The British Invasion Ends. And We Won!?
recsec
Billy
May 31, 2002, 6:44PM
What ever happened to the British invasion?
By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press
LONDON -- The British music industry is singing the blues -- U.S. fans have
lost that lovin' feelin'.
Last month, for the first time since 1963, there were no British artists in
the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart -- and now some in the industry here are
calling for a music "embassy" to promote their artists in the United States.
Associated Press
The Spice Girls, from left, Victoria Beckham, Mel B, Mel C and Emma Bunton,
was the last British group to grab American's attention and they stopped
making hits four years ago.
"British people tend to assume that pop is British. It isn't -- it's
American," said John Aizlewood, a London-based music writer and broadcaster.
"Europe likes America's music. It's more that America doesn't need British
music."
Americans who embraced Beatlemania, progressive rock and the New Romantics
have been left cold by Britpop and U.K. Garage. A music industry report
released this week says the British share of Billboard's annual top 100
albums chart has plummeted from a high of 32 percent in 1986 -- when bands
like Duran Duran, Pet Shop Boys and Simple Minds rode the British wave -- to
just 0.2 percent in 1999 and 1.7 percent in 2000.
Last year, the share was 8.8 percent -- but more than one-third of the
British sales were of a single album, The Beatles 1 anthology.
There has long been a fertile musical cross-pollination across the Atlantic.
Americans invented rock 'n' roll, but Britain produced The Beatles and the
Rolling Stones. Punk may have started with the Ramones and the New York
Dolls, but the Sex Pistols and the Clash inspired a new generation of
American punks.
Now, it seems, all the traffic is in one direction. The last British group
to take America by storm was the Spice Girls -- and they stopped making hits
four years ago.
This week's British Top 20 singles chart is topped by U.S. rapper Eminem and
includes American artists such as Fat Joe and Pink, as well as the Canadian
band Nickelback and the Colombian singer Shakira. About half the entries are
from Britain or Ireland, with Liberty X -- a group made up of finalists from
the TV show Popstars -- at No. 2.
In contrast, the latest U.S. chart is nearly Brit-free again. Craig David is
the highest-ranking British artist, at No. 50.
Industry figures are so worried they have urged the government to set up a
musical mission in the United States.
The report published this week, "Make or Break -- Supporting U.K. Music in
the U.S.A.," said a British music office in New York could provide record
companies and managers with information, office facilities and industry
contacts. The report was put out by the Association of Independent Music, an
industry group, and the British Council, which promotes British culture
overseas.
"Other countries are having far more impact in the U.S., which is slightly
embarrassing and somewhat upsetting," said Guy Holmes, founder of Gut
Records.
"The U.S. market is very complex, and if we can put people in place over
there with a good knowledge of it, we have a much better chance."
Some say British acts lack the stamina to make it in the United States. Over
the last few years, a stream of British music heroes -- from Oasis to Robbie
Williams -- have crossed the Atlantic and come back chastened.
Aizlewood says British bands often underestimate the sheer slog of touring
required to make an impact in the United States. Others have criticized
British musicians as too insular, or -- in the case of bands like Travis, a
mild-mannered Scottish quartet that regularly tops British charts -- too
inoffensive to gain an international audience in the era of hip-hop and nu
metal.
"There isn't anyone who's really bright enough or original enough to make a
global impact," said Aizlewood. "That's not the decline of British music.
It's just one of those phases.
"Because America is so huge and so diverse, everything you want musically is
available," he added. "That's why it's so difficult to break through."
According to the industry report, 92 percent of records sold in the United
States are by American artists.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said it will consider the
report's findings. But Aizlewood says the idea of a New York-based British
music office smacks of desperation.
"It's ludicrous," he said. "You can't force people to listen to music, and
you can't run the music industry on a quota system."
Laura
dawned on me that I haven't seen anything really exciting come out of
the U.K. in years! I do miss it though...
But I do have to admit a few things, and one is that I dont listen to
the radio like I used to, and MTV isn't like it used to be, and it's
hard for me to watch it, so I might not be giving the new artists the
chance they deserve. The only new bands I seem to like are Creed and
Nickelback. Once in a blue moon some group will come up with a single
that grabs my attention, but it's getting more and more seldom. I'm
starting to feel like my Dad did all those years ago, when I went out
and bought my first King Crimson album instead of Glenn Miller's
greatest hits... a bit betrayed (LOL)!
Is anyone into Clannad/Enya/Celtic and the like?
If so, can you recommend anything?
p.s. all your suggestions worked just fine - I actually found the NG in
the newsgroups in Netscape - thanks a bunch!!
I also visited the homepage for the group, and I think it's wonderful!
Jude
"Laura" <Crimso...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:19785-3CF...@storefull-2235.public.lawson.webtv.net...
>
> Is anyone into Clannad/Enya/Celtic and the like?
> If so, can you recommend anything?
>
best place to start, then venture out from there.
Laura
I will definitely get a hold of that! I have most of the Clannad, and
didn't want to start with Enya, fearing they would be too similiar, but
I heard one of her songs recently and thought about it again..
Tanks Much!
Molly, the New Wave Queen
WANT MY BRITISH MUSIC!!!!! *grumbles*
Molly
"recsec" <rec...@flash.net> wrote in message
news:dc0K8.6565$396.29...@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com...
Molly, the New Wave Queen
and her recent album, the one with "Only Time" on it), and I have Clannad's
Themes album on cassette. I absolutely LOVE Celtic music. They're not
Irish, but have you heard Great Big Sea? The're a Celtic rock group from
Newfoundland, Canada. I've seen them twice in concert, and I have three of
their albums. They rock, and I recommend seeing them in concert, because
it's a fun experience. And Alan Doyle (lead singer) is very handsome. :)
Molly
"Jude" <jhc86SP...@att.net> wrote in message
news:7V5K8.16835$LC3.1...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Molly, the New Wave Queen
spelled it right) is the lead singer of Clannad. I don't know why she left
though.
Molly
"Laura" <Crimso...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:11535-3CF...@storefull-2236.public.lawson.webtv.net...
Laura
I am definitely going out to get that CD of hers now.
It seems we have a lot in common Molly, so I am going to take your
advice and download one of the Great Big Seas tunes tonight.
Thank you all so much for all the suggestions and help along the way -
you sure know how to make a person welcome!!
MaryMc
Crimso...@webtv.net (Laura) wrote:
> Is anyone into Clannad/Enya/Celtic and the like?
> If so, can you recommend anything?
I'm not so much into the Clannad/Enya ethereal new-agey Celtic pop sound
as I am more traditional Celtic music, but you can clearly see the roots
of the one in the other.
If you like Enya you might possibly like some of the Bothy Band's
stuff--they had a female vocalist with a gorgeous voice. My favorite
album of theirs is a live recording from a 1978 concert in Paris, called
"After Hours." The band hasn't been together for quite a while, but
their CDs shouldn't be really hard to find--a lot of people consider
them among the best traditional Irish bands ever.
I'm also a big fan of The Chieftains--just bought tickets this morning
to see them for the first time live, as a matter of fact! They've been
performing together for something like 40 years, mostly very traditional
Irish stuff. But in the last few years they've done several albums with
a mixture of Irish and other sorts of folk music and pop standards,
played with all kinds of rock and pop stars--people like Van Morrison,
The Rolling Stones, Mick Jagger solo, Sting, Mark Knopfler, Ry Cooder,
Marianne Faithful, Sinead O'Connor, and Tom Jones. I've seen videos and
they're a kick--The Chieftains do NOT look like rockers, more like geeky
late-middle aged guys in frumpy clothes and haircuts that you'd see in a
working-class Dublin pub. Seeing them jamming with the likes of Mick
Jagger and Sinead O'Connor is kind of surreal, but it sounds heavenly.
And if you get a chance to see them, I also recommend an American
bagpipe band called The Wicked Tinkers. I think they're based in
California but they tour at least the west coast--I saw them at the
Highland Games last summer near Seattle. They do traditional stuff, but
they also do some pop music that's a scream on bagpipes--"Radar Love"
and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" are the ones I remember.
--
MaryMc
mary...@NOSPAM.mindspring.com
Visit my Seventies Page... and Have a Nice Day!
<http://www.casagordita.com/70s.htm/>
)
(
"Espresso est, ergo cogito." C[_]
Molly, the New Wave Queen
Chieftans and The Clancy Brothers. Their music just makes you want to
dance, even the slow songs. :)
Molly
"MaryMc" <mary...@NOSPAM.mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:marymc11-FF0720...@corp.supernews.com...
The Wanderer
give me Clancys/Makem, Dubliners, Wolfe Tones:
"Come Out Ye Black And Tans Come And Fight me Like A Man....." Or "Black
Velvet Band".
And I think that Mary' Black's "Song For Ireland" is one of the most
hauntingly beautiful songs that I have ever heard.
Another song that I like (and have by the Wolfe Tones) is "For
Ireland I'd Not Tell Her Name".
I got turned onto (in spite of my Irish Roots) Celtic Music by my 3rd wife.
Her parents were from Donegal (Armagh born). Many was the bottle that'd pass
away due to the efforts of that lass and I. Spent many a night in an Irish
bar (not Pub) here (where on St. Paddy's Day the owner would order a coupla
hundred pounds of Corned Beef for the patrons). Fiery woman: which accounts
for the fact that I was single when the best of the bunch came along.
--
Buddy
from Brooklyn
http://www.geocities.com/thewanderer315/
http://the70s.cjb.net
"There are certain sections in New York, major, that I wouldn't advise you
to try to invade.' "
Humphrey Bogart as Rick-in "Casablanca"- to nazi officer.
"The making of an American begins at the point where he himself rejects all
other ties, any other history, and himself adopts the vesture of his adopted
land."
James Baldwin
"MaryMc" <mary...@NOSPAM.mindspring.com> wrote in message
news:marymc11-FF0720...@corp.supernews.com...
Laura
I really need to hear "Radar Love" on the bagpipes! My favorite Clannad
song is a duet Maire does with Bono called "In a Lifetime".
It is really a very strange thing to see the "rockers" playing with
these bands, but I like the idea.
I have been hearing SO man Van Morrison songs played in recent movies,
has anyone else noticed this?
I was always tempted to pick up a Chieftains CD, maybe I'll have to do
that too. With all the great suggestions everyone is giving me, CD World
will be happy to see me walking through the door!!
Jeff Troutman
> I guess I never thought about it, but after reading the article, it
> dawned on me that I haven't seen anything really exciting come out of
> the U.K. in years! I do miss it though...
Radiohead are the last U.K. group I can think of who have really had an
impact. They've managed to get platinum sales with some very odd records.
Really like the e-mail addy, btw.
Jeff Troutman