British invasion

The term of British Invasion is, in its initial meaning, a term used by American journalists to disparage the massive introduction of British groups on their ground.

Origin

In 1964, the Beatles with I Want to Hold Your Hand take by storm the American Charts. As of the advertisement of a round of Beatles on the American ground, a madness seizes youth. The Beatlemania is propagated and in final Beatles several of their titles in Signal 10 classify. They join together at the time of their passage to the famous emission the ED Sullivan show several million televiewers. A record which no American before had reached (not even Frank Sinatra or Elvis Presley).

The English invasion

The US market was regarded before the arrival of the Beatles as one of most carrying but also one most dangerous, almost inaccessible. The career of several English local glories sometimes finished there low. However with this success without precedent, the Beatles opened the way with an opportunity.

Running 1965, the Rolling Stones, the Animals, the Kinks or even the Hermann Hermits, the Dave Clark Five will be able to leave the restrictive European market and to develop a strategy to be sold in the USA. All that is yet only of amateurism. American, unlike Europeans organizes concerts in stages, clubs with gigantic dimensions. All must be corrected, re-examined. Amplifiers, compositions, means of promotion…

The American answer

In the United States, before the arrival of Beatles, only the Beach Boys could claim to have the “seizure” on the charts. Their Surf music sounded good unconcern, California, the sun. These English will bring other things. Rolling Stones in particular will give to the music a rebellious image, almost dirty. At this point in time the manager American, supported by critical journalists, will seek the " Réponse" in British Invasion. If Beach Boys evolve/move and sell much, the journalists soon will see through the Byrds a serious competitor with English. In spite of that, the English groups continue to flood the record dealers, to pass in loop on the emissions TV (ED Sullivan Show, Hullabaloo…) and to reign without division on the musical classifications.

It is only in 1966 that an answer in the form of pastiche appears on the waves: The Monkees . This group, however prefabricated, indeed more will occupy the charts between 1966 and 1967 that any other English group.

Problems of the market of the United States

It is first of all a very regulated market, imposing of many constraints to these groups come to compete with the American bands. The groups must thus entirely leave the marketing of their discs near american companies. These companies as Capitol thus will dissect, modify the order of the tracks, the small pockets causing an enormous confusion between England and the USA. Works succeeded, with studied small pockets, titles with the studied sequences thus will be completely " massacrés" to answer the requirements and the tastes of the American public. It is enough to see the treatment reserved for the first albums of Beatles or Rolling Stones.

The image of the groups also must be reconsidered. However if a group as the Beatles seemed “to stick” to American manners in spite of their humor so british which somewhat destabilized at the beginning the American public; a group as the Kinks - which were wild in their compositions, could fight on scene or arrive éméchés - ends even up being prohibited by the association of the American artists of stay on the ground of the United States!

Others on the contrary will yield completely, at the point to have a larger fame in the United States than in their country. It is the case of the Dave Clark Five to see even Hermann Hermits.

End of British Invasion

It is considered that running 1967, from the groups such as the The Who or Cream will make parties of the second and vague last of the british Invasion. But makes the phenomenon of it is not more the same one. It is necessary to go up in 1966 to see several American criticisms musical, which, while greeting the arrival of these English groups, will see of an evil eye this " invasion" and to even write true lampoon against this mobility. An old interview where John Lennon declared in substance “Beatles more popular than Christ” will be exhumed, instrumentalized, and in general will involve a beachcomber of protest against Beatles then the English groups.

Consequence

The English groups benefitted from the width of the US market in audience as in budgets. For these groups very often influenced originally by the blues men American it was a kind of return to the sources.

The British Invasion especially was the occasion of musical exchanges between the groups. The Byrds and Beatles often will meet, just as Beach Boys and Beatles devote themselves between them to a peaceful emulation. The Doors will play a time with Them.

Since 2004 of the British groups like Franz Ferdinand, Arctic Monkeys or even Bloc Party is regarded as a news British Invasion.

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