Other British bands

After the Beatles opened the American market for British artists, a flood of British bands followed. They looked like the Beatles—British guys in suits with mop-tops. The Invasion also became a fad, like girdles, mood rings, or hula hoops. Any British band copying what the Beatles did was enough; that wave is called the British Invasion. Every label needed to sign one—much as after Elvis signed to major RCA in 1956 and RCA and Elvis swept the market, other labels wanted someone similar: Decca signed Buddy Holly; Capitol signed Gene Vincent; and so on.

We see a large batch enter the U.S. market. Some are finally forgotten, mentioned only when we study the Invasion; they had hits then but could not sustain careers. Others survived the Invasion years: the Who, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Winwood, Spencer Davis, and the Yardbirds who later became Led Zeppelin. But most others—Gerry and the Pacemakers, the Dave Clark Five, Freddie and the Dreamers—when you hear their songs now, they are already part of memory; their traits were mainly matching clothes and hair and thick British accents. For clearer telling we try to classify them; almost all fit as follows—though after this lecture I will also name bands that do not—yet most can be called Beatles-type or Stones-type.

Beatles-type emphasize the song and the vocals; performances are softer, with lots of harmony and polished record sound. Stones-type emphasize blues influence; the lead voice may be rougher; production is less glossy than Beatles-type bands. That is only a rough sorting.

Among Beatles-type bands, take Gerry and the Pacemakers—also from Liverpool, also managed by Brian Epstein, also produced by George Martin. After the Beatles succeeded, they became another group Epstein began to gather.

Or the Dave Clark Five, centered on drummer Dave Clark, who owned all the music copyrights—but for some reason decided not to license them for anthologies or greatest-hits packages. So finding Dave Clark Five records online is hard; at least years ago when I tried it took great effort, because Dave Clark would not let the music circulate. Why, I do not know—maybe waiting for some moment. Anyway the Dave Clark Five were an interesting band; John Lennon feared they might overtake the Beatles. Early on you often heard: who will eclipse the Beatles? This band? That one? Or this? No one expected the Beatles’ later stature, so Lennon worried that the Dave Clark Five, whom he respected, might surpass him—he thought they were strong, with unusual traits.

Another Beatles-type band is Herman’s Hermits, led by Peter Noone. I do not know if he stressed his accent on purpose, but when you hear him sing “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter,” the pronunciation sounds a bit deliberate—clearly a British singer; maybe that simply was his accent, but it still sounds like leaning into British flavor within the Invasion. Peter Noone often said the majors signed everyone else and left the bottom of the barrel—and they were among them. Actually Herman’s Hermits’ records are quite good, and Noone’s performing career has been solid—clubs, casinos, and so on.

Another Beatles-type band is the Hollies, centered on Graham Nash, who later formed Crosby, Stills & Nash—sometimes with Young. They had hits including “Bus Stop.” Another is “Carrie Anne,” actually about Marianne Faithfull—we mentioned her hit “As Tears Go By” and that she was Mick Jagger’s girlfriend. They wrote the song but dared not call it “Marianne,” so “Carrie Anne,” as if masking the meaning.

Last Beatles-type to mention: Freddie and the Dreamers—really an odd band, meeting only a few Invasion criteria. The singer Freddie; they had “Do the Freddie”—I guess they meant to invent a dance; when singing it he looked like doing jumping jacks. Picture Ed Sullivan: a bunch who looked like Beatles, lead singer in Buddy Holly–style horn-rims, singing “Do the Freddie,” running around doing jumping jacks. If some things left little historical mark, this may be one—but we can still see where it came from. Others such as Chad & Jeremy and Peter & Gordon are also counted Beatles-type: vocals and songs first, little edge in the music.

Opposite that is Stones-type. These bands took blues influence; in fact many members did well after the Invasion into the late 1960s and 1970s. Best example: the Yardbirds. We said they succeeded at the Crawdaddy under Giorgio Gomelsky. First important guitarist was Eric Clapton—not entirely accurate to put it that way; as mentioned he left after the first single because the music leaned too pop. He went to John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, which gave him authenticity and pull. Jeff Beck took his place. Jimmy Page joined on bass after the bassist left—Page had done a lot of session work but decided to join a band. Then people thought: how can Jimmy Page play bass—make him a guitarist; so Beck and Page were both guitarists. They were actually mates who had known each other for years, but rivalry made coexistence hard; Beck left, Page stayed. As others left he became the last one standing. But in 1968–69 there were still gigs to play, so he brought in rural kid Robert Plant, drummer John Bonham whom he knew, and John Paul Jones from session work. They formed the New Yardbirds, later renamed Led Zeppelin—so the Yardbirds incubated Led Zeppelin; that belongs to Part Two of rock history.

Another Stones-style band is the Animals, though they were not part of the London blues scene. Lead singer Eric Burdon; on “House of the Rising Sun” they used electric guitar and organ. Bob Dylan clearly heard it; it is one reason he felt he needed more electric guitar in his own music. Next lecture we will talk about Dylan going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames—you may rarely hear the name except for famous guitarist John McLaughlin and Mitch Mitchell, who later joined the Jimi Hendrix Experience.

Also the Graham Bond Organisation, where John McLaughlin also spent time. Two members, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, later formed Cream with Eric Clapton.

Also the Zombies, centered on Rod Argent, who in the 1970s formed a band called Argent (Simply Argent in the lecture’s wording).

Zoot Money’s Big Roll Band—guitarist Andy Summers became a member of the Police from the late 1970s into the 1980s.

And the Spencer Davis Group, with young Stevie Winwood—young meaning still a teenager then. Among all Stones-type British bands including the Rolling Stones, his voice sounded most like late-1950s African American blues singers. The powerful voice on Spencer Davis records came from a skinny teenage kid; the only voice that might match is Eric Burdon’s.

So when we talk about the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, we can sort almost other Invasion bands as Beatles-type or Stones-type. Of course we must not cling to the sorting, because some bands do not fit. Two bands, no matter how hard you try, never fully match either type: the Kinks and the Who. Next lecture we discuss those two.