rock which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, and/or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique....
,
hard rockHard rock or heavy rock is a sub-genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock and is considerably harder than conventional rock music...
and eventually
heavy metalHeavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in England and the United States...
that would become major genres in the 1970s.
Mainstream and global success
By the early 1970s, rock music had become more mainstream, and internationalised, with many British acts becoming massively successful in the United States and globally. Some of the most successful artists, such as
Paul McCartneySir James Paul McCartney, MBE , is an English singer-songwriter, poet, composer, multi-instrumentalist, entrepreneur, record and film producer, painter, and animal rights and peace activist. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings, McCartney is the most successful songwriter in the history of popular music...
,
John LennonJohn Winston Ono Lennon, MBE was an English rock musician, singer-songwriter, author, and peace activist who gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles...
,
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
,
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
, and
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer and songwriter born and raised in London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English lineage....
performed their own songs (and in some cases those written by others) in an eclectic variety of styles, in which the presentation of the performance itself became increasingly important. By way of contrast,
Status QuoStatus Quo, also known as The Quo or just Quo, are an English rock band whose music is characterized by their distinctive brand of boogie rock....
became one of the most successful British rock acts by presenting an apparently unsophisticated style of
boogieBoogie is a repetitive, swung note or shuffle rhythm , "groove" or pattern used in blues which was originally played on the piano in boogie-woogie music. The characteristic rhythm and feel of the boogie was then adapted to guitar, double bass, and other instruments. The earliest recorded...
-based rock music; and
Van MorrisonVan Morrison is a critically acclaimed singer and songwriter with a reputation for being at once stubborn, idiosyncratic, and sublime...
gained international critical acclaim through a blend of rock,
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
and
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
styles. Some well-established British bands, notably
The Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in 1962 in London when multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and pianist Ian Stewart were joined by vocalist Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early lineup...
,
The WhoThe Who are an English rock band formed in 1964. The primary lineup consisted of guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They became known for energetic live performances including the pioneering spectacle of instrument destruction...
, and
The KinksThe Kinks are an English rock group categorised in the US as a British Invasion band. The Kinks have been cited as one of the most important and influential rock bands of the British Invasion era....
, also developed their own particular styles and expanded their international fan base during that period.
Electric folk
Electric folk is the name given to the kind of
folk rockFolk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. In its earliest and narrowest sense, the term referred to a genre that arose in the United States and the UK around the mid-1960s...
pioneered in
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
at the end of the 1960s, particularly by the band
Fairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
. Rather than mixing electric music with forms of American influenced progressive folk, it used traditional English music as its basis. An early success was Fairport Convention's 1969 album
Liege and Lief, but it became more significant in the 1970s, when it was taken up by groups such as
PentanglePentangle are a British folk rock band with some jazz influences. The original band were active in the late 1960s and early 1970s and a later version have been active since the early 1980s...
,
Steeleye SpanSteeleye Span is a British electric folk band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....
and the Albion Band. It was rapidly adopted and developed in the surrounding Celtic cultures of
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, where it was pioneered by
Alan StivellAlan Stivell is a French and Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic Music as part of World Music.- Background-Learning Breton Music and Culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town...
and bands like
Malicorne- The traditional years :Gabriel Yacoub and Marie Yacoub formed Malicorne in 1974, naming it after the French town, Malicorne, famous for its porcelain and faience. Since several of their albums are called simply Malicorne it had become the custom to refer to them by number, even though no number...
; in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
by groups such as
HorslipsHorslips were a 1970s Irish Celtic rock band that composed, arranged and performed their music based on traditional Irish jigs and reels. They are regarded as the fathers of Celtic rock for their fusion of traditional Irish music with rock music and went on to inspire many local and international...
; and also in
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
,
WalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom, bordered by England to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It is also an elective region of the European Union...
and the
Isle of ManThe Isle of Man , or Mann , is a self-governing British Crown dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Britain and Ireland. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Crown is represented by a Lieutenant Governor...
and
CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
, to produce
Celtic rockCeltic rock is a genre of folk rock and a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context...
and its derivatives. It was also influential in those parts of the world with close cultural connections to Britain, such as the USA and Canada and gave rise to the sub-genre of
Medieval folk rockMedieval folk rock, medieval rock or medieval folk is a musical sub-genre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements of early music with rock music. It grew out of the electric folk and progressive folk movements of the later 1960s...
and the fusion genres of
folk punkFolk punk , is a fusion of folk music and punk rock. It was pioneered by the London-based Irish band The Pogues in the 1980s...
and
folk metalFolk metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. As the name suggests, the genre is a fusion of heavy metal with traditional folk music. This includes the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles.The earliest...
. By the end of the 1970s the genre was in steep decline in popularity, as other forms of music, including punk and electronic began to be established.
Progressive rock
Progressive or prog rock developed out of late 1960s
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
and
psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among garage and folk rock bands in Britain and the United States...
. Dominated by British bands, it was part of an attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility. Progressive rock bands attempted to push the technical and compositional boundaries of rock by going beyond the standard verse-
chorusA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
-based
song structureThe structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
s. The
arrangementIn music, an arrangement is either a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet...
s often incorporated elements drawn from
classicalClassical music is the mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times...
,
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, and international sources later called "
world musicWorld music is the traditional music or folk music of a culture that is created and played by indigenous musicians that is closely related to the music of the regions of their origin.-Terminology:...
".
InstrumentalRock Instrumentals have a separate page.An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or any other sort of vocal music; all of the music is produced by musical instruments. This term is used when referring to popular music rather than to other musical genres such as European...
s were common, while songs with lyrics were sometimes conceptual, abstract, or based in fantasy. Progressive rock bands sometimes used
concept albumIn popular music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical". Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs...
s that made unified statements, usually telling an epic story or tackling a grand overarching theme. King Crimson have been seen as the band who established the concept of progressive rock. The term was applied to the music of bands such as
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
,
GenesisGenesis are a Grammy Award-winning English rock band formed in 1967, and are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time with approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, including 21.5 million albums sold in the United States. In 1988, the band won the Grammy Award for Best...
,
Pink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band who, in the late 1960s, earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and in the 1970s, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art,...
,
Jethro TullJethro Tull are a British rock group formed in 1967. Their music is characterised by the songs, vocals and flute work of Ian Anderson, who has led the band since its founding, and guitarist Martin Barre, who has been with the band since 1969....
,
Soft MachineSoft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the so-called "Canterbury scene," and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre....
,
Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra, commonly abbreviated ELO, were a British symphonic rock group from Birmingham, United Kingdom, who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop...
,
HawkwindHawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock....
, and
Emerson, Lake & PalmerEmerson, Lake & Palmer were an English progressive rock supergroup. In the 1970s, the band was extremely popular, selling over 35 million albums and headlining huge concerts...
. It reached its peak of popularity in the mid 1970s, but had mixed critical acclaim and the punk movement can be seen as a reaction against its musicality and perceived pomposity.
Glam rock
Glam or glitter rock developed in the UK in the post-
hippieThe hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the early 1960s and spread around the world. The word hippie derives from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district...
early 1970s. It was characterised by outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a
campyCamp is an aesthetic sensibility wherein something is appealing because of its bad taste and ironic value. When the usage appeared, in 1909, it denoted: ostentatious, exaggerated, affected, theatrical, and effeminate behaviour, and, by the middle of the 1970s, the definition comprised: banality,...
, playing with categories of sexuality in a theatrical blend of
nostalgicThe term nostalgia describes a longing for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , nóstos, "returning home", a Homeric word, and , álgos, "pain" or "ache"...
references to
science fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction. It differs from fantasy in that, within the context of the story, its imaginary elements are largely possible within scientifically-established or scientifically-postulated laws of nature...
and old movies, all over a guitar-driven
hard rockHard rock or heavy rock is a sub-genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage and psychedelic rock and is considerably harder than conventional rock music...
sound. Pioneers of the genre included
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
,
Roxy MusicRoxy Music are an English art rock group initiated during the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry . The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eno's replacement Eddie Jobson...
,
Mott the HoopleMott the Hoople are a 1970s English rock band with strong R&B roots and dominant in the glam rock era of the early to mid 1970s. They are popularly known for the song "All the Young Dudes", written for them by David Bowie and appearing on their 1972 album of the same name.-The early years:Mott The...
,
Marc BolanMarc Bolan , was an English singer, songwriter and guitarist whose hit singles, fashion sensibilities and stage presence with T...
and T.Rex. These, and many other acts straddled the divide between pop and rock music, managing to maintain a level of respectability with rock audiences, while enjoying success in the UK singles chart, including
QueenQueen were an English rock band. Formed in London in 1970 following the demise of the band Smile, Queen consisted of vocalist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor. The band became popular with audiences via their hit songs, live performances,...
and
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
. Other performers aimed much more directly for the popular music market, where they were the dominant groups of their era, including
SladeSlade are an English rock band. Slade were one of the most recognizable acts of the glam rock movement and were, at their peak, the most commercially popular band in the UK...
,
WizzardWizzard were a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...
, and
SweetSweet is a British rock band that rose to prominence as one of the main glam rock acts in the 1970s, with the original line-up consisting of Brian Connolly, Steve Priest, Frank Torpey, and Mick Tucker...
. The glitter image was pushed to its limits by
Gary GlitterGary Glitter is the stage name of Paul Francis Gadd , an English glam rock singer and songwriter.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
and
The Glitter BandThe Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band, but in 1973 began releasing records of their own...
. Largely confined to the
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, glam rock peaked during the mid 1970s, before it disappeared in the face of punk rock and new wave trends.
Heavy metal
With roots in
blues-rockBlues-rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a tube...
and
psychedelic rockPsychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among garage and folk rock bands in Britain and the United States...
, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, powerful sound, characterized by overt rhythmic basslines, highly amplified
distortionDistortion is an effect often applied to electric guitars, though it is not limited to any one musical instrument. It can be accomplished by electronically altering the dynamic range compression or clipping the input signal, this effect adds additional harmonics and overtones to the signal,...
, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and overall loudness. Heavy metal lyrics and performance styles often incorporated elements of fantasy and science fiction, and are generally associated with masculinity and
machismoMachismo is prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism. In many cultures, machismo is acceptable and even expected...
. The three pioneering heavy metal bands,
Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page , Robert Plant , John Paul Jones and John Bonham . With their heavy, guitar-driven sound, Led Zeppelin are regarded as one of the first heavy metal bands, helping to pioneer the genre...
,
Black SabbathBlack Sabbath are an English rock band, formed in Birmingham in 1968 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple lineup changes, with a total of twenty-two former members...
, and
Deep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford, Hertfordshire in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members have tried not to categorise themselves as any one genre. The band...
, were all British and, while gaining little critical acclaim, they and the next generation of metal groups, which included American, Australian and continental bands beside British acts
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
,
MotörheadMotörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energized heavy metal in the late '70s and early '80s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had...
and
RainbowRainbow were an English rock band formed by former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in 1975. In addition to Blackmore, the band originally consisted of former Elf members; lead singer Ronnie James Dio , keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule, bassist Craig Gruber, and drummer Gary Driscoll...
, were able to attracted large audiences and record sales. Rainbow moved heavy metal into stadium rock while
MotörheadMotörhead are a British rock band formed in 1975 by bassist, singer and songwriter Lemmy, who has remained the sole constant member. The band was part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, which re-energized heavy metal in the late '70s and early '80s. Usually a power trio, Motörhead had...
introduced a
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
sensibility and an increasing emphasis on speed. After a decline in popularity in the late 1970s
Judas PriestJudas Priest are an English heavy metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1969. Judas Priest's core line-up consists of bass player Ian Hill, vocalist Rob Halford and guitarists Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing. The band has gone through several drummers, though Scott Travis has held the position since...
discarded most of the genre's
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre created within the African-American communities in the Deep South of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
influences, particularly on their 1980 album
British SteelBritish Steel is the sixth album by British heavy metal band Judas Priest, released on 14 April 1980. British Steel was recorded at Tittenhurst Park, home of former Beatle Ringo Starr, after a false start at Startling Studios, a recording studio located on Tittenhurst's grounds...
, which opened the door for the
New Wave of British Heavy MetalThe New Wave of British Heavy Metal is a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. Sometimes compared to Beatlemania, the era developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep...
including
Iron MaidenIron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in East London, formed in 1975. The band are directed by founder, bassist and songwriter Steve Harris...
,
VardisVardis were a three-piece heavy metal band from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene between 1978 and 1986 however two compilation albums have been released since their split. Their unique style of raw, energised boogie mixed with 70s glam rock brought them a reasonably long career by heavy...
, Saxon and
Def LeppardDef Leppard are an English rock band from Sheffield, who formed in 1977 as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Largely on the strength of their albums Pyromania and Hysteria, Def Leppard became one of the top-selling rock bands throughout the 1980s, selling over 65 million albums...
, and a return to popularity in the 1980s.
Although NWBHM inspired many new bands, in the late 1980s much of the creative impetus in the genre moved away from Britain to American and continental Europe (particularly German and Scandinavia), which produced most of the major new sub-genres of metal, which were then taken up by British acts. These included
thrash metalThrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized by its fast tempo and aggression. Thrash metal songs typically use fast, percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. Thrash metal lyrics often deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory...
and
death metalDeath metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
, both developed in the USA;
black metalBlack metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It often employs fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, double-kick drumming, and unconventional song structure....
and
power metalPower metal is a style of heavy metal music combining characteristics of traditional metal with thrash metal or speed metal, often within symphonic context...
, both developed in continental Europe, but influenced by the British band
VenomVenom are an English heavy metal band, formed in 1978 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.Considered a seminal influence for thrash and coming to prominence towards the end of the 'New Wave of British Heavy Metal', Venom have found little mainstream success or critical acclaim, but are widely regarded...
; and
doomDoom metal is a form of heavy metal music that typically uses very slow tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much 'thicker' or 'heavier' sound than other metal genres...
, which was developed in the USA but which soon had a number of bands from England, including
Pagan AltarPagan Altar is a doom metal band from England. They are regarded as one of the pioneers of their genre.-Biography:Pagan Altar formed in 1978 in Brockley, England. Alongside Witchfinder General, they are one of the few NWOBHM bands to play doom metal...
and
Witchfinder GeneralWitchfinder General are a heavy metal band from Stourbridge, England. They were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre...
.
GrindcoreGrindcore, sometimes shortened to grind, is an extreme music genre that emerged during the mid–1980s. It draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres – including death metal, industrial music, noise and the more extreme varieties of hardcore punk.Grindcore is characterized by...
, or simply grind, was a hybrid of death metal and hardcore punk, characterized by heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, high speed
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. It is a crucial element of composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
,
blast beatA blast beat is a drum beat often associated with grindcore and death metal, although its usage predates those genres and has spread to many other forms of extreme metal and is found in different styles of metal...
s, songs often lasting no more than two minutes (some are seconds long), and vocals which consist of
growlsA death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, unclean vocals, among other names, is a vocalization style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres...
and high-pitched screams. Pioneers, the British band
Napalm DeathNapalm Death are an English extreme metal band from Birmingham, formed in 1981. The band was formed in the village of Meriden , England in May 1981 by Nicholas Bullen and Miles Ratledge....
inspired other British grindcore groups in the 1980s, among them
Extreme Noise TerrorExtreme Noise Terror are an British crust punk/grindcore band originally formed in Ipswich, England in 1985. The band are widely considered one of the earliest and most influential European grindcore bands, and particularly the forefathers of the crustgrind subgenre.Notable for one of the earliest...
,
CarcassCarcass are an extreme metal band from England, formed in 1985 and disbanded in 1995. A reunion was enacted in 2008 without one of its original members, drummer Ken Owen....
and
Sore ThroatSore Throat were a British crust punk / grindcore band, formed in Yorkshire in 1987. They are known for being one of the earliest exponents of the grindcore subgenre known as "noisecore", as well launching the careers of several prominent members of the British metal community.-Biography:Sore...
.
Probably the most successful British metal band since the days of NWOBHM were
Cradle of FilthCradle of Filth are an English Extreme metal band from Suffolk, formed in 1991. They have been embraced and disowned with equal fervour by various metal communities, and their particular subgenre has provoked a great deal of discussion....
, formed in 1991, and pursuing a form of extreme metal that is difficult to categorise. The term "retro-metal" has been applied to such bands as The Darkness, whose unique mix of
glam rockGlam rock is a style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s that was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots." The flamboyant costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, theatrical blend of...
and heavy riffs earned them a string of singles hits and a quintuple platinum album with
One Way Ticket to Hell... and Back (2005), which reached number 11 in the UK charts.
Bullet for My ValentineBullet for My Valentine are a Welsh metalcore band from Bridgend, formed in 1998. The band is composed of Matt Tuck , Michael Paget , Jason James , and Michael Thomas . They were formed under the name Jeff Killed John and started their music career by covering songs by Metallica and Nirvana...
, from Wales, broke into the top 5 in both the U.S. and British charts with their melodic dark rock, with
Scream Aim FireScream Aim Fire is the second studio album by Welsh metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine, released worldwide January 28, 2008 and January 29, 2008 in the US. The band supported the release of the album with the Scream Aim Fire Tour.-Background:...
(2008).
Pub rock
Pub rockPub rock was a mid- to late-1970s musical movement, largely centred around North London and South East Essex, particularly Canvey Island and Southend on Sea. Pub rock was largely a reaction to much of the popular music of the era, which tended to be dominated by progressive rock and highly...
was a short-lived trend that left a lasting influence on the British music scene, especially in
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
. It was a back-to-basics movement that reacted against the glittery
glam rockGlam rock is a style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s that was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots." The flamboyant costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, theatrical blend of...
of
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and
Gary GlitterGary Glitter is the stage name of Paul Francis Gadd , an English glam rock singer and songwriter.Glitter first came to prominence in the glam rock era of the early 1970s...
, and peaked in the mid 1970s. Pub rock developed in large north London pubs. It is said to have begun in May 1971 with
Eggs over EasyEggs over Easy were an American country-rock band, of the early 1970s, who visited London to record an album, and then became a resident band in a London public house, launching what subsequently became known as pub rock...
, an American band, playing in the Tally Ho! in
Kentish TownKentish Town is an area of north west London, England in the London Borough of Camden.-History:Kentish Town is first recorded during the reign of King John as kentisston...
. A group of musicians who had been playing in blues and R&B bands during the 1960s and early 70s soon formed influential bands like
Brinsley SchwarzBrinsley Schwarz were a 1970s English pub rock band, named after their guitarist Brinsley Schwarz. With Nick Lowe on bass and vocals, keyboardist Bob Andrews and drummer Billy Rankin, the band evolved from the 1970s pop band Kippington Lodge....
,
Ducks DeluxeDucks Deluxe were an English pub rock band of the 1970s, who have recently reformed. Usually called "The Ducks" by their fans, they were known for up-tempo, energetic performances, and the successful careers of their members, after they disbanded.-History:...
and
Bees Make HoneyBees Make Honey were an influential band in the early pub rock movement in the UK.The band were formed in 1971 in north London by Barry Richardson, who had a residency in a jazz band at the "Tally Ho" public house, when Eggs over Easy started playing pub rock there...
. Brinsley Schwarz was probably the most influential group, achieving some mainstream success both in the UK and in the States. The second wave of pub rock included Kilburn and the High Roads,
AceAce were a British rock music band, who enjoyed moderate success in the 1970s. They are notable for their part in the early career of Paul Carrack, who later became famous as a solo artist, and as a member of several other groups...
and Chilli Willi & The Red Hot Peppers; these were followed by the third and final wave of pub rock, including
Dr. FeelgoodDr. Feelgood are a British pub rock band formed in mid 1971. The name of the band, Dr. Feelgood, is slang for heroin, or for doctors who are prepared to overprescribe drugs. In 1962 the name was originally adopted by the American blues pianist and singer Willie Perryman who recorded his song "Dr...
,
The WinkiesThe Winkies were an English pub rock group. During their career, the group primarily consisted of Philip Rambow, Michael Desmarais, Guy Humphries and Brian Turrington.-Biography:...
and
Sniff 'n' the TearsSniff 'n' the Tears is a British rock band perhaps best known for their 1978 song "Driver's Seat", a hit in many countries . The exception was the UK itself where a problem with EMI's pressing plant meant that the single was not available following the band's appearance on Top of the Pops and it...
. Several pub rock musicians joined the new wave acts such as
Graham ParkerGraham Parker is a British rock singer and songwriter who is best known as the lead singer of popular British New Wave band Graham Parker & the Rumour.-Early career :...
's backing band,
The RumourThe Rumour were a rock band in the late 70's and early 80's. They are best known as the backup band for Graham Parker, whose early records were credited to Graham Parker & The Rumour...
, Elvis Costello & the Attractions and even
The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
.
Punk rock
Punk rock developed between 1974 and 1976, originally in the United States, where it was rooted in
garage rockGarage rock is a raw form of rock and roll that was first popular in the United States and Canada from about 1963 to 1967. During the 1960s, it was not recognized as a separate music genre and had no specific name. In the early 1970s, some rock critics retroactively labelled it as punk rock...
, and other forms of what is now known as
protopunkProtopunk is a term used retrospectively to describe a number of music artists who were important precursors of the punk rock movement of the mid-1970s and later, or who have been cited by early punk musicians as influential....
music. The first punk band is usually thought to be the
RamonesThe Ramones were an American rock band often regarded as the first punk rock group. Formed in Forest Hills, Queens, New York in 1974, all of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname 'Ramone', though none of them were actually related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring...
from 1976. This was taken up in Britain by bands also influenced by the
pub rock scene, like the
Sex PistolsThe Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They are responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
and
The ClashThe Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly...
, particularly in London, who became the vanguard of a new musical and cultural movement, blending simple aggressive sounds and lyrics with
clothing stylesPunk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewelry, and body modifications of the punk subculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including...
and a variety of anti-authoritarian ideologies. Punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock, creating fast, hard-edged music, typically with short songs, stripped-down instrumentation, and often political,
anti-establishmentAn anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine New Statesman to refer to its political and social agenda...
lyrics. Punk embraced a
DIYThe DIY ethic refers to the ethic of being self-reliant by completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for you. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible...
(do it yourself) ethic, with many bands self-producing their recordings and distributing them through informal channels. 1977 saw punk rock spreading around the world, and it became a major international cultural phenomenon. However, by 1978, the initial impulse had subsided and punk had morphed into the wider and more diverse new wave and post punk movements.
New wave
As the initial punk impulse began to subside, with the major punk bands either disbanding or taking on new influences, the term new wave began to be used to describe particularly British bands that emerged in the later 1970s with mainstream appeal. These included pop bands like
XTCXTC were a New Wave/Alternative rock band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. Though the band enjoyed some significant chart success, including the UK hits "Making Plans For Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , they are better known for their long-standing critical success than...
,
SqueezeSqueeze are an English band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the New Wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording successfully in the 1980s and 1990s...
and
Nick LoweNick Lowe is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer.A pivotal figure in UK pub rock, punk rock and new wave, Lowe has recorded a string of well-reviewed solo albums. Along with vocals, Lowe plays guitar, bass guitar, piano and harmonica...
, the electronic rock of
Gary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars"...
as well as songwriters like
Elvis CostelloElvis Costello is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and New Wave musical genres...
, rock & roll influenced bands like the Pretenders, the reggae influenced music of bands like
The PoliceThe Police were an English rock trio, from London, England, formed originally in 1977. The trio consisted of Gordon Sumner, CBE , widely known by his stage name of Sting , Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland...
, as well as bands of the
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
revival like
The SpecialsThe Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combined a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
and
MadnessMadness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. In 2009, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2...
. By the end of the decade many of these bands, most obviously the Police, were beginning to make an impact in American and world markets.
Post punk
Beside the development of mainstream new wave, there were also less commercial, darker and sub-culture acts, often classified as post punk. Like new wave they incorporated a range of influences, including electronic music, Jamaican
dub musicDub is an instrumental subgenre of reggae music, that involves revisions of existing songs. The dub sound consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing...
(specifically in
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
), and American
funkFunk is an American music genre that originated in the late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
. Examples of post-punk outfits in Britain included
Orange JuiceOrange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his fellow Bearsden Academy pupil, Alan Duncan, and James Kirk and Steven Daly left a band called The Machetes to join them. The band...
, The Psychedelic Furs, The Fall,
Siouxsie & the BansheesSiouxsie & the Banshees were a British rock band formed in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the only constant members....
,
Lords of the New ChurchLords of the New Church may refer to:*The Lords of the New Church, a 1980s post-punk band.*Lords of the New Church , a 1993 song by Tasmin Archer....
,
Joy DivisionJoy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences,...
,
Killing JokeKilling Joke are an English post-punk rock band formed in October 1978 in Notting Hill, London, England. Founding members Jaz Coleman and Geordie Walker have been the only constant members.A key influence on industrial rock, their early music was described by critics...
,
Echo & the BunnymenEcho & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk group, formed in Liverpool in 1978. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their...
,
The CureThe Cure are an English alternative rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by Robert Smith, Lawrence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
,
BauhausBauhaus were an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
,
MagazineMagazine were an English post-punk group active between 1977 and 1981. Their debut single, "Shot By Both Sides", is now acknowledged as a classic and their debut album, Real Life, is still widely admired as one of the greatest albums of all time The band was formed by Howard Devoto after leaving...
,
WireWire are an English rock band formed in London in October 1976, by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed .c) Despite little attention in the beginning, Wire's first three albums are among the most influential on the postpunk era, cited by Michael Stipe of...
,
The Jesus and Mary ChainThe Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
, and
Tubeway ArmyTubeway Army was a London-based punk and new wave band led by singer/guitarist Gary Numan...
. Post punk would be a major element in the creation of the
alternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s...
and
gothic rockGothic rock is a musical subgenre of Post-Punk and Alternative Rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes...
genres.
Folk punk
Folk punk or rogue folk is a fusion of
folk musicThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
and
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
, or occasionally other genres, which was pioneered by the London-based Irish band
The PoguesThe Pogues are a band of mixed Irish and English background, playing traditional Irish music with influences from punk rock and jazz, formed in 1982 and fronted by Shane MacGowan. They reached international prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s, until MacGowan left the band in 1991 due to...
in the 1980s. It achieved some mainstream success in the 1980s and, particularly as the sub-genre of
Celtic punkCeltic punk is punk rock mixed with traditional Celtic music. The genre was founded in the 1980s by The Pogues, a band of punk musicians in London who celebrated their Irish heritage. Celtic punk bands often play covers of traditional Irish folk and political songs, as well as original compositions...
, has been widely adopted in areas of the
Celtic diasporaCeltic diaspora may refer to any of the following diasporas of Celtic people:*Breton diaspora*Cornish diaspora*Irish diaspora*Manx diaspora*Scottish diaspora*Welsh diaspora...
in North America and Australia and by many bands in continental central and eastern Europe. Unlike earlier
Celtic rockCeltic rock is a genre of folk rock and a form of Celtic fusion which incorporates Celtic music, instrumentation and themes into a rock music context...
and electric folk groups, folk punk groups tend to include relatively little traditional music in their repertoire, but instead usually performed their own compositions, often following the form of punk rock, using additional folk instrumentation, including,
mandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It is descended from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family...
,
accordionThe accordion is a portable box-shaped musical instrument of the hand-held bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox...
,
banjoThe banjo is a stringed instrument developed by enslaved Africans in the United States, adapted from several African instruments.The name banjo is commonly thought to be derived from the Kimbundu term mbanza...
and particularly
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
. Other bands adopted some traditional forms of music, including sea shanties and eastern European gypsy music. Among the most successful performers were
The Men They Couldn't HangThe Men They Couldn't Hang are a British rock band whose mixture of folk and punk is not dissimilar to that of The Pogues .The original group consisted of Stefan Cush , Paul Simmonds ,...
,
New Model ArmyThe New Model Army of Great Britain was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration. It differed from other armies in the same conflict in that it was intended as an army liable for service anywhere in the country, rather than being...
,
OysterbandOysterband is a British electric folk or folk rock band formed in Canterbury in or around 1976.-Early history:...
, The Levellers, and singer-songwriter
Billy BraggStephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician who blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs. His lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
, who enjoyed a series of hits in the 1980s.
Synth rock
Many progressive rock bands had incorporated synthesisers into their sound, including
Pink FloydPink Floyd were an English rock band who, in the late 1960s, earned recognition for their psychedelic and space rock music, and in the 1970s, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. Pink Floyd's work is marked by philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album cover art,...
,
YesYes are an English progressive rock band that was formed in London in 1968. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess. Yes blends symphonic and other 'classical' structures with their own brand of...
and
GenesisGenesis are a Grammy Award-winning English rock band formed in 1967, and are among the top 30 highest-selling recording artists of all time with approximately 150 million albums sold worldwide, including 21.5 million albums sold in the United States. In 1988, the band won the Grammy Award for Best...
. In 1977
UltravoxUltravox are a British New Wave rock band that rose to prominence in the late 1970s/early 1980s. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements...
member
Warren CannWarren Reginald Cann is a drummer and drum machine programmer, best known as a member of the British New Wave band Ultravox.-Early life:...
purchased a
Rolandis a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on April 18, 1972, with ¥33 million in capital. In 2005 Roland's headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. Today it has factories in...
TR-77 drum machine, which was first featured in their October 1977 single release
Hiroshima Mon AmourHiroshima Mon Amour is an acclaimed 1959 drama/romance film directed by French film director Alain Resnais, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras. It is about a relationship between a French woman and a Japanese man...
. The ballad arrangement, metronome-like percussion and heavy use of the
ARP OdysseyThe ARP Odyssey was an analog synthesizer introduced in 1972. Responding to pressure from Moog Music to create a portable, affordable "performance" synthesizer, ARP scaled down its popular 2600 synthesizer and created the Odyssey, which became the best-selling synthesizer they made.The Odyssey is...
synthesizer was effectively a prototype for nearly all synth pop and rock bands that were to follow. In 1978, the first incarnation of
The Human LeagueThe Human League are a British synthpop band. Formed in Sheffield in 1977, they achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s...
released their début single "
Being Boiled"Being Boiled" is a song written by Sheffield musicians Martyn Ware and Ian Craig Marsh, with lyrics by Philip Oakey, and recorded by them as The Human League. It is notable as one of the first pieces of electronic pop music produced in the UK...
". Others were soon to follow, including
Tubeway ArmyTubeway Army was a London-based punk and new wave band led by singer/guitarist Gary Numan...
, a little known outfit from West London, who dropped their
punk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
image and jumped on the band wagon, topping the UK charts in the summer of 1979 with the single "Are Friends Electric?". This prompted the singer,
Gary NumanGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars"...
to go solo and in the same year he release the
KraftwerkKraftwerk is an influential electronic band from Düsseldorf, Germany. The signature Kraftwerk sound combines driving, repetitive rhythms with catchy melodies, mainly following a Western classical style of harmony, with a minimalistic and strictly electronic instrumentation.The group's simplified...
inspired album,
The Pleasure Principle and again topped the charts for the second time with the single "
Cars"Cars" is a 1979 pop music song by UK artist Gary Numan, and was released as a single from the album The Pleasure Principle. It reached the top of the charts in several countries, and today is considered a New Wave staple. In the UK charts, it reached Number 1 in 1979, and rose to Number 9 on...
". Particularly through its adoption by New Romantics, synthesizers came to dominate the pop and rock music of the early 80s. Albums such as
VisageVisage are a English pop band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s.-New Wave years :...
's
VisageVisage is the eponymous debut album from the British pop group Visage, recorded at Genetic Sound Studios in Reading and released by Polydor Records on 10 November 1980...
(1980),
John FoxxJohn Foxx John Foxx John Foxx (born in Chorley, Lancashire, is the stage name of English musician Dennis Leigh. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox!, before embarking on a solo career in 1979...
's
MetamaticMetamatic is an album by John Foxx, released in 1980. It was his first solo album following his split with Ultravox the previous year. A departure from the richly-textured mix of synthesizers and conventional instruments on Systems of Romance, his last album with the band, Metamatics hard-edged...
(1980),
Gary Numan'sGary Numan is an English singer, composer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of commercial electronic music and has been described as the "King of synthpop." Numan is widely known for his chart-topping 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars"...
TelekonTelekon is the fourth studio album, and second album under his own name, by electronic music pioneer Gary Numan, released in 1980.The album debuted at the top of the UK charts in September 1980, making it his third consecutive no.1 album.Telekon is also the third and final studio release of what...
(1980),
UltravoxUltravox are a British New Wave rock band that rose to prominence in the late 1970s/early 1980s. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements...
's
ViennaVienna is the fourth studio LP by the Synthpop band Ultravox, first released on 11 July 1980. The album peaked at #3 in the UK charts and was the first Ultravox release to enter the UK top ten. It was eventually certified platinum in the United Kingdom...
(1980),
The Human LeagueThe Human League are a British synthpop band. Formed in Sheffield in 1977, they achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s...
's
DareDare is the third studio album from British synthpop band The Human League.The album was recorded between March and September 1981 and first released in the UK on 20 October 1981, then subsequently in the U.S...
(1981) and
Depeche ModeDepeche Mode are an English electronic band who formed in 1980, in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andrew Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
's
Speak and Spell (1981), established a sound that influenced most mainstream pop and rock bands, until it began to fall from popularity in the mid-1980s.
New romantics
New Romanticism emerged as part of the
New Wave musicNew Wave is a genre of rock and pop music that emerged in in the middle to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, and...
movement in London nightclubs including Billy's and The
Blitz ClubThe Blitz Kids were a short- lived group of then-unknown people who frequented the Blitz nightclub in Covent Garden, London in the very early 1980s. Among their number were Steve Strange, Boy George and his friend Marilyn, Perri Lister, Princess Julia, Philip Sallon, Carl Teper and Martin Degville...
towards the end of the 1970s. Influenced by
David BowieDavid Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. Active in five decades of popular music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
and
Roxy MusicRoxy Music are an English art rock group initiated during the early 1970s by art school graduate Bryan Ferry . The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eno's replacement Eddie Jobson...
, it developed
glam rockGlam rock is a style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s that was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots." The flamboyant costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a campy, theatrical blend of...
fashions, gaining its name from the frilly
fopFop became a pejorative term for a foolish man over-concerned with his appearance and clothes in 17th century England. Some of the very many similar alternative terms are: "coxcomb," fribble, "popinjay" , fashion-monger, and "ninny." "Macaroni" was another term, of the 18th century, more...
shirts of early
RomanticismRomanticism is a complex artistic, literary, and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Western Europe, and gained strength during the Industrial Revolution...
. New Romantic music often made extensive use of synthesisers. Pioneers included
VisageVisage are a English pop band. Formed in 1978, the band became closely linked to the burgeoning New Romantic fashion movement of the early 1980s.-New Wave years :...
and
UltravoxUltravox are a British New Wave rock band that rose to prominence in the late 1970s/early 1980s. They were one of the primary exponents of the British electronic pop music movement of the early 1980s. The band was particularly associated with the New Romantic and New Wave movements...
and among the commercially most successful acts associated with the movement were
Adam and the AntsAdam and the Ants were a British rock band band during the late 1970s and early 1980s. They were one of the bands at the time that marked the transition from the 70s punk rock era to the New Wave/post-punk era....
,
Culture ClubCulture Club were a British pop group that formed in the early 1980s. The band consisted of Boy George , Andy Woodard , Roy Hay , and Jon Moss...
,
Spandau BalletSpandau Ballet is a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles and four Top Ten albums in...
and
Duran DuranDuran Duran are an English rock band from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States. Since the 1980s they have placed 14 in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the...
. By about 1983 the original movement had dissolved, with surviving acts dropping most of the fashion elements to pursue mainstream careers.
The second British invasion
From its inception in 1981 the cable music channel
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
featured a disproportionate amount of music videos from image conscious British acts. In the fall of 1982, "I Ran" by
A Flock of SeagullsA Flock of Seagulls are a British Grammy Award winning band originally formed by brothers Mike Score and Ali Score , with Frank Maudsley and Paul Reynolds...
entered the Billboard Top Ten, arguably the first successful song that owed almost everything to video. They would be followed by bands like
Duran DuranDuran Duran are an English rock band from Birmingham, United Kingdom. They were one of the most successful of the 1980s bands and a leading band in the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" of the United States. Since the 1980s they have placed 14 in the Top 10 of the UK Singles Chart and 21 in the...
whose glossy videos would come to symbolize the power of MTV.
Dire StraitsDire Straits were a British rock band, active between 1977 and 1995. The band was formed by Mark Knopfler , his younger brother David Knopfler , John Illsley , and Pick Withers , and managed by Ed Bicknell...
' "
Money for NothingMoney for Nothing may refer to: * "Money for Nothing" , a 1985 rock song by Dire Straits* Money for Nothing , a 1988 greatest hits album by Dire Straits* Money for Nothing , a UK-based Dire Straits tribute band...
" gently poked fun at MTV which had helped make them international rock stars. In 1983 30% of the record sales were from British acts. 18 of the top 40 and 6 of the top 10 singles on July 18th were by British artists. Overall record sales would rise by 10% from 1982.
NewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly newsmagazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
magazine featured
Annie LennoxAnnie Lennox is a Scottish musician and recording artist. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland, Lennox showed aptitude in music when she was a child and later studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music in London...
of
EurythmicsEurythmics are a British musical duo, formed in 1980 by Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart.The pair have achieved significant global, commercial and critical success, selling 75 million records worldwide, winning numerous awards, and have undertaken several successful world tours...
and
Boy GeorgeBoy George is an English singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
of
Culture ClubCulture Club were a British pop group that formed in the early 1980s. The band consisted of Boy George , Andy Woodard , Roy Hay , and Jon Moss...
on the cover of one of its issues, while
Rolling Stone Magazine would release an
England Swings issue. In April 1984 40 of the top 100 singles were from British acts while 8 of the top 10 singles in a May 1985 survey were of British origin. Veteran music journalist
Simon ReynoldsSimon Reynolds is an English music critic who is well-known for his writings on electronic dance music and for coining the term "post-rock". Besides electronic dance music, Reynolds has written about a wide range of artists and musical genres, and has written books on post-punk and rock...
theorized that similar to the first British Invasion the use of black American influences by the British acts helped to spur success. Commentators in the mainstream media credited
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
and the British acts with bringing colour and energy to back to pop music while rock journalists were generally hostile to the phenomenon because they felt it represented image over content.
Indie rock
Indie or independent rock, particularly in America often known as alternative rock, was a scene that emerged out of post punk and new wave in the 1980s, eschewing the major record labels for control of their own music and relying on local scenes or national sub-cultures to provide an audience. Having enjoyed some success a number of indie acts were able to move into the mainstream, including early indie bands
Aztec CameraAztec Camera were a Scottish New Wave band from Glasgow. They were a sensitive, tuneful pop band formed in 1980 and centered around the then teenage singer-songwriter, Roddy Frame. Their album Love was among the nominations for Best British Album at the 1989 BRIT Awards.-History:The band's line-up...
,
Orange JuiceOrange Juice was a Scottish post-punk band founded in the middle class Glasgow suburb of Bearsden as the Nu-Sonics in 1976. Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his fellow Bearsden Academy pupil, Alan Duncan, and James Kirk and Steven Daly left a band called The Machetes to join them. The band...
and
The SmithsThe Smiths were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Johnny Marr , the band also included Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce...
, followed by
The HousemartinsThe Housemartins were an English indie pop band that was active in the 1980s. Many of the Housemartins' lyrics were a mixture of Marxist politics and Christianity, reflecting singer Paul Heaton's beliefs at the time .- Forming :The band was formed in 1983 by Paul Heaton and Stan...
and
JamesJames are an English rock band from Manchester. They formed in 1981 and were active throughout the 80s, but most successful during the 90s. Their hit singles include "Sit Down" and "Laid." Following the departure of lead singer Tim Booth in 2001, the band became inactive but re-formed in January...
. Other forms of alternative rock developed in the UK during the 1980s.
The Jesus and Mary ChainThe Jesus and Mary Chain are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in East Kilbride in 1983. The band revolves around the songwriting partnership of brothers Jim and William Reid...
wrapped their pop melodies in walls of guitar noise, while
New OrderNew Order were an English musical group formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris . New Order were formed in the wake of the demise of their previous group Joy Division, following the suicide of vocalist Ian Curtis...
emerged from the demise of post-punk band
Joy DivisionJoy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences,...
and experimented with
technoTechno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan, USA during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and
house musicHouse is a style of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American and Latino American communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City, New Jersey, Detroit and Miami...
, forging the
alternative danceAlternative dance is a term used for the genre of music combining elements of dance-pop and alternative rock genres such as indie rock...
style. The Mary Chain, along with Dinosaur Jr and the
dream popDream pop is a type of alternative rock that originated in Britain in the mid-1980s, when bands like Cocteau Twins , The Chameleons, The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into sensual, sonically ambitious...
of
Cocteau TwinsThe Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative music band active from 1979 to 1997, known for complex instrumentation and atmospheric, nonlyrical vocals....
, were the influences for the
shoegazingShoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
movement of the late 1980s.
Gothic rock
Gothic rock, often shortened to goth, developed out of the post punk scene in the later 1970s. It combines dark, often keyboard-heavy music with introspective and depressing lyrics. Notable early gothic rock bands include
BauhausBauhaus were an English rock band formed in Northampton in 1978. The group consisted of Peter Murphy , Daniel Ash , Kevin Haskins and David J . The band was originally Bauhaus 1919 before they dropped the numerical portion within a year of formation...
(whose "
Bela Lugosi's Dead"Bela Lugosi's Dead" is a gothic rock song written by the band Bauhaus. The song was the band's first single, released in August 1979, and is often considered to be the first gothic rock record released. It did not enter the UK pop charts, but remained on sale for many years thereafter...
" is often cited as the first goth record),
Siouxsie & the BansheesSiouxsie & the Banshees were a British rock band formed in 1976 by vocalist Siouxsie Sioux and bassist Steven Severin, the only constant members....
(who may have coined the term),
The CureThe Cure are an English alternative rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976 by Robert Smith, Lawrence Tolhurst and Michael Dempsey. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
,
The Sisters of MercyThe Sisters of Mercy are an English rock band that formed in 1980. After achieving early underground fame in UK, the band had their commercial breakthrough in mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output as a strike against their record company...
, and
Fields of the NephilimFields of the Nephilim are a semi-active English gothic rock band formed in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1984. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Carl McCoy, saxophonist Gary Whisker, Tony Pettitt on bass, guitarist Paul Wright and drummer Alexander "Nod" Wright...
. Gothic rock gave rise to a broader
goth subcultureThe goth subculture is a contemporary subculture found in many countries. It began in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s in the gothic rock scene, an offshoot of the post-punk genre. The goth subculture has survived much longer than others of the same era, and has continued to diversify...
that included clubs,
various fashion trendsGothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes black dyed and crimped hair, bright lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths sometimes wear dark eyeliner and dark...
and numerous publications that grew in popularity in the 1980s, gaining notoriety by being associated by several
moral panicA moral panic is the intensity of feeling expressed in a population about an issue which appears to be a threat to the social order. Stanley Cohen, author of the seminal Folk Devils and Moral Panics , says a moral panic occurs when "[a] condition, episode, person or group of persons emerges to...
s over suicide and Satanism.
Madchester
The independent rock scene that had developed in Manchester in the second half of the 1980s, based in the
The HaçiendaFac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
nightclub and
Factory RecordsFactory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, and James and Orchestral...
and dubbed Madchester, came to national prominence at the end of the decade, with the
Happy MondaysHappy Mondays are a British alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day , keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
, the
Inspiral CarpetsInspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
, and
Stone RosesThe Stone Roses were an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1984. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
charting late in 1989. The scene became the centre of media attention for independent rock in the early 1990s, with bands like
World of TwistWorld Of Twist were an English rock band, formed in Sheffield in 1985.-History:The original line-up of the band consisted of James Fry , Andrew Hobson , Gordon King , Tony Ogden , Rory Conolly , Nick Phillips and Andy Robbins...
,
New Fast Automatic DaffodilsNew Fast Automatic Daffodils were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995.-History:...
,
The HighThe High were a rock group from Manchester, England, who were generally regarded as part of the Madchester scene.-History:The band was formed in 1989 by former Turning Blue singer John Matthews, along with former Buzzcocks F.O.C...
,
NorthsideNorthside or North Side may refer to:Music:*Northside , a musical group from Manchester, England*NorthSide, an American record labelPlaces:*North Side, California, former name of Oildale, California...
,
Paris AngelsParis Angels were a 7-piece band, hailing from Guide Bridge, Manchester, England, associated with the Madchester scene of 1989 -1991. Their music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music...
, and Intastella also gaining national attention. The period of dominance was relatively short lived with The Stone Roses beginning to retreat from public performance while engaged in contractual disputes, the Happy Mondays having difficulty in producing a second album and
Factory RecordsFactory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, and James and Orchestral...
going bankrupt in 1992. Local bands catching the tail-end of Madchester, such as
The Mock TurtlesThe Mock Turtles are a Manchester based indie rock band, formed in Middleton, Greater Manchester in 1985, who enjoyed some success in the early 1990s...
, became part of a wider
baggyBaggy was a British dance-oriented music genre popular in the early 1990s.The scene was extremely influenced by Madchester, although the scene was not geographically confined to Manchester. Many Madchester bands could also be described as Baggy, and vice versa...
scene. The music press in the UK began to place more focus on
shoegazingShoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
bands from the
south of EnglandSouthern England, The South and The South of England are imprecise terms used to refer to the southern counties of England bordering the English Midlands and East Anglia. It has a number of different interpretations of its geographic extents. The South is considered by many to be a cultural region...
and bands emerging through US
grungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
.
Dream pop and shoegazing
Dream pop had developed out of the indie rock scene of the 1980s, when bands like
Cocteau TwinsThe Cocteau Twins were a Scottish alternative music band active from 1979 to 1997, known for complex instrumentation and atmospheric, nonlyrical vocals....
,
The ChameleonsThe Chameleons were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, in Greater Manchester, England in 1981 . They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever...
,
The PassionsThe Passions were a British pop band which formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1983. They were archetypal one-hit wonders with their misty, trance-like pop song, "I'm in Love with a German Film Star".-Career:...
,
Dif JuzDif Juz was a British instrumental band, strongly influenced by dub, who were active in the early early to mid 1980s. Retroactively they can be seen to be most strongly allied with the Post-rock movement.- History :...
,
LowlifeLowlife was a Scottish alternative rock/dream pop band, active from 1985 to 1997. Although the group never obtained mainstream popularity, they developed a cult following that continues to this day.-Early years: Pre-Lowlife:...
and A.R. Kane began fusing
post-punkPost-punk is a popular musical movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
and
etherealEthereal wave, also called ethereal darkwave in Europe and ethereal goth or simply ethereal in the US, is a term that describes a subgenre of Dark Wave music. Developed in 1983/1984 as an outgrowth of gothic rock, ethereal was mainly represented by bands such as Cocteau Twins Ethereal wave, also...
experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into sensual, sonically ambitious soundscapes. The
4AD4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
record label is the one most associated with dream pop, though others such as
CreationCreation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired...
,
ProjektThis is the article for the record label. You might be looking for Pro-jekt, ProjeKct, Project Pitchfork, or Projekt RevolutionProjekt is a Brooklyn, New York based independent record label specializing in gothic rock, ethereal, darkwave, ambient, shoegazer, dream-pop and dark cabaret created by...
, Fontana,
BedazzledBedazzled Records was an American record label, based in Washington, D.C., which existed from 1989 to 2000. It primarily featured dream pop, goth rock and shoegaze bands...
, Vernon Yard, and
SlumberlandSlumberland Records is a United States independent record label formed in 1989 in Washington, D.C. area and currently based in Oakland, CA. The label has released recordings from artists including Velocity Girl, Honeybunch, Lilys, Stereolab, St...
also released significant records in the genre. A louder, more aggressive strain of dream pop came to be known as
shoegazingShoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
; key bands of this style were
LushLush were an English alternative rock band, formed in 1987 and disbanded in 1996. They were one of the first bands to attract the "shoegazing" label, later moving towards Britpop.-History:...
,
SlowdiveSlowdive was an English alternative rock band that formed in 1989. The band was formed in Reading, Berkshire and primarily consisted of Nick Chaplin , Rachel Goswell , Neil Halstead , and Christian Savill...
, My Bloody Valentine,
Alison's HaloAlison's Halo was a dream pop band from Tempe, Arizona. Their airy vocals and delayed riffs were often also associated with shoegazing or space pop. Their first single, "Dozen", was released in 1995. Their first CD, Eyedazzler, is a compilation of songs the band created between 1992 and 1996, was...
,
ChapterhouseFor the religious buildings, see Chapter houseChapterhouse were a British shoegazing band of the early 1990s, originally from Reading, Berkshire, England. Formed in 1987 by Andrew Sherriff and Stephen Patman, the band began performing alongside Spacemen 3...
,
CurveCurve were an English music group formed in 1990 chiefly around the collaboration of singer/songwriter Toni Halliday and bassist/guitarist/programmer Dean Garcia.-History:...
and
LevitationLevitation was an English rock band fronted by ex-House of Love guitarist Terry Bickers. Levitation's music and attitude challenged an early 1990s UK alternative music scene dominated by shoegazing and Madchester....
. These bands kept the atmospheric qualities of dream pop, but added the intensity of post-punk-influenced bands such as
The ChameleonsThe Chameleons were a post-punk band that formed in Middleton, in Greater Manchester, England in 1981 . They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, and drummer John Lever...
and
Sonic YouthSonic Youth is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1981. The current lineup consists of Thurston Moore , Kim Gordon , Lee Ranaldo , Mark Ibold and Steve Shelley ....
.
Post rock
Post rock originated in the release of
Talk TalkTalk Talk were a British musical group that were active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including; "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World".-Beginnings:Talk Talk began as a...
's album
Laughing StockLaughing Stock was Talk Talk's fifth and final studio album. Released in 1991, it was the only album the band released on the jazz-based Verve Records, after acrimoniously leaving EMI....
and US band
SlintSlint was a rock band consisting of Brian McMahan , David Pajo , Britt Walford , Todd Brashear and Ethan Buckler . They formed in Louisville, Kentucky, United States in 1986 from the remains of Squirrel Bait...
's
SpiderlandSpiderland is the second studio album by the American indie rock band Slint, released on March 27, 1991 on Touch and Go. Featuring dramatically alternating dynamics and vocals ranging from spoken word to shouting, the album contains narrative lyrics that emphasize alienation...
, both in 1991, which produced experimental work influenced by sources as varied as
electronicaElectronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
,
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, and minimalist classical music, often abandoning the traditional song format in favour of instrumental and ambient music. The term was first used to describe the band
Bark PsychosisBark Psychosis are an English post-rock band/musical project from East London formed in 1986. They were one of the bands that Simon Reynolds cited when coining "post-rock" as a musical style in 1994, and are thus considered one of the key bands defining the genre...
and their album
HexHex is a 1994 album by Bark Psychosis. The term "post-rock" was coined by music journalist Simon Reynolds in his review of this album for Mojo magazine.-Track listing:#"The Loom" – 5:15#"A Street Scene" – 5:35...
(1994), but was soon employed for bands such as
StereolabStereolab were an alternative music band formed in 1990 in London, England. The band originally comprised songwriting team Tim Gane and Lætitia Sadier , both of whom remained at the helm across many lineup changes. Other long-time members include Andy Ramsay and Mary Hansen...
,
LaikaLaika is a British alternative rock band founded in 1993 by ex-Moonshake members Margaret Fiedler and John Frenett, and producer/engineer Guy Fixsen. The band was named after the first animal to orbit the earth, the Russian dog Laika.-Sound:...
,
Disco InfernoDisco Inferno was a band formed in Essex in the late 1980s by Ian Crause , Paul Wilmott , Rob Whatley and Daniel Gish ....
and
PramFor other uses, see Pram Pram are an experimental band who formed in the Balsall Heath/Moseley area of Birmingham, England in 1990.-History:...
and other acts in America and Canada. Scottish group
MogwaiThe word mogwai is the transliteration of the Cantonese word 魔怪 meaning "monster", "evil spirit", "devil" or "demon".-Mogwai/Mogui in Chinese culture:...
are one of the influential post-rock groups to arise at the turn of the 21st century.
Indie pop
Initially dubbed as '
C86C86 may refer to :* C86 , a British alternative musical movement named after an audio cassette given away with the magazine New Musical Express in 1986.* Ruy Lopez, Worrall Attack opening in the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings...
' after the 1986
NMEThe New Musical Express is a popular music magazine in the United Kingdom which has been published weekly since March 1952. It was the first British paper to include a singles chart, which first appeared in the 14 November 1952 edition. The magazine's commercial heyday was during the 1970s when it...
tape, and also known as "cutie", "shambling bands" and later as "twee pop", indie pop was characterised by jangling guitars, a love of sixties pop and often fey, innocent lyrics. It was also inspired by the DIY scene of punk and there was a thriving fanzine, label and club and gig circuit. Early bands included
The PastelsThe Pastels are a group from Glasgow, Scotland, UK.Their early records for labels like Whaam!, Creation, Rough Trade, and Glass Records, had a raw and immediate sound, melodic and amateur, which seemed at odds with the time...
,
The Shop AssistantsThe Shop Assistants were an indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as Buba & The Shop Assistants. The original line-up was Aggi , on vocals, David Keegan , Sarah Kneale , Laura MacPhail and Ann Donald...
and
Primal ScreamPrimal Scream are a Scottish alternative rock group formed in 1982 in Glasgow by Bobby Gillespie and Jim Beattie. The current lineup consists of Gillespie, Andrew Innes , Martin Duffy , Gary "Mani" Mounfield , and Darrin Mooney...
. Scenes later developed in the United States particularly around labels such as
K RecordsK Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, co-founded, owned, and operated by Calvin Johnson, formerly of the bands Cool Rays, Beat Happening, The Go Team, The Halo Benders and presently in the band Dub Narcotic Sound System...
. Genres such as
Riot GrrrlRiot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement that started in the early 1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism . However, riot grrrl's emphasis on universal female identity and separatism often appears more closely allied with second-wave feminism than with the third wave...
and bands as diverse as
NirvanaNirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
,
Manic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are an alternative rock band from Blackwood, Wales, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield , Nicky Wire and Sean Moore...
, and Belle and Sebastian have all acknowledged its influence.
Britpop
Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. The movement developed as a reaction against various musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the
grungeGrunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
phenomenon from the United States. New British groups such as
SuedeSuede were an English alternative rock band of the 1990s and the early 2000s that helped start the Britpop musical movement. Through their several incarnations, they were able to consistently put out albums that charted well, while still holding the respect of critics...
and
BlurBlur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
launched the movement by positioning themselves as opposing musical forces, referencing British guitar music of the past and writing about uniquely British topics and concerns. These bands were soon joined by others including
OasisOasis were an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul Arthurs , Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
,
PulpPulp were an English alternative rock band formed in Sheffield in 1978. Upon their split in 2002, their lineup consisted of Jarvis Cocker , Candida Doyle , Mark Webber , Steve Mackey and Nick Banks ....
,
SupergrassSupergrass are an English alternative rock band from Oxford. The band consists of brothers Gaz and Rob Coombes , Danny Goffey , and Mick Quinn ....
and
ElasticaElastica were a British alternative rock band, who played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica which produced singles that charted in the U.S. and the UK.-History:...
. Britpop groups brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British cultural movement called
Cool BritanniaCool Britannia is a media term that was used during the mid-to-late 20th century to describe the contemporary culture of the United Kingdom. The term was prevalent during the 1990s, and was closely associated with the early years of "New Labour" under Tony Blair...
. Although its more popular bands were able to spread their commercial success overseas, especially to the United States, the movement largely fell apart by the end of the decade.
Post pop
After the decline of Britpop, British indie rock was kept alive by "post pop" bands including
RadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their first single, "Creep", in 1992...
,
FeederFeeder may refer to:*Feeder , the Welsh rock group*Feeder , another name for a riser*Feeder , someone who gains sexual pleasure from helping another gain weight...
,
Manic Street PreachersManic Street Preachers are an alternative rock band from Blackwood, Wales, formed in 1986. They are James Dean Bradfield , Nicky Wire and Sean Moore...
,
StereophonicsStereophonics are a Welsh rock band that formed in 1992 in Cwmaman. Currently comprising lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing vocalist Adam Zindani and touring member Tony Kirkham , and originally included...
and
TravisTravis are a Scottish alternative rock band from Glasgow, comprising Fran Healy , Dougie Payne , Andy Dunlop and Neil Primrose...
, who largely abandoned the elements of national and retro-60s culture. Recently British indie rock has experienced a resurgence, spurred in part by the international success of
The StrokesThe Strokes is an American rock band formed in 1999 in New York City. They rose to fame in the early 2000s as leaders in the garage rock revival. The band's members are Julian Casablancas , Nick Valensi , Albert Hammond, Jr...
. Like modern American
alternative rockAlternative rock is a genre of rock music that emerged in the 1980s and became widely popular in the 1990s...
, many British indie bands such as
Franz FerdinandFranz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2002. The band is composed of Alex Kapranos , Bob Hardy , Nick McCarthy and Paul Thomson .The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the...
,
The LibertinesThe Libertines were an English rock band. Formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty , the band also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
and
Bloc PartyBloc Party are an English indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...
draw influences from post-punk groups such as
Joy DivisionJoy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences,...
,
WireWire are an English rock band formed in London in October 1976, by Colin Newman , Graham Lewis , Bruce Gilbert , and Robert Gotobed .c) Despite little attention in the beginning, Wire's first three albums are among the most influential on the postpunk era, cited by Michael Stipe of...
, and
Gang of FourGang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
. Other prominent independent rock bands in the 2000s include:
EditorsEditors are a British indie rock band based in Birmingham, who formed in 2002. Previously known as Pilot, The Pride and Snowfield, the band consists of Tom Smith , Chris Urbanowicz , Russell Leetch and Ed Lay .Editors...
,
The FratellisThe Fratellis are a Scottish alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Jon Fratelli , bass guitarist Barry Fratelli , and drummer, backing vocalist, occasional guitarist and banjo player Mince Fratelli...
,
RazorlightRazorlight is an English indie rock band formed in 2002. They are primarily known in their home countries, having topped the charts with the 2006 single America and its parent self-titled album, their second...
, Keane,
Kaiser ChiefsKaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1997. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs, a team for which former Leeds United defender Lucas Radebe played....
,
MuseMuse are a multi award-winning British alternative rock band that formed in Teignmouth, Devon in 1994. Since its inception, the band has comprised vocalist, guitarist and pianist Matthew Bellamy; bassist and backing vocalist Christopher Wolstenholme; and drummer Dominic Howard...
,
ColdplayColdplay are an English alternative rock band from London, formed in 1998. The group comprises Chris Martin , Jonny Buckland , Guy Berryman , and Will Champion .Coldplay's early material was compared to acts such as Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, U2, and Travis...
, Kasabian and
Arctic MonkeysArctic Monkeys are an English alternative rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Formed in 2002, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders .Arctic Monkeys achieved chart success with their second single, "I Bet You Look Good on the...
the last arguably the most successful act to owe their success to the use of internet social networking.