Oldies Music Glossary: "British Invasion"

Definition: The term "British Invasion" is much easier to define as a cultural term than a musical one. Culturally, it refers to the wave of bands, led by the Beatles, that arrived on American radio from approximately 1964-1966, but musically, the definition's a bit trickier.

There were actually three distinct musical styles that the Brits successfully utilized in "conquering" the Yank charts: first were the "beat" bands (The Beatles, The Dave Clark Five, Herman's Hermits, Freddie and the Dreamers), essentially the first pop-rock bands, playing pop songs with a big, relentless beat. Then there were the R&B bands (The Rolling Stones, The Animals, The Troggs), who practiced a raw, guitar-based variant on American blues, which would soon morph into "garage" and "frat" rock. Finally, there were the conventional pop groups and artists (Petula Clark, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy), who nevertheless brought a touch of gentle English whimsy and pastoral beauty to their lush arrangements.

To be as precise as possible, the "British Invasion sound" had more to do with the pop and "beat" bands than the R&B ones, since that genre -- essentially aping an American style to begin with -- became the bedrock foundation of rock and roll for the next fifteen years, what came to be known as "classic rock." (Other elements like psychedelic and prog would play a part in that transformation.)

In the end, the British Invasion is indelibly tied to a time and a place; despite the fact that the Eighties saw a second wave of English bands on American radio, that "invasion" has almost nothing musically in common with the original one. ("Mod" refers to a subculture of English kids into R&B and American soul; "Merseybeat" is a term used to describe "beat" bands from Liverpool; and "Freakbeat" generally describes UK bands that bridged mod and psychedelia.)

Also Known As: Merseybeat, Freakbeat, Mod