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British Blues

More than a mere geographical distinction, the early British Blues of the late '50s and early '60s paid strict adherence to replicating American blues genres, with an admiration for its originators bordering on reverence. But by the time of the blues revival of the mid-'60s, British guitarists -- in the main led by Eric Clapton -- were starting to bend the form to create their own amalgam. Wedding the string-bending fervor of the B.B., Albert, and Freddie King styles to the extreme volume... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Fleetwood Mac | Rory Gallagher | Eric Clapton | The Animals | John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers | Cream | Led Zeppelin | John Mayall | Peter Green | Long John Baldry | Ten Years After | The Yardbirds | Them | Jeff Beck
British Invasion

The British Invasion occurred in the mid-'60s, when a wave of English rock & roll bands crossed over into the American market after the breakthrough success of the Beatles. Though not all of the bands sounded similar -- they ranged from the hard rock of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks to the sweet pop of Gerry & the Pacemakers and Herman's Hermits -- each group was heavily influenced by American rock & roll, blues, and R&B. British Invasion bands were either blues-based rockers or... [+] Read More

Key Artists: Peter & Gordon | The Rolling Stones | The Beatles | Herman's Hermits | The Kinks | The Shadows | Petula Clark | The Spencer Davis Group | The Animals | Donovan | The Move | The Searchers | Freddie & the Dreamers | Gerry & the Pacemakers | Chad & Jeremy
Early British Pop/Rock

Early British pop/rock is essentially any British popular music that was influenced by rock & roll and that appeared prior to the Beatles (i.e. the late '50s to about 1963). Most early British rock was far more mannered than its inspirations, and its best performers not quite up to the level of American rockers -- simply because rock & roll was full of indigenous American musical ingredients that British performers weren't familiar with. Aside from the skiffle fad (which inspired many future... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Shadows | Cliff Richard | Joe Meek | Joe Meek & the Blue Men
Freakbeat

Freakbeat is the name for rare, collectable, and obscure British Invasion records. Usually, these are rare British blues and garage rock, bands that sounded a bit like the Rolling Stones, Yardbirds, or the Bluesbreakers, but occasionally some of the tougher Merseybeat bands fit this category, too. The criteria for freakbeat is a little vague, and known basically to collectors who specialize in the style, but it generally is fairly obscure British Invasion of all types.

Key Artists: The Pretty Things | Les Fleur de Lys | The Creation
Merseybeat

Merseybeat was the original sound of the British Invasion -- a driving, melodic sound that was hybrid of American rock & roll and R&B, and British skiffle. The Beatles' early records, like "Please Please Me" and "Love Me Do," were the prototypes of the genre, and soon other Liverpudlian bands like Gerry & the Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer, and the Searchers were following the same style. Called Merseybeat because of the Mersey River in Liverpool, the sound flourished throughout 1963 and the... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Hollies | The Undertakers | Freddie & the Dreamers | The Beatles | Gerry & the Pacemakers | Billy J. Kramer | The Swinging Blue Jeans | Herman's Hermits | Peter & Gordon | The Searchers
Mod

Technically, Mod refers to a lifestyle and fashion more than music itself. During the early '60s, legions of teenagers in Great Britain began dressing in stylish, neo-Italian fashions and listening to American R&B, particularly Motown. Soon, these teens were dubbed mods. The original mod bands were all R&B cover bands, but soon they began writing their own material that was generally in the vein of their influences. Mod bands played R&B harder and faster than the original recordings -- it was... [+] Read More

Key Artists: The Who | The Action | The Creation | The Small Faces | The Smoke
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