Let's be clear here, skinhead then is not the image skinheads have now, madness came from. The two tone movement or what's called ska, started by the specials in Coventry. It was a very inclusive movement and multi culture was celebrated by two tone bands, I always thought mojo was British so would have thought they would have know this. Two tone is incredibly important in British the history of British music
As the person doing the voiceover was obviously English, I’d say that there is a reasonable chance that it was someone too young to remember, too clueless to research and daft enough to believe that modern perceptions, behaviours and beliefs are what it was always like.
Indeed - back before the movement got linked in with the far right there were many black skinheads too - it really started out as an anti racism movement.
There was a huge Jamaican influence to this music. Although the term 'skinhead' was actually often used to describe the style, I don't think there were mix-ups with aggressive skinheads who were racist and took there inspiration from the nazi era. Those skinheads flaunted with a more edgy, guitar based punk or hard rock music, not two tone stuff. Probably two tone also stands for the two tones of black and white music. If you said 'skinhead' at the time, it was definitely a negetively laden term, but it couldn't stick to two tone bands.
I'm from Birmingham, Alabama. Stereophonics has been one of my favorite bands since 1997, along with Ian Brown and The Stone Roses. Check out Paul Weller, he's an absolute legend.
I’m Welsh (like the Stereophonics) and have visited San Francisco quite a few times. Their song, Have a Nice Day, always really resonates with me and takes me back to good days in the Bay ❤
I loved the British music scene back in the 90's. I'm American. It was harder to be exposed while living in rural Pennsylvania with dial up internet but I did manage to catch in to some of these bands. Brits make the best music.
It was also much easier to gain national exposure in a European country than the US in the analogue age. Blondie, Hendrix, Tom Perry, Nirvana made a name for themselves in UK and Germany in order to raise profile back at home.
Here Here. to your last comment. The states may have brought us rhythm and blues and rock n roll and grunge. But the brits have continually shaped and worked creatively to make new and interesting music.
@@manctwo-wheeler9341 Have you checked out The Reytons - from Rotherham so not a million miles away from Derbyshire. Good band - very Sheffield Arctic Monkeys vibe
Same!! My 1990-1991 memories in Southern Colorado were a lot of them- Happy Mondays, Big Audio Dynamite(BAD II) EMF, Jesus Jones, & I thought Stereophonics sounded familiar but I think my brain was reaching for Stereo MCs.
Actually Madness had a very strong association with the ska/mod revival and the two-tone label over here in the UK, I was a school kid at the time and we all wore mod parka coats, and we'd stitch fabric band badges all over the coats, usually The Who and The Jam were the first two bands people chose, but then it was Madness as they were HUGE over here, they really were, then it would be the other two-tone bands like The Beat, The Selector and The Specials.
Madness - It Must Be Love was a cover of a song originally by Labi Siffre, and in that clip they show he's actually in the video, which I always thought was a really nice touch!
@@markjones127 Most people here in America have completely forgotten that It Must be Love was a top 40 (#33) follow-up to Our House, which you'd think would disqualify them for "One-Hit-Wonder" status. But in the days of the Internet - and specifically Internet-users who only look up music they already remember - "One-Hit-Wonders" (at least in America) are basically just artists who those people only remember one song from. Sad, idiotic and frustrating. By the way, while I would certainly never consider myself a Madness-expert or fan, I certainly know other songs, such as One Step Beyond, House of Fun and their title song, "Madness", as well! Fun, light-hearted & silly stuff!
@@lennartforsberg1519 I listened to a lot of different music and I had friends with eclectic taste, but for some reason I was the only girl in the neighbourhood who just loved Madness.
They cast Pulp in a really bad light here, they literally played a huge sold-out tour this year and are still very popular. Definitely worth checking out their albums, especially 'His 'n Hers', 'Different Class' and 'This is Hardcore'. I also went to a Stone Roses reunion in Manchester in 2012, so I'm not sure when that video was made.
I'd argue that His 'N Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore can go up against any three consecutive albums from any other artist in the history of music. Would probably put them in the Top 10 list of "best three consecutive albums" along with: - REM's Green/Out Of Time/Automatic - Pumpkins' Gish/Siamese Dream/Mellon Collie - MJ's Off The Wall/Thriller/Bad - DM's Masses/Violator/Faith & Devotion - GnR's first three (either cheating and counting Use Your Illusion as one album or picking either one!) - Eagles' last three - A couple or three by my two favorite bands, The Bee Gees and Beatles... 😛
Paul Weller not only had a career after the Jam he has had a number one album in each of the last five decades and is still going to this day. With over 30 albums to his name he maybe one of the most prolific artists in the UK.
I'm from Brazil and a great fun of Paul. The Jam a kind of punk rock but a bit more mellow, after only 22 he quit. Came out with Style Council and completely different music, two great albums . The man is a genius musician
Great band but very British. The lyrics somehow will not translate to the Americans, at least not massively. Same with Kinks, just one or two early songs during the British invasion but most of their work so very British. You can even say the same for most of Blurs stuff and their lyrics.
@@annatraustadottir4387I get your point but the Arctic Monkeys did quite well in the US, despite Alex Turner's sheffield accent and northern slang such as "nowt" and "shite"
The thing about the skinhead scene in the early days it was pretty much the opposite of today's stereotype. It was a very multicultural movement heavily influenced by Jamaican rude boy culture. It was only later that the scene was overtaken by the far right and rest is history. The music of choice was Reggae, Rocksteady and later white/black music hybrids such as Ska and Two Tone which led to bands multicultural bands like The Specials and Madness.
That depends on how far back you want to go. In 1969 skinheads were nothing but trouble and they enjoyed causing fights. They were also notoriously racist despite dancing to Jamaican music.
@@patrickquinlan3056 Yes, they took over the tough look as they all had small penises and wanted to look bigger and better than they were. Skinheads listened to Ska. The comment in this video is very misleading.
I heard the origin of the skinhead movement was that, after enjoying the music in the West Indie dancehalls, the white boys would shave their heads in solidarity with the West Indians who were asked to shave their heads by prospective employers because they thought their hair was unkempt and looked "unclean"
Mate, my heart broke when you did not know The Jam. Weller is a lyrical genius, "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" is a haunting song, and I believe he wrote it when he was 19 or 20.
I disappointed my father no end because of all the bands he taught me to appreciate growing up, The Jam was one of three bands I just could never get on board with. The other two being The Smiths and Fleetwood Mac
@@mariannetuite7411How? Every tune of theirs is brilliant! I've never been a big listener of theirs but never have I heard a crap tune from The Jam. Weller is a genius.
Stereophonics are STILL one of the most talented music groups I have ever known. I was once sat outside their "rehearsal space" that they have at their live gigs just to jam and warm up and it was awesome just to sit and listen to them playing around, just jamming out tunes. Even during their sound check it was as if someone had just pressed play on their CD, they were so tight A fantastic band to hear live.
All these bands did well at least in Finland and Sweden but probably in all of Northern Europe. I had an American girlfriend and she was very into British contemporary rock so you have to assume there are many more like her.
Fellow kiwi here.......i was just saying something similar....I had the pleasure of living in the UK in the 90's and was a wonderful time for brit music a day we love it.....I think because the bands we grew up with are also heavily influenced by UK music....well it was.... Merry Xmas:)
The Verve may not be on this list as they had a platinum album with Urban Hymns. But they are definitely a band had they gotten along and stayed together, they could’ve been absolutely huge here. They were just so good. Phenomenal musicians and then to have a voice like Richard Ashcroft had, they could’ve been bigger than Coldplay or Radiohead are here if they stayed together.
Urban Hymns, the Verve's amazing album in 97, got me clean from Heroin and Crack , velvet morning is an amazing price of musical genius.. this album is a God given epic definitely in the top 5 albums of all time. Great shout.
Madness is still one of my favorite bands. Pulp and Suede were like my "secret" bands during high school in the 90's because no one in NM knew who they were.
Haha! This is really weird from our perspective - can't believe you've not heard of or "got", truly HUGE bands like The Jam, Pulp, Suede, the Manic Street Preachers or the Stereophonics! These bands were absolutely massive over here.
To be honest an artist is only truely huge if they crack America. For all Noel's "biggest band in the world" Oasis never did crack the US and so, consequently, never were.
FunFact: In Manchester we have what we call adi-dads. They have a paul weller haircut, are aged between 50 and 70 and wear adidas spezial/samba trainers, a parka coat and always request the stone roses to every DJ every single night. They don't like hip hop, except for Young MC and they talk about The Haçienda as if they actually went there and Peter Hook is their best mate. The Manchester indie scene is a rose tinted myth and street soul and jungle were far more prevalent here than they are ever given credit for.
I'm a 53 year old Manc, I do wear Adidas Sambas and a Lambretta parka and I don't like Hip hop! 🤣 However I think Peter Hook is a dick and I'd ask for The Smiths not The Stone Roses, I did attend The Hacienda a couple of times, but much preferred 42nd St, The Hacienda was way overrated.....Even "Grab a granny night" at The Ritz was more fun! 😉
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580Ahaha good lad! watched a thing yesterday about how Panic by The Smiths is about Jimmy Saville - interesting take but it does make sense!
@@TasteTheD I watched that too! It certainly was thought provoking and reading the words does seem to fit. You're right about the Madchester indie scene being a bit of a myth, it's legend has grown over the past 35 years (probably via people that weren't there) Manchester was a pretty grim and seedy place back then, I did most of my partying in old Irish clubs, such as Chorlton Irish club & St Brendan's in Old Trafford, before going off to the Shabeens in Moss Side, certainly an eye opener for a naive teenager! Thinking back, I must've been mental, but when you're 18, you think you're invincible.
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580 haha sounds like a right ol' time. good on ya mate. South is where the party is at for sure! You hear that The boys are back in town by Thin Lizzie was written in/about Whalley Range? Thats another mad one
@@TasteTheD I remember at the time Morrisey said it was about Tony Blackburn after he kept butting in on an episode of Pop Quiz on the telly. The tosser Steve Wright presumed it was about him because of his dislike for them.
Paul Weller also fronted The Style Council. His solo song "Wild Wood" is one of my all time favorites. The Jam's "A Town Called Malice" is a classic as well. The Stone Roses' "Fools Gold" was the biggest hit outside the UK. The Happy Mondays never really broke anywhere outside the UK. I know Step On and Kinky Afro mostly from British panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
A Town Called Malice was about Coventry, wasn't it? I had a mate in Leamington Spa who said Coventry was where you went on a night out if you wanted a fight 😂😂
@@Si_Mondo It could have been about pretty much any town in the UK, I think that was part of the appeal. They sing about any place being so awful and you think "Shout out to my home town!"
"Skinheads" didn't use to be Neo-nazis - they stole the look. In the early period, most UK punks were skinheads, and the mohawks became more common to set them apart from the nazis
The Jam was the tightest trio of its generation. My greatest regret in life was not skipping my high school graduation for driving to Vancouver B.C. to see them on what it turned out to thier final tour in 1982. Man...what a wasted evening that turned to be.
The one reason why many americans may have heard of Pulp's singer, Jarvis Cocker is because of his notorious stage invasion when Michael Jackson was singing Earth Song live onstage. The Jam were amazing...very much the sound of my youth. You should check them out. After The Jam Paul Weller went on to form another band called The Style Council. Also very good.
@@mariannetuite7411yep, Ian Browne is seen stirring his tea in the leaky cauldron in POA. Jarvis Cocker is the lead singer of the band at the Yule ball in GOF and wore clothes from his own wardrobe for the role.
I think Marillion was one of those bands that we always saw doing well in the UK and never had any success in the US, even with their lead singer being in Band Aid... but then we got Kayleigh which was not a hit but a great ballad
I wish they'd made more of The Kaiser Chiefs (the very first band you saw in the video.) I mean, they did show them, but to not even give them a shout -out on the list..? They're well worth a listen. Some of their best-known hits include 'I Predict A Riot,' 'Oh My God' and the one in the video 'Ruby.' One of their more recent albums is 'Education, Education, Education and War,' and is just a banger from start to finish.
When I finished watching this, Kaiser Chiefs were actually the first band that popped into my head. As for some of the ones on the list....what does "cracked the US" even mean? The 90's bands did get heard in the US, but on alternative rock radio in larger cities and college stations across the country. I lived in San Francisco in the '90's and Happy Mondays' "Step On" was part of the soundtrack of my life. As for Pulp, really? William Shatner did a Pulp cover for heaven's sake. I remember Supergrass' first album and the lead single from it, but they seemed to retreat back to the UK after that. Madness were all over MTV and the radio with "our house," but I heard other songs from them as well. The Jam were hugely influential.
Whoever decided to illustrate the music of The Waterboys without using "The Whole of the Moon" wants their head examining ! I know it's a cliche song but it is their biggest tune.
Manic Street Preachers are fabulous. Very political and challenging lyrics. One of their biggest hits was "If you tolerate this your children will be next".
Those words, never more important than right now. If parents & everyone in general don't figure out what is going on today, and put a stop to it, their kids, and grandkids that haven't even been born yet, face a horrific, dystopian future. People need to read the 2030 net zero agenda, the Paris Climate agrmt etc, and see what is in that, and what it actually means for your future. It is not what they tell us it is.
Or how about “If White America Told The Truth For One Day Its World Would Fall Apart”. Actually, that may go some way to explaining how they never achieved mainstream success in the US!
@AndyViant You're right. I was visiting Australia back in 1992, and on arriving at my hotel in Sydney, I switched the telly on in my room. The first thing that came on was a channel that was showing back to back Madness videos. I spent the rest of the day watching them instead of going out to explore Sydney!
Travis looked set to break through in the States, but they kind of petered out in the early 2000s (after their drummer was seriously injured in an accident, I think).
I went on here looking to see if anyone would mention Travis. I studied abroad in the UK in 1999/2000 and I remember they were huge! I was lucky to see them at a small venue back in the states when I got back.
Madness certainly have a recognisable 'sound', even if it doesn't post neatly into a particular niche genre, and have had a massive string of hits here in the UK. The remaining 3 members of Take That are still recording and touring with large stadium shows.
Their latest album reached #1 and included 6 of the 'original' 7 members. Not sure they're quite at the 'stadium' level, think its really arena level. I saw them in Manchester in early December 2023.
I think the problem with a lot of American and British bands is sometimes they're too quintessentially British or American and the the music simply doesn't travel , I'm sure there are just as many American bands that are super talented that the Brits simply don't get to hear.
Status Quo as well, and Slade. Status Quo's only American hit was 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' yet they have the most charting songs of any band in British history.
As a dj in college and after, I've heard of most of these bands. The Stone Roses, I Wanna Be Adored, was in our heavy rotation as I was departing the station.
Stopped at @12:57 to guess #1 Slade. Gotta be. EDIT: I cannot believe Slade was not even included. Absolutely criminal. In the 70's Slade sold more singles in Britain *_than any other band,_* period. More than Zeppelin. Queen. Pink Floyd. David Bowie. _et al._ You name it. They were the 1st Brit band to have 3 single debut at #1. 17 consecutive top 20's. 30 albums, 3 at #1. Only the Beatles did better. Huge influence on American bands. And they tried not once, but 2 times to crack America. Criminal negligence to overlook one of the best bands ever. Criminal.
Everyone needs to hear "Stars of CCTV" by Hard-Fi. It describes British culture in the early 2000's perfectly. If you weren't part of it, you saw it happening all around you. It's an absolute classic!
This is wild. I think it just comes down to personal taste. I’m a Brit with American friends (who live in America not the UK) who love Suede, Pulp, Manics, Happy Mondays and Kasabian… they’ve been played lots on college radio stations and independent stations like KEXP, not to mention MTV. They may not be huge, but definitely not unheard of. I think it depends on which American you ask! It’s a hugely diverse country.
Thank you. It's a large and diverse country. They could have said that My Bloody Valentine and Lush never "cracked America," but it didn't stop them from being hugely influential (I saw Lush play Union Square in San Francisco in 1992 and walked away having decided to start a band that sounded like THAT. Which I did).
The Jam have lots of amazing songs, not just the commercial ones but songs like Man in the Corner Shop, Carnation and The Butterfly Collector, they have dozens of excellent songs, Paul Weller is a genius.
Agree completely, The Jam was a fantastic three piece band with tons of great songs. Love the “Setting sons” and “Sound effects” albums as well as all the rest they did. Pity that they split up the band far too early…
Very good bands mentioned there, im surprised that Ocean Colour Scene didn't get a mention, especially the brilliant album Moseley Shoals. A must have in my collection.
The Stone Roses debut album is the greatest debut of all time, its a 10/10 album from start to finish, sounds like a best of album that most bands would kill for.
I can understand the Roses not registering in the US. Stunning debut then vanished, they didn’t follow up the initial success. Always been a bit frustrated, they let me down by not rattling out another four or five great albums. Such is life!
I'm British and I have quite a few American friends at uni. The amount of times I find out about yet another group or artist that theyve never heard of, or a song I think of as an iconic hit and they just have no idea! It baffles me, honestly.
Agree. When I was at uni (in Australia) we had American exchange students come and stay. This was in the mid-90's, so relevant to many of these bands. Anyway, the thing that used to REALLY blow me away was the number of American bands they would not know! Bands that everyone our age at uni in Aus then did know, like Rage Against The Machine. Baffling indeed.
The bit where you talk about a band having a certain niche to get the proper marketing is totally an American thing, over here it's all about the music, you either like it or you don't. Good video all the same👍
Yes. Quite sad really that any potential creativity in the US music scene is crushed by the commercial/marketing men. Almost as though the American people are considered incapable of deciding what they like and have to be spoon-fed by people in power. Sounds eerily like US politics doesn't it - how else could the forthcoming presidential election be between 2 such unsuitable individuals?
@@1nikg back when we had a rich culture, when musicians were still being interviewed for TV and presenters had more character, when they could smoke and get pissed on live TV for the sake of comedy.
The (proper) album that Our House was on, wasn't even released in the US until a long time later. In the UK it was on an album called The Rise And Fall which was seen as a kind of more mature album than their early stuff (bear in mind they were barely out of their teens at this point). In the US, an album called "Madness" was released instead which had about half of The Rise and Fall with the rest filled out with previous singles.
Happy Mondays is the best band in here ;) Weirdly, The Jam, Stones Roses, Pulp are really huge in UK. All iconics and in their own genre, truly capture an era and scene
Interesting to add, US companies require that the iconic british rock sound you're hearing is "toned down, or americanised" to fit in with the US appeal. Therefore a lot stay with their classic and "unaltered' British sound which is often a lot more heavy, "grungy" and melancholy, relating to the British culture and weather, as opposed to more happy and upbeat American sounds relating to your culture ❤
I think this is especially true of Britpop. The little of that scene that crossed over was either Oasis (who are more Beatles / glam rock / Pink Floyd influenced than Britpop) or the odd post-Britpop song like "Song 2", which was intended as a grunge parody. The true Britpop stuff is too tied to British culture, in the same way only the more pop-oriented country songs have made it to Europe.
This is just wrong, just looking at the first half of the 90s, all the major grunge bands were way more popular in America except Nirvana. Bands like Nine inch nails, tool, white zombie, Primus , pantera and megadeth had multi platinum albums. These were all relatively niche bands in the UK in comparison to stone roses or happy mondays It's probably not a coincidence that the biggest American bands here from that era were REM and Bon Jovi If anything britpop was a reaction to how grungy and dark American rock was
You have a new subscriber (from England) as I appreciate your passion for music. Your chilled voice and delivery which is nice compared to people with annoying delivery. Good reaction mate 👍🏻
I'm not going to argue that they're the best band on this list etc, but the video undersells Take That massively. They were absolutely huge in the UK when they first formed, set all kinds of records etc. And they made a bunch of really successful records when they reformed, as well as many sell out tours etc. I imagine they've sold as many records in the uk as most of the rest of the list combined. Like them or loathe them, it's pretty unthinkable that many people in the uk wouldn't have heard of Take That. Which makes the idea that Americans just haven't heard of them quite jarring. Whereas there are plenty of brits that haven't heard of the Stone Roses etc...
I saw headline this year that stated that Taylor or Beyonce (don't remember which, but not both) broke their record for sold out shows at Wembley during single tour (8). That says something. Glossing that over as, "popular boyband in 90's, did a bit of a return in 2000's" is a hell of an understatement.
@@The.Last.Guitar.Hero.Absolutely false. While a lot of their hits were boyband-by-numbers, almost all of their early albums contain some surprisingly great and quite diverse music. I listen to everything from Adam Ant to White Zombie. The Carpenters to Steve Earle. Take That definitely holds their own. In my opinion they were only ever rivalled by New Kids On The Block in terms of great 80’s/90’s boy bands
@@The.Last.Guitar.Hero. Any music to be decent has to be somewhat challenging IMHO, and the vast majority of the public want easy to digest, danceable songs with no unexpected changes or too many ideas, as this would be a barrier for them to consuming it. Music is just "product" for the zombies in human form these days, a.k.a. NPC Normies.
The Jam were HUGE in the UK for years. My favourite song of theirs is called English Rose, you should check it out very atmospheric :D Paul Weller went on to form The Style Council, totally different sound, but I loved them. It's funny watching this video and the one about Britpop anthems, I had forgotten how many bands I loved from the 90's! I love 80's music, but I'm realising the 90's had a lot to love also :D
Pulp and the Waterboys are great. Literally my two favorite tunes ever are from the Waterboys; Whole of the Moon and Fisherman's Blues. As for Pulp, I believe Common People was a HUGE song in Britain, and the cover version by William Shatner and Joe Jackson is awesome. Check it out.
Due to the internet, there are a lot of bands from the past that are much more widely known internationally now than they were during their careers. Even Queen, widely thought of now as a huge, global cultural phenomenon and one of the biggest bands ever, while they did have some US hits, never achieved the level of success in the states that they had in Europe, Australasia and Latin America. During Freddie Mercury’s lifetime, they did not have the stature that they have achieved retrospectively.
Yes I agree. Even though im no fan, on a commercial front out of all the bands here, I would have thought the Stereophonics would have easily crossed over. Their sound is classic American rock.
Some of these bands (The Jam, Pulp, Madness, The Stone Roses and possibly even Suede for a short time and The Manic Street Preachers) were not just popular in the UK, but arguably the biggest and most influential bands of their time in our country. The Jam released a lot of material in a short time and had a distinct sound. Weller's later popularity in the '90s was partially built around this as a lot of the bands then had grown up on his music and The Jam's popularity outlasted their existence. Madness were probably the more poppy band of their time. They were heavily influenced by or in the two tone, ska, Specials side of things. They had a lot of hits in the UK. I bought their Greatest Hits album as a teenager in the '90s and it was filled with songs I already knew but didn't realise I did. Their music just popped up everywhere for a while, in tv shows, in adverts...everywhere. Suggs also had some decent solo stuff too. Pulp were, I think, genuinely the biggest band in the UK for a spell in the UK. We had moved into Britpop by then (as the music magazines called it) via the band underneath, then Oasis and then Blur, already with a couple of albums under their belt, Blur. When Pulp released Common People their music was at every teenage party. I think it was a no 1 song or maybe the album (Different Class) was. I actually prefer the album before (His n Hers) and after (This Is Hardcore). Suede were popularly acclaimed with launching the whole Britpop scene (Blur, Oasis, and almost every British guitar band of the time). Their debut album was very fresh sounding at the time but either drugs or internal disputes made it difficult for them to endure. Their members went on to other things so were influential elsewhere too. They were very Bowie-esque (and his music was incredibly influential to all those bands, along with the more noted Beatles influences). The Stone Roses, around 1990, were the biggest band in the UK. Half the kids I knew were influenced by them, not just musically, but fashion too. They only released two albums but their singer had more solo work thereafter (some of it of similar quality). The Waterboys are a band that remind me of being a kid. Their singer was Scottish but always sounded very Irish to me. He was/is a fantastic singer. I was at Glastonbury in either '94 or '95 and he stole the show. He's another that you don't quite realise how much of his (and their) music you know until you hear it. Songs like Fisherman's Blues, A Girl Called Johnny and others are classics. I can't believe anyone hasn't heard The Whole Of The Moon (I've heard it too often by now). The Happy Mondays were a bit of a riot. I think drugs were very much part of their DNA. They had amazing hooks and crossed over a lot with the burgeoning dance scene (via the Hacienda club). Both them and the Stone Roses were as popular after their demise as they were before. They were very very influential on every British indie band that followed for the next decade-plus. Supergrass - try Richard III. Stereophonics - try Mr Writer. Kasabian - were never my favourites. Can't be bothered doing the others but those seem the most surprising to me. It makes me wonder whether other popular British bands of the '80s and '90s, like The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, Blur, Portishead, The The, The Verve and likewise managed to cross over? Or conversely, did we miss out on very popular music at the time (Grunge was the thing then, I guess) from the US? As I recall, RnB was more of the US market at the time than it was here. We were very much split between either dance-inspired bands like The Prodigy or The Shamen or indie/shoegaze stuff (which was our big thing through the '90s).
The Jam are a great band to listen to as their lyrics to their songs are like stories of the time. My favourite has always been A Town Called Malice. After the Jam dissolved Paul went onto the band The Style Council.
Stopped at @12:57 to guess #1 Slade. Gotta be. EDIT: I cannot believe Slade was not even included. Absolutely criminal. In the 70's Slade sold more singles in Britain *_than any other band,_* period. More than Zeppelin. Queen. Pink Floyd. David Bowie. _et al._ You name it. They were the 1st Brit band to have 3 single debut at #1. 17 consecutive top 20's. 30 albums, 3 at #1. Only the Beatles did better. Huge influence on American bands. And they tried not once, but 2 times to crack America. Criminal negligence to overlook one of the best bands ever. Criminal.
Paul Weller disbanded The Jam when they were at their peak, but according to him they couldn't go any further musically therefore he decided to leave and start a whole different musical project with The Style Council. TSC was a pop group unlike The Jam, but still great nonethless, they even got a top 40 US Billboard single 'My Ever Changing Moods'. After 4 albums and 1 EP (plus a non released album), he also disbanded the group, then he started his long and successful solo career with great albums through different decades, his most famous solo song being 'You Do Something To Me' from his third solo album 'Stanley Road'. Paul Weller is one of the biggest music genius in UK history imo, he drastically changed his musical style several times and still kept it great.
Imagine living in a world where you are into guitar music and the jam exist but you've never heard of them!??! It would be the equivalent to going to America and telling people you are into rock music but have never heard of guns and roses.
As a 40+ yr old Brit - Maximo Park was definitely someone I have never heard of, so we all have blind spots. I think a lot of Brits forget just how big the US is, at least 10 individual states are bigger than the whole of the UK so to become mainstream in the US is a mammoth task. Based on some of the bands you talked about, I would suggest (if you aren't already aware) of checking out the 90s band Ocean Colour Scene - The Day We Caught The Train and The Riverboat Song could well be to your liking and I would say there are definite nods to both the Beatles and Paul Weller in their music. The algorithm bought me to your video - you have a lovely voice btw, very pleasant to listen to. I've just subscribed to your channel for more thoughtful and honest commentary. 🤩
I clicked on this video hoping I'd see Maximo Park... a band I have seen so many times live I have lost count because they are amazing. Underrated here too! But also I know The Boxer Rebellion well (I'm a music photographer), I don't live far from the drummer, and they are better known in the US than they are here. I live in Essex.
I'm definitely gonna do some digging into Maximo Park after your rave review! I grew up in Herts - very much into Queen and Bowie, then switched to electronica and low-fi, then spent some years in London very much into Jazz and Drum n Bass but now live in Kent and am trying to further broaden my listening experiences. Classical, Instrumental, London Grammar and Zero 7 are pretty high up on the list of late but Hall and Oates and Ben Folds have stuck on the list for many years 🥰@@moogyboobles
Hoped to see the Manics there. I'm not exaggerating when I say they are the best band ever. I'm doing a video now to demonstrate that. Literally hundreds of brilliant songs over 35 years.
I agree - I actually got to see them live before Richey died and have a tattoo based on his (like the one from the cover to Generation Terrorists but says "Useless Generation").
I'd be very surprised if you hadn't heard 'Dakota' by Stereophonics. Also 'Complete Madness' is probably one of the best Madness Albums to get a feal for them at their height of popularity. A song by Take That that might have some recognition in the US is 'Rule the World' which they did for the movie Stardust after they reformed.
If you are a huge Beatles fan you should check out Start by The Jam. Hugely influenced by The Beatles and Taxman. Town called Malice and Going Underground were both number 1 in the UK. One of the most successful UK bands around the late 70's, early 80's.
Town Called Malice was probably the most well-known Jam song (in the U.S.). Great song, that finally received more accolades when it was used in a few movies, in the years since.
The Beatles,, probably the most overrated band ever. Bunch of satanic toss pots. Some of their album covers, people thought were "artsy" but they were riddled with symbolism. They even had Crowley hidden, but in plain sight, on one of their covers. Yuk.
*Video 1* (Whispers) "I think I've heard of this." *Video 2* (Whispers) "Hmm. I don't think I've heard of this." *Video 3* (Whispers) "Have I heard of this? No, I have not." Amazing content. Keep it up, man.
The Jam formed in 1972, but they didn't so much "precede" UK Punk as survived it, thriving in its chaotic latter stages and aftermath, with their biggest hits coming from their first single release in 1977 until their break up in 1982, when their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100 in the UK, making them for all intents and purposes a post-punk band. The 1982 release The Gift - the band's final studio LP - was a massive commercial success, peaking at No. 1 on the UK charts while spending an unprecedented 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. Not exactly unknown across the pond, then.
When you find yourself cruising the internet taking potshots at things other people love you gotta wonder if you're using your time as wisely as possible ;) I love Stereophonics. I also love very avant garde artists like Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush who you probably find "too different" lol, and Regina Spektor, James Taylor, Arctic Monkeys, Pizza, Capercaillie, Otava Yo... I like a range if stuff. Maybe we have some in common? Maybe we have wildly divergent tastes? Does it matter? Come on though, RU-vid comments don't have to be so shit all the time you know?
@@elingrimes4079 haha you were right to call me out I am definitely procrastinating and not using my time wisely at all! Love Kate Bush, Arctic Monkeys etc also Radiohead, QOTSA, The Knife who try something a little different. I just struggle with Stereophonics because I like their songs enough but never feel compelled to give them a deeper listen. I think that's just me wanting something more from them and with their singles at least I've never heard them release anything too challenging. There's probably a deeper reason why they don't appeal to me but I'm not a musician or musicologist so hard to say exactly why. Sorry for shitting on your tastes though. Sterophonics are solid musicians and Kelly's got very distinctive vocals.
I went to see Kasabian years ago after my husband and I saw an early concert television appearance which absolutely bowled us over. Still love the music today amongst other groups.
JJLA, you're really missing out. Many of these bands on the list are outstanding. Stone Roses, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers, Stereophonics, Supergrass, Happy Mondays, Kaiser Chiefs, and Suede are all essential listening if you're in the mood for good Britpop & British rock from the 90's and 2000's. The Jam and Madness were probably the two biggest bands in the UK in the late 70's/early 80's. Of course, don't forget about the two titans of Britpop, Blur and Oasis, who aren't on this list because in my opinion they cracked America.
From the 70s, I'd also add T.Rex & Slade (6 UK #1s, but probably best known in the US via a 80s Quiet Riot cover). That glam rock era was an influence on a lot of Oasis' work (to the point of reusing the riff from "Get It On" in "Cigarettes and Alcohol" and covering Slade in live gigs)
And Brett Anderson adored The Fall….. actually Bowie liked Mark E Smith/The Fall too, he cited their intelligence in the Buddha of Suburbia cd sleeve notes circa 1994
Pulp are really worth finding out about, they were such a sound of the 90s for me. Lead singer/ writer Jarvis Cocker also once did an on stage protest while Michael Jackson was performing. Cocker also wrote and occasionally performed on the All Seeing I track Walk Like a Panther (in place of legendary singer Tony Christie). But Pulp... excellent.
There's a great story in the Happy Mondays book about the first trip to America. The whole band got a taxi to the wrong part of town and tried to score a weeks supply of crack. Which they promptly consumed before the debut gig. They were never invited back.
Of all the acts listed I think The Jam were the biggest - the pub I used to go in back in the late 70's & early 80's had literally every one of their singles on it and they were played back to back almost continually, A and B sides. When they announced they were splitting up no less than 12 of their singles recharted that week, and whilst they were together they sold over 5 million singles in the UK. And Maximo Park quite frankly did very little in the UK - not really sure why they get an honorable mention. Waterboys weren't much more popular either.
