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The British Invasion was an influx of rock and roll performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States in 1964 and the years immediately afterward.Following the successful export of Elvis Presley and other rock 'n' roll acts in the late 1950s, kids formed bands all over Britain to emulate their American heroes. While some, like Cliff Richard and The Shadows, saw great success in the UK, very few British acts had hits on the USA record charts (exceptions included The Tornados, with "Telstar" and Mr. Acker Bilk with "Stranger on the Shore", both instrumentals that made #1 on the charts) until Capitol records released The Beatles' "I Want To Hold Your Hand" late in 1963 with a huge public relations campaign.
"I Want To Hold Your Hand" zoomed to the top of the USA charts just as The Beatles came to America for the first time; their historic appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show the night of February 9, 1964, watched by what was then the largest television audience in history, usually marks the start of the British Invasion.
The Beatles quickly came to dominate the charts, and on April 4 of that year they occupied the top five spots on the Billboard magazine Hot 100 music survey, a feat unmatched before or since. Their success opened the floodgates for other British acts to market their music in the United States, including the Rolling Stones, The Who, The AnimalsThe Animals were a British rock and roll band of the 1960s, formed in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Comprising Eric Burdon (vocals), Alan Price (organ), Hilton Valentine (guitar), John Steel (drums), and Bryan 'Chas' Chandler (bass) their moderate success in their, The KinksThe Kinks a British Invasion pop/ rock band, were formed in London in 1963 by Dave Davies and Peter Quaife. The lineup with which they began their recording career was Dave Davies (lead guitar, vocals, songwriting); his brother Ray Davies (primary songwri, The Dave Clark FiveThe Dave Clark Five were a British rock and roll group in the 1960s, and one of the few that were able to present a commercial threat to the Beatles, the dominant group of the period. They had a series of memorable hits, including "Glad All Over", "Becaus, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and many others.
A period known as the Second British Invasion began in 1983Events January January 1 Beat Raaflaub became Basel Boys Choir's new conductor January 1 the ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. January 1 compulsory wearing of seat belts becomes law in the UK. January 2 The mu and peaked in 19861986 is a common year starting on Wednesday. Events January January 1 Spain and Portugal enter the European Community January 1 Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands and is separated from the Netherlands Antilles. January 9 After losing a pa. Largely spawned by MTVMTV is a cable television network, originally devoted to music videos, especially popular rock music. MTV later became an outlet for a variety of different material aimed at adolescents and young adults. Since 1985, MTV has been owned by Viacom. Its name, which brought to the attention of American audiences various British acts, such as The Fixx , Depeche ModeDepeche Mode was originally founded in 1980 as a synth pop band in the town of Basildon, England. They are one of the longest-lived and most successful bands to have gained popularity during the New Wave/ New Romantic era. The three current members of Dep, Duran Duran, and others, British acts came to dominate American charts to an even greater degree than in the first British invasion. See New Wave.
In May of 2002, there were no British artists on the US singles charts, the first time this had occurred since 1963.
