The British Invasion was the term applied by the news media—and subsequently by consumers—to the influx of rock and roll, beat and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States and Canada. The classic British Invasion period was 1964 to 1967 (roughly bracketed by The Beatles’ appearance on Ed Sullivan and the emergence of Jimi Hendrix as a U.S.-born superstar who had his first success in the UK).
The Second British Invasion refers to MTV friendly acts of the 1980’s. To name but a few: Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, Madness, Tears For Fears, Bananarama.
In early 2006, James Blunt reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with his single “You’re Beautiful”, the first British artist to do so since Elton John with “Candle in the Wind 1997″ in 1997.
In 2006, acts such as KT Tunstall, Muse and Keane have achieved success in the US. In early 2007 and Amy Winehouse reached the U.S. top 10 with her single “Rehab” as well as her album Back to Black. Joss Stone, Natasha Bedingfield, Radiohead, Sugababes, Leona Lewis, Duffy and Coldplay became international stars, Estelle, The Ting Tings and other exellent acts have also launched a successful attack against the boring music scene. British acts would received a total of 16 awards at the 51th Grammy Awards.
Mick Jagger thinks the current success of British acts are due to the diversity of their styles. And he should know. He’s been doing this longer than my lifespan so far.
Credits for the data go to the diligent and enthusiastic editors of Wikipedia. CLICK HERE to read the full article including the list of leading figures of the first two invasions.
