British Pop Music
by Paul Yates
'50's… It has to be swing rock 'n roll/skiffle…of course if we are talking purely English I'd go for anything by Lonnie Donegon - "my old man's a dustman" or dare I say early Cliff Richard. "move it" is a particularly good early song
'60s … Rolling Stones, Beatles, Freddy and the Dreamers … my particular choice would be "Waterloo Sunset" by the Kinks.
There are so many musical genres start to spring up from the '70's onwards. Glam rock in the early 70's was a particularly British thing. I think Gary Glitter is best avoided nowadays so Slade get my nod…."cum on feel the noize " is ace - or absolutely anything by David Bowie. "Heroes" so rocks.. Also Hard/heavy rock… anything by Led Zep or Deep purple… also "prog" progressive rock. Genesis/Pink Floyd. You might like "Money" by Pink Floyd. This leads to Punk/New Wave. Anything by Clash or sex pistols is great, but if you can get it, "Sound of the Suburbs" by the members is so-o typical of late 70's suburban ennui… or "Eton Rifles" by the Jam.
At the time the Ska Sound of the Two tone label got biog. . Anything by The Specials or Madness. "Ghost Town" and "Too Much Too Young" by the specials sum up '80's recessionsville very well indeed. Remember, though, THAT BEING ENGLISH DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN BEING WHITE CAUCASIAN, as these band tended to be very multi cultural in make up.
The early 80's were dominated by the New Romantic sound. Anything by Duran Duran or Spandeau Ballet should do it. "Vienna" by Ultravox is the one I'd go for. Mid to late 80's was characterised by the birth of Acid House and the "Madchester" (sic) scene… Anything by Happy Mondays, Stone Roses… " All Together Now" by The Farm seems to sum it all up. Also in 80's there was a lot of English pop where they sang in English voices. Best example probably the Smiths. . lots to choose from but my personal favourite is "Panic" which handily name checks lots of British cities and refers to urban rioting.
90's. . . I start to get a bit lost, but I think it's at this point the notion of English multi-culturalism could be re-emphasised.. "Back to Life" by Soul to Soul was a massive hit from a black urban collective hailing from London. Also early 90's saw the birth of "trip hop" - anything by Portishead or Massive Attack… I 'd go for "Unfinished Sympathy" by the latter…
During the 90s we saw a massive redevelopment of that quintessential English mudfest that is the music festival and lots of indie rock bands that came along with it, the so called Britpop… anything by Blur, or Oasis… my personal favourite from this time is "She's Electric" by Oasis..
Could probably write forever 'cos there is so much and this is very whistle stop, but think we'd have to mention the rebirth of manufactured pop in the mid 90's with the Spice Girls being the most spectacular example. Anything by them…
Lots of home produced electronica alongside the rebirth of acoustic music… Kate Nash and Lily Allen are particularly prominent at the mo..