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Part of a series of articles on British music

BPI • OCC Music from the United Kingdom has achieved great international popularity since the 1960s, when a wave of British musicians helped to popularise rock and roll. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The British Phonographic Industry was founded in 1973 to represent the interests of British music companies and to fight the growing problem of music piracy. ... Previously Chart Information Network (CIN). ...

Charts Singles chart (#1s; Records) Albums chart (#1s) Download chart (#1s) British Hit Singles redirects here. ... This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Singles Chart, from its inception in 1952 to the present. ... Since the inception of the UK Singles Chart in 1952 there have been various records to break, including most chart toppers, longest run at number one, biggest selling single etc. ... The UK Albums Chart is a chart of the sales positions of albums in the United Kingdom. ... This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Albums Chart, from its inception in 1956 to the present. ... The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. ... This is a list of the number one hits in the UK Official Download Chart, from its inception on 1 September 2004 to the present. ...

Awards BRIT Awards • Mercury Prize NME Awards The Brit Awards are the annual United Kingdom pop music awards founded by the British Phonographic Industry. ... The Mercury Prize, formerly the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Nationwide Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best British or Irish album of the previous 12 months. ... The NME Awards are an annual music awards show, founded by the music magazine NME (New Musical Express). ...

Periods Pre-1950 • 1950s & 60s 1970s • 1980s 1990s - Present The diverse nations that now make up the United Kingdom were much more distinct from each other prior to modern times. ... Indigenous styles of music production and performance dominated the United Kingdom until the late 1950s, when imported American rock and roll, pop-folk and rockabilly gained fans among British youth, while American roots music, especially the blues, found its own devoted fanbase. ... In the 1970s, music from the United Kingdom further diversified. ... In the early 1980s, the death of Sid Vicious (of the Sex Pistols) and the alleged selling-out of bands like The Clash and The Jam led to still-frequent cries that punk is dead. ... In the early 1990s, American alternative rock bands became mainstream in the US and achieved great popularity in the UK as well. ...

Origins and influences Overview England • Scotland • Wales Ireland • Caribbean Music from the United Kingdom has achieved great international popularity since the 1960s, when a wave of British musicians helped to popularise rock and roll. ... The Folk Music of England has a long history. ... The Tannahill Weavers Scotland is internationally known for its traditional music, which has remained vibrant throughout the 20th century, when many traditional forms worldwide lost popularity to pop music. ... Wales is a part of the United Kingdom, but is a culturally and politically separate Celtic country. ... Jamaican music in the United Kingdom // White Reggae White reggae has very low artistic credibility, but it laid a path for genuine reggae in Britain. ...

Genres Classical • Britpop • Brithop Opera • Rock • Jazz This article, Classical music of the United Kingdom, includes a history of the form and discussion of its most notable composers and musicians. ... Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. ... British Hip Hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of rap music made in the United Kingdom. ... British opera is opera which was composed either in Britain or by a composer of British nationality. ... Britain has been home to a number of noted jazz musicians. ...

Major music publications NME • Melody Maker Music Week • Record Collector Record Mirror • Record Retailer Smash Hits • Sounds Q • Kerrang! • fRoots For other uses, see NME (disambiguation). ... This article is about the music newspaper. ... Music Week is a trade paper for the UK record industry. ... Cover of the Nov 2005 issue Record Collector started in 1979 and is the UK’s longest-running monthly music magazine. ... Record Mirror was a British weekly music newspaper. ... UK trade paper for the record industry. ... The cover of a May 1981 edition of Smash Hits magazine Smash Hits was a pop music based magazine, aimed at children and young teenagers, and originally published in the United Kingdom. ... Sounds was a British music paper, published weekly from October 10, 1970 – April 6, 1991. ... Q is a music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, with a circulation of 140,282 and a readership of 731,000. ... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... fRoots (previous Folk Roots) is a specialist music magazine publish monthly in the UK. It specialises in folk and world music, and features a compilation cover CD twice every year. ...

Other links Bands • Musicians Festivals • Venues There are a large number of music festivals in the United Kingdom, covering a wide variety of genres. ...

Timeline 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • (full list) 1991 The Simpsons reached number 1 with Do The Bartman in January 1991, even though the actual series wasnt to premiere on UK Terrestrial TV until 1996 Enigma - Sadness Part 1 January 13 for 1 week Queen - Innuendo January 20 for 1 week The KLF featuring Children of The... This is a summary of 1992 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... 1993 These are the UK number one albums of the year: Genesis - Live - The Way We Walk Volume 2: The Longs January 23 for 2 weeks Little Angels - Jam February 6 for 1 week The Cult - Pure Cult February 13 for 1 week Buddy Holly & The Crickets - Words Of Love... This is a summary of 1994 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 1995 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 1996 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 1997 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 1998 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 1999 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2000 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2001 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2002 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2003 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2004 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts from that year. ... This is a summary of 2005 in music in the United Kingdom, including the official charts. ... This is a summary of the current year in the United Kingdom including the official single and album charts. ... This is a summary of the year 2007 in British music // 2007 began with the introduction of new chart rules meaning that all songs legally downloaded over the internet can count towards chart positions, whether or not a physical version of a song is available to purchase. ...

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British rock and roll, or Brit rock, was born out of the influence of rock and roll and rhythm and blues from the United States, but added a new drive and urgency, exporting the music back and widening the audience for black R & B in the U.S. as well as spreading the gospel world wide. Much of what has made rock music unique, in its ability to unite audiences and adapt new influences, came from British bands in the late 50s and rock groups in the early 60s. Rock and roll (also spelled Rock n Roll, especially in its first decade), also called rock, is a form of popular music, usually featuring vocals (often with vocal harmony), electric guitars and a strong back beat; other instruments, such as the saxophone, are common in some styles. ... R&B redirects here. ... For other uses of terms redirecting here, see US (disambiguation), USA (disambiguation), and United States (disambiguation) Motto In God We Trust(since 1956) (From Many, One; Latin, traditional) Anthem The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City National language English (de facto)1 Demonym American... This article is about the genre. ... A musical ensemble is a group of two or more musicians who perform instrumental or vocal music. ...

1960s rockers and rock groups

Rock & Roll faded as Cliff Richard, the Shadows and the others followed Elvis into lightweight pop and schmaltzy ballads, but rock groups were stirring at a basement club level. Surf music took the focus from traditional Rock and Roll in the U.S. and the teenage market was focused on the California Sound. With their 1960 hit "Shakin' All Over," Johnny Kidd and the Pirates introduced a harder beat for motorbike rockers and the song was soon being played by amateur groups at dances all round the UK along with R & B from the likes of Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker and invariably Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode". London's blues clubs featured Alexis Korner's Blues Incorporated which attracted the young trad jazz clarinettist Brian Jones to sit in and decide he too wanted a blues band. Separately, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards joined in for sets along with Korner's drummer Charlie Watts, starting with Berry's "Around and Around". A group developed, taking their name from a Muddy Waters song, and the Rolling Stones formed on 12 July 1962. Rock band (or rock group) is a generic name to describe a group of musicians specializing in a particular form of electronically amplified music. ... Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly Orange County and other areas of Southern California. ... Johnny Kidd and the Pirates were a rock and roll group from the United Kingdom who performed in the late 1950s and 1960s. ... Bo Diddley (born December 30, 1928) aka The Originator, is an influential American rock and roll singer, songwriter, and guitarist. ... Jimmy Reed James Jimmy Mathis Reed (September 6, 1925 - August 29, 1976) was an important United States blues singer notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. ... John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an influential American post-war blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter born in Coahoma County near Clarksdale, Mississippi. ... Charles Edward Anderson Chuck Berry (born October 18, 1926 in St. ... Music sample Johnny B. Goode Problems? See media help. ... Alexis Korner (born Alexis Andrew Nicholas Korner, 19 April 1928 in Paris, France - died on 1 January 1984 in Westminster, London, England) Korner is probably best remembered as the Founding Father of British Blues and a pioneering blues musician. ... Blues Incorporated was a British R&B band in the early 1960s, which was led by Alexis Korner and which featured at various times such musicians as Jack Bruce, Charlie Watts, Ginger Baker, Long John Baldry, Danny Thompson, Graham Bond, Cyril Davies, and Dick Heckstall-Smith. ... For other persons named Brian Jones, see Brian Jones (disambiguation). ... Sir Michael Phillip Mick Jagger (born July 26, 1943) is a English rock musician, actor, songwriter, record and film producer and businessman. ... Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English guitarist, songwriter, singer, producer and founding member of The Rolling Stones. ... Charles Robert Charlie Watts (born 2 June 1941) is the drummer of The Rolling Stones. ... McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983), better known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician and is generally considered the Father of Chicago blues. He is also the actual father of blues musician Big Bill Morganfield. ... This article is about the rock band. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1962 the growing "Beat group" boom surfaced with the signing of Liverpool groups including Brian Poole and the Tremeloes whose hit with their cover of "Do You Love Me" (now that I can dance?) caught the mood: "I can mashed potato, I can do the twist, tell me baby, do you like it like this?" The Beatles were an established Liverpool group, and on 5 October 1962 their first single "Love Me Do" came out. Already this new sound stood out. The beat got harder and the music more inventive with the Beatles' songwriting talents pulling them away from the pack. British rock had established its distinctive identity. The Rolling Stones got their first rock hit in June 1963 with a high-charged version of Berry's "Come On." Later, The Animals added their blues-rock version of "The House of the Rising Sun". The Who with "My Generation" and The Kinks with "You Really Got Me" kept up the rush while adding a new mod style. Songs then became more lyrical and ingenious while retaining the distinctive driving rhythm, outright blues were issued with a hard beat instead of the bounce of the originals. This new and developing pop sound drew an international interest. It has been suggested that Merseybeat be merged into this article or section. ... For other uses, see Liverpool (disambiguation). ... Here Comes My Baby: The Ultimate Collection cover. ... Do You Love Me is a 1962 (see 1962 in music) hit single recorded by The Contours for Motowns Gordy Records label. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... For other uses, see 5th October (Serbia). ... Year 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Love Me Do is an early Lennon-McCartney song, mainly written by Paul McCartney in 1961-2. ... The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s known in the United States as part of the British Invasion. ... Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music which combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. ... For other uses, see The House of the Rising Sun (disambiguation). ... The Who are an English rock band that formed in 1964. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... The Kinks were an English rock group formed in 1963 by lead singer-songwriter Ray Davies, his brother, lead guitarist and vocalist Dave Davies, and bassist Pete Quaife. ... You Really Got Me is a rock song written by Ray Davies and performed by his band, The Kinks. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Canterbury

Main article: Canterbury Sound

The Canterbury Scene (or Canterbury Sound) is a term used to loosely describe the group of progressive rock musicians that were based around the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. ...

Psychedelic rock

Main article: Psychedelic rock

Drug references increased in 1966 with Donovan's "Sunshine Superman", Manfred Mann's version of Bob Dylan's "Mighty Quinn" promised snow and the Smoke's "My friend Jack eats sugar lumps" added an acid touch. Pink Floyd and Soft Machine took things much further. "The Who Sell Out" included their psychedelic single "I Can See For Miles" but the jokey commercialism of the album missed the mood. People were wondering if The Beatles had fallen behind when Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band blasted them to the forefront again. Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... For other uses, see Donovan (disambiguation). ... Sunshine Superman is the title of a 1965 song written and recorded by British popular musician Donovan; it is also became title track of his 1966 album of the same name. ... Cock-A-Hoop Manfred Mann was a British R&B and pop band of the 1960s, named after its keyboard player, who later led the successful 1970s follow-on group Manfred Manns Earth Band. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn) is a popular song written by Bob Dylan. ... The Smoke was an english pop group from Yorkshire. ... Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... For the book by William S. Burroughs, see The Soft Machine. ... Back cover The back cover of The Who Sell Out The Who Sell Out is The Whos third album, released in 1967. ... The White Album, see The Beatles (album). ... Sgt. ...

Progressive rock

Main article: Progressive rock

Progressive (or prog) rock is a genre that emerged in the early sixties and flourished throughout the seventies until it was effectively killed by punk (see below). The genre is characterised by extended compositions and is comparable to jazz fusion and progressive jazz. Prog evolved as being more serious than its disposable contemporaries, with works featuring many layers and themes that can be disseminated similar to classical music. For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... Jazz fusion (or jazz-rock fusion or fusion) is a musical genre that merges elements of jazz with other styles of music, particularly pop, rock, folk, reggae, funk, metal, country, R&B, hip hop, electronic music and world music. ... This article is about Western art music from 1000 AD to the present. ...

Pink Floyd is usually regarded as the most significant prog band and their album Dark Side of the Moon is considered a prog classic, though many aficionados would debate whether they should properly be classed as prog. Other exponents of the genre include King Crimson, The Birds Of Paradise, Genesis, Yes, Jethro Tull, Marillion, and Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Pink Floyd are an English rock band that initially earned recognition for their psychedelic or space rock music, and, as they evolved, for their progressive rock music. ... This article is about the Pink Floyd album. ... This article is about the musical group. ... Genesis are an English rock band formed in 1967. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the 18th-century agriculturist after whom the band was named, see Jethro Tull (agriculturist). ... Marillion is a British Rock group. ... ELP can also stand for Extra Long Play, a format for the VCR tape. ...

Heavy metal

Main articles: Heavy metal music and New Wave of British Heavy Metal

An early reference to this genre came when psychedelic poster design artists Hapdash and the Coloured Coat produced an album starring themselves, "the Human Host and the Heavy Metal Kids". Heavy metal redirects here. ... The New Wave of British Heavy Metal (frequently abbreviated as NWOBHM or N.W.O.B.H.M.) emerged in the late 1970s and reached mainstream attention in the late 1970s, in the United Kingdom, as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as...

Folk rock

Main articles: Folk rock and Electric folk

Folk rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. Bob Dylans folk-rock album, Blonde on Blonde Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ... Folk-rock is a musical genre, combining elements of folk music and rock music. ...

Glam rock

Main article: Glam rock

Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a style of rock and pop music, which initially surfaced in the post-hippie early 1970s. Those who participated in the genre drew on several past youth cultures, musical styles, movie images and art movements to produce a distinct sound and aesthetic which essentially combined science fiction, nostalgia, camp, theatre, and a hard rock sound. Glam rock (also known as glitter rock), is a rock music style that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots. ...

Punk rock

Main article: Punk rock

Punk rock started off as a reaction to the lush, producer-driven sounds of disco, and against the commercialism of most progressive rock. Early punk borrowed heavily from the garage band ethic: played by bands for which expert musicianship was not a requirement, punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played easily and often bore a close resemblance to the American "punk rock" from the late 60's on the "Nuggets" collection issued in 1972 on Electra featuring artists like The Electric Prunes and The Seeds. Many of the new punk rock bands also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... For the Swedish political music movement, see progg. ... The Electric Prunes are a rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s, and contributed two tracks to the soundtrack of Easy Rider. ... The Seeds were a 1960s rock and roll band whose raw and abrasive energy and simple, repetitive lyrics came to exemplify the garage rock style. ...

Punk rose to public awareness nearly simultaneously in Britain with the Sex Pistols and in America with the Ramones. Sex Pistols are an iconic and highly influential English punk rock band, formed in London in 1975. ... This article is about the band. ...

The Sex Pistols chose aggressive stage names (including "Johnny Rotten" and "Sid Vicious") and did their best to live up to them, deliberately rejecting anything that symbolized "hippies": long hair, soft music, loose clothing, and liberal politics, and displaying an anarchic, often confrontational, stage presence (well represented on their debut single "Anarchy in the UK"). Their second single release, "God Save The Queen" was a scathing polemic against British traditions and mores. Despite an airplay ban on the BBC the record rose to the top chart position in the UK. The Sex Pistols paved the way for The Clash, whose approach was less nihilistic but more overtly political and idealistic. For the Okkervil River album, see The Stage Names. ... Anarchy in the U.K. (B-side I Wanna Be Me) was the first single by the punk band the Sex Pistols released on November 26, 1976, and is thus frequently considered to be the first punk single (although The Ramones released Blitzkrieg Bop a year earlier). ... God Save the Queen (B-side Did You No Wrong), released on May 27, 1977 was the second single by the punk band the Sex Pistols. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... This article is about the English punk rock band. ...

The Ramones (whose first album was actually released months before "God Save the Queen") exemplified the American side of punk: equally aggressive but mostly apolitical, more alienated, and not above (often illicit and self-destructive) fun for its own sake. The Ramones reigned as the kings of the New York punk scene, which also included Richard Hell and Television, and centered around rough-and tumble clubs, notably CBGB, a former bluegrass venue in Manhattan taken over by punks after the owner began booking punk bands on off nights. Punk was mostly an East-coast phenomenon in the US until the late 1970s when Los Angeles-based bands such as X and Black Flag broke through to wide recognition. This article is about the state. ... Richard Hell (born October 2, 1949) is the stage name of Richard Meyers, an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist and writer. ... CBGB (Country, Blue Grass, and Blues) was a music club at 315 Bowery at Bleecker Street in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. ... Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music. ... This article is about the borough of New York City. ... Los Angeles and L.A. redirect here. ... For other bands named X, see X (band). ... Black Flag was a hardcore punk band formed in 1976 in southern California, largely as the brainchild of Greg Ginn: the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes. ...

Punk rock attracted devotees from the art and collegiate world and soon bands sporting a more literate, arty approach, such as the Talking Heads and Devo began to infiltrate the punk scene; in some quarters the description New Wave began to be used to differentiate these less overtly punk bands. The Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1974 in New York City and active until 1991. ... Devo (pronounced DEE-vo or dee-VO, often spelled DEVO or DEV-O) is an American New Wave group formed in Akron, Ohio in 1972. ... New Wave was a music genre that existed during the late 1970s and the early-to-mid 1980s. ...

If punk rock was a social and musical phenomenon, it garnered little in the way of record sales (small specialty labels such as Stiff Records had released much of the punk music to date) or American radio airplay, as the radio scene continued to be dominated by mainstream formats such as disco and AOR. Record executives, who had been mostly mystified by the punk movement, recognized the potential of the more accessible New Wave acts and began aggressively signing and marketing any band that could claim a remote connection to Punk or New Wave. Many of these bands, such as The Cars and The Go-Gos were essentially pop bands dressed up in New Wave regalia; others, including The Police and The Pretenders managed to parlay the boost of the New Wave movement into long-lived and artistically lauded careers. Stiff Records logo Stiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman (aka Jake Riviera), and active until 1985. ... This article is about the music genre. ... Album Oriented Rock, abbreviated AOR, was originally an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock music artists rather than singles releases. ... The Cars were an American rock band, fronted by Ric Ocasek, that emerged from the early punk scene in the late 1970s. ... The Go-Gos are an all-women band. ... This article is about the rock band. ... The Pretenders are an Anglo-American rock band. ...

Punk and post-punk bands would continue to appear sporadically, but as a musical scene, punk had largely self-destructed and been subsumed into mainstream new-wave pop by the mid-1980s, but the influence of punk has been substantial. The grunge-rock movement of the late 1980s owes much to punk, and many current mainstream bands claim punk rock as their stylistic heritage. Punk also bred other genres, including hardcore, industrial music, and goth. Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Grunge music (sometimes also referred to as the Seattle Sound) is an independent-rooted music genre that became a commercially successful offshoot of hardcore punk, thrash metal, and alternative rock in the late 1980s and early 1990s. ... Hardcore Punk is a subgenre of Punk Rock that originated in North America in the late 1970s. ... Industrial music is a loose term for a number of different styles of experimental music, especially but not necessarily electronic music. ... Gothic rock (sometimes called goth rock or simply goth) is a genre of alternative rock that originated during the late 1970s. ...

Modern music and terminology

Many of the more recent successful forms, subgenres, and artists of rock and pop music have originated or found their greatest success in the UK. Major stars of the 1960s and '70s ranging from Eric Clapton to Peter Gabriel moved on from rock bands to great success as solo performers. In the early 1980s, the sound of synth pop typified much British rock music ranging from chart hits to off the radar works. Synth pop is a style of popular music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. ...

In the mid 1980s, British alternative rock became loosely defined around bands such as the Smiths, championed in publications like the NME, while styles like shoegaze developed in the later part of the decade, showing UK rock artists even on the smallest budgets to be more concerned with texture and a layered sound than their US counterparts. This scene's main groups were Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, all from Manchester (popularly known "Madchester"), and the Scottish group Soup Dragons, and their music, called 'indie dance' joined elements of house music (a type of pop electronic music) and psychedelic rock. The 'indie dance' scene had also its main place, the night club Hacienda, placed in Manchester and managed by executives from Factory Records and the members of New Order band. Alternative music redirects here. ... The Smiths were an English rock band active from 1982 to 1987, based on the songwriting partnership of singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. ... The New Musical Express (better known as the NME) is a weekly magazine about popular music published in the UK. It is unlike many other popular music magazines due to its intended focus on guitar-based music and indie rock bands, instead of mainstream pop acts. ... Shoegazing is a style of music that emerged in Britain in the late 1980s. ... The classic line-up at the time of Spike Island The Stone Roses were one of the most influential bands to come out of Britain during the late 1980s and early 90s. ... Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. ... The Inspiral Carpets is an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert in 1986. ... An NME Originals issue covering the Madchester movement. ... The Soup Dragons were a Scottish indie rock band of the late 80s and early 90s. ... House music is a style of electronic dance music that was developed by dance club DJs in Chicago in the early to mid-1980s. ... Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. ... FAC 115: Factory Records Stationery (1984) Factory Records was a Manchester based British independent record label, started in 1978, which featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Joy Division, New Order, A Certain Ratio, The Durutti Column, Happy Mondays, and (briefly) James and Orchestral Manoeuvres in the... This article is about the alternative rock/electronic band New Order. ...

In the end of the 1980s to early 1990s, the United Kingdom scene was called by the press "the scene that celebrates itself" and followed the 80's indie-rock tradition diffused by Smiths, Cure and The Bunnymen. The groups of this scene: The LA's, Ride (whose one of the singers-guitarists, Andy Bell, is the current bassist of Oasis), Wedding Present, House Of Love, Wonder Stuff, Catherine Wheel, Slowdive and Sundays. Their music were inspired by the 1980s rock and by the 1960s psychedelic rock, especially The Byrds, Velvet Underground, Cream and Pink Floyd.

In the mid 1990s a vibrant new scene arose, influenced both by the classic British rock bands of the 1960s and by punk and new wave. This scene was dubbed Britpop by the press, and was seen to be led by bands such as Blur, Oasis and Pulp as well as numerous lesser known ones such as Supergrass, Manic Street Preachers and Super Furry Animals. Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. ... Blur were an English rock band that formed in Colchester in 1989. ... Oasis are an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991. ... Pulp were a rock band, formed in Sheffield, England in 1978, by then 15-year-old school boy Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar). ... For the witnesses who betray information about associated criminals, see Supergrass (informer). ... Manic Street Preachers (often known colloquially as the Manics) are a Welsh rock band, consisting of James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, guitar), Nicky Wire (bass guitar, vocals) and Sean Moore (drums, vocals). ... Super Furry Animals (also known as SFA, the Furries and the Super Furries) are a Welsh rock band, with leanings towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. ...

In the late 1990s Oasis was seen as the leading British rock band, while in subsequent years the trend has been toward increasingly emotional music influenced both by them or by the Smiths, and by similar influences as Britpop, as typified by the multi-platinum Coldplay and Travis and the lesser known Embrace. This music is often known in the UK as "indie," although much of it appears on major labels such as EMI, and its sound has little in common with modern American indie rock. Very few mid 1990's British rock bands have managed to gain mainstream success in the next century, with Feeder being one of a very few who have, which was due to the top 5 success of their 2001 single "Buck Rogers", and in turn made them an established band in their genre, after many years of critical accolades in the alternative music press. Oasis are an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991. ... Coldplay are an English alternative rock band formed in London in 1997. ... Travis are a Scotish rock band from Glasgow, comprising Fran Healy (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Dougie Payne (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, keyboards, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). ... Embrace is a guitar band, coming from Brighouse, West Yorkshire in the United Kingdom. ... Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music often used to refer to bands that are on small independent record labels or that arent on labels at all. ... For other uses, see Feeder (disambiguation). ... Buck Rogers was the first single released from British rock band Feeders 2001 album Echo Park. // It reached #5 in the UK charts, the groups first top 10 single and their highest placed single ever until it was equalled in 2005 by Tumble And Fall. The video featured...

Even more recently, due in part to the influence of new American rock bands like the Strokes and White Stripes becoming popular in Britain (often seen as a result of massive hype by the NME) and rise of the British The Libertines, a resurgence of British alternative rock with a consciously retro punk and post-punk style has occurred. In the past two years, the bands Franz Ferdinand, Kaiser Chiefs, Maxïmo Park, Bloc Party and the Arctic Monkeys all had success, for example, with the latter notably breaking sales records. Other bands, including Muse and The Darkness, have consciously avoided a punk image and drawn instead from the melodramatic, and popular, British arena rock of the 1970s. Hype! is also the name of a documentary film about grunge music. ... The Libertines were an English rock band formed in London in 1997 and active until 2004. ... Punk rock is an anti-establishment music movement beginning around 1976 (although precursors can be found several years earlier), exemplified and popularised by The Ramones, the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Damned. ... Post punk generally refers to the particularly fertile and creative period following the initial punk rock explosion. During the first wave of punk, roughly spanning 1976-1983, bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Ramones and The Damned began to challenge the current styles and conventions of rock... Franz Ferdinand are an award winning rock band, from Glasgow, Scotland. ... This article is about the band. ... Maxïmo Park are an British indie rock band, signed to Warp Records, who formed in 2000. ... This article is about the English alternative rock band. ... Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. ... For other uses, see Muse (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see The Darkness (disambiguation). ... Arena rock, also called stadium rock or anthem rock, is a loosely-defined term describing a rock era. ...

In many cases, despite the suffix of "pop" in some British musical genre names (dreampop, Britpop), many of the bands performing it consisted of musicians who began by playing rock instruments and would usually be called rock bands, rather than "pop groups." Even synth pop, more often than not, did feature guitar and bass, if not real drums, as well as keyboards and synthesizers. ABC, a popular synth pop group in the early 1980s had formerly been a punk-influenced rock band, only to embrace a more glamorous image and technological innovations to become part of what was then known as "new pop". At the same time, even many of the most self-consciously rockist performers, such as Oasis, made use of synthesizers and relied on the textured style of production common in the British music industry since the 1960s and '70s. Dreampop is a sub-genre of music that combines elements of early 1990s shoegazer with traditional pop songwriting. ... Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. ... Synth pop is a style of popular music in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. ... ABC is an English New Romantic band that charted eleven Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990. ... Rockism is an ideology of popular music criticism, originating in the British music press in the late 1970s or early 1980s. ...

In Britain today, the terms of "pop" and "rock" are still more closely associated with each other than in the United States, where due to prejudice and musical history "pop" usually denotes only a solo artist, often female, seen to represent a tradition outside the province of guitar based music or with a very wide popularity. Thus, in the UK an artist such as Pulp might be characterized as pop, to denote their synth based sound and often populist appeal, while in the United States they might be categorized as rock, most likely as "alternative rock", for their "authentic," sometimes dark lyrics, perhaps for being white and male, and certainly for appealing to the type of people seen to listen to critic-sanctioned indie rock bands, rather than "superficial pop" music. The idea of British rock could be seen to include much post-1960s British "pop" as well - with only more recent acts such as the Spice Girls and Robbie Williams, as well as pop primarily influenced by dance club music, and styles that developed in black music traditions, being widely considered separate from rock. The Spice Girls are a BRIT Award-winning English pop group formed in 1994. ... For other people with the same name, see Robbie Williams (disambiguation). ...

Rock currently makes up a much larger portion of the market in Britain as compared with hip hop and other forms of popular music. The most commercially successful album of 2006 in the UK was by the "indie" rock band Franz Ferdinand. Snow Patrol, Keane, Muse, and Arctic Monkeys also produced successful albums in 2006. Hip hop is a cultural movement that began amongst urban African American youth in New York and has since spread around the world. ... Snow Patrol are a Grammy Award-nominated alternative rock band which formed in Scotland, with the majority of their members being from Bangor and Belfast, Northern Ireland. ... For other uses, see Keane. ... For other uses, see Muse (disambiguation). ... Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band from High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. ...

See also

• Alternative music
• Britpop
• Dream pop
• Gothic rock
• Post punk
• Shoegazing
• Space rock
• Twee pop

The term alternative rock or alternative music1 was coined in the early 1980s to describe bands which didnt fit into the mainstream genres of the time. ... Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. ... Dream pop is a type of alternative rock that originated in Britain in the early 1980s, when bands like Cocteau Twins, The Chameleons, The Passions, Dead Can Dance, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane (to whom the term has been attributed) began fusing post-punk experiments with bittersweet pop... Gothic rock (sometimes called goth rock or simply goth) is a genre of alternative rock that originated during the late 1970s. ... Post-punk was a popular musical movement beginning at the end of the 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid 1970s. ... Shoegazing was a generalized tag given to some alternative rock bands that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. ... For space rocks, see asteroid. ... This article is about the genre of music. ...

References