New British Canon

Every British band since the Beatles has seen going in America as a measure of supremesuccess. But rarely does that happen. Its a big place and just because something appeals to UK taste,doesn't mean it'll definitely crossover. Some of thegreatest British bands of all time haven't made a dent in US. With their wordy debut single "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor", Arctic Monkeys were a band that seemed destined for this lack of US-appreciation, a Sheffield guitar band beloved in the UK, whose singer's insightful lyricism followed a British songwriting tradition from' Ray Davies through Paul Weller to Jarvis Cocker. This quintessential British view on nights out, relationships and "not very good" local bands ran through their 2006 debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. References to Rotherham, the phrase "Mardy Bum"and frontman Alex Turner's thick Yorkshire accent weren't going to translate. But 7 years later, a beefed up, slower sound gave a top 10 US hit

The 2010s was a weird decade for music. Any artistthat has come up in the last ten years has done so ina fragmented social media dominated world. But thishas fostered a generation of British acts unafraid tobe pop in the broadest sense, but also intenselyawkward and original in their own special way; alt-J, Jamie XX and The 1975. But especially FKA twigs, one of the most interesting artists that's come out of Britain in the last decade. Wowing critics and those in the know with her early EPs and first album, LP1 in 2014 with massive tracks like "Two Weeks", "Video Girl" and "Pendulum". Her sound was her own unique brand of half time trap beats, Kate Bush-style eccentric soprano atop a mesh of found-sound sampling and industrial-style electronica. Plus her jawdropping live show made it so eyes andears were turned in her direction before she disappeared musically, only to reappear in 2019 with her finest work yet, the fragile bombast of her comeback "Cellophane".

From the commercial heights of nu metal to the more recent experiments with hip hop combining both emo and country, Genre fusion has come a long way. But back in the 90s Dance and Rock were separate entities. In the UK, The Stone Roses, Primal Scream, the Happy Mondays and of course New Order had been tinkering with dance music within a rock format, but for the most part dance was dance, rock was rock. And rarely did anyone listen to both. Then came Liam Howlett and The Prodigy. They cared not for genre divides. Starting off as a chart-bothering rave act in 1990 with tracks like "Charly" and "Out of Space", by their second album, Music for the Jilted Generation, they had moved beyond pure dance into something way more interesting, for example on "No Good Start the Dance", "Poison" and "Voodoo People". Their unique mix of electronica, hip hop and rock led to their storming dance-punk crossover album The Fat of the Land.

When faced with the phrase “One Hit Wonder” Dexys Midnight Runners would be one of the first bands to come to most US minds. Their megahit “Come On Eileen” is one of the eternal dancefloor fillers, a feat that they could never have possibly repeated. But for Britain, Dexys Midnight Runners represent one of the most unique, innovative and down right best bands these Isles have ever produced. Not quite the ska of The Specials or Madness, nor the new wave of The Jam or Elvis Costello, Dexys with their American R&B-inspired sound, taking inspiration from Geno Washington's "Michael the Lover", "Born To Run" by Bruce Springsteen and Tom Jones' "It's Not Unusual, their three-piece horn section and or celtic strings stood apart from their supposed peers, not to mention the synthetic pop dominating the charts at the time. And with their numerous UK top forty hits including "Dance Stance", "Tell Me When My Light Turns Green", "There There My Dear", "Show Me" and "Jackie Wilson Said" and a secon

Kate Bush is a unique artist. From her art rock 70s beginning with hits like "The Man With the Child in His Eyes", "Them Heavy People" and "Wow" through her revolutionary 80s output, to her sporadic recluse releases, each new album brings new ideas, new characters and new sounds. No other artist could fit the radio-ready singles of “Running Up That Hill”, “Hounds of Love” and “Cloudbusting” on the same LP as a 26-minute musical journey that follows a woman’s death-hallucinations drowning under ice. Her influence can be heard in the works of The Cocteau Twins, Tori Amos and Bjork as well as more recent aspirants like Bat For Lashes, FKA twigs and Perfume Genius. But like everyone else, she had to start somewhere. And again, no other artist entered the music world like Kate Bush, who took the stage in 1978 with the haunting classic literature-themed love song that was her debut single. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Wuthering Heights.”

The Brit Awards are a big deal. The nearest thing Britain has to the Grammys’, each year the pop-skewing side of the nation’s music talent gathers to see who is the best. While the awards and speeches are the point, what seems to stick in the British consciousness are the performances. Ginger Spice’s Union Jack dress. Gorillaz’ playing “live” for the first time. Adele breaking hearts with “Someone Like You.” These will always be iconic moments in British Pop. But BRITS performances also have the ability to outrage delicate sensibilities as well: Whether it be The KLF featuring Extreme Noise Terror thrash punk reworking of “3AM Eternal”, Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker mooning Michael Jackson or Kanye West beating the censor when debuting “All Day.” But the most complained about performance in BRITS history happened in 2020, and it made Britain ask some serious questions. Most frequently: Who is Dave? This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Black.”

British music in the first decade of the 2000s could be defined by many things. The New Rock Revolution. The emergence of Grime. The continuation of UK garage. Poptism and Talent Shows were in the charts and nu metal and post-hardcore was fuelling the rock underground. But an artist that defied everything else happening around her but defined everything in her wake, was MIA. Starting off with her scrappy DIY debut album Arular in 2005, with similarly scrappy singles “Galang” and “Sunshowers”, her sound was a dizzying mix of whatever she could get her hands on: Hip-hop, jungle, dancehall, bhangra, electro, whatever but always with an ear for the mainstream. But the world truly knew her name with the release of “Paper Planes” in 2008. A monster single that fused together themes of immigration, public paranoia and being a gangster with biting satire, blasting gunshot effects and an eternal pop hook and a forerunner to Rihanna and Childish Gambino's "This is America". This is New British C

Cartoon bands as a concept had existed before Gorillaz. While The Archies, Josie and the Pussycats and Alvin and the Chipmunks had toyed with the medium, Gorillaz was the first time where it was more than a novelty. For the past two decades they have been pumping out weird and wonderful pop music, spanning multiple genres and featuring far reaching musical guests. Who would have thought that the guy from Blur would work with Bobby Womack, Neneh Cherry, Noel Gallagher and half of the Clash? But beyond that the group has defied all expectations and become global superstars. Smashing charts with hits like "19-2000", "Rock The House", "Feel Good Inc", "DARE", "Stylo", "On Melancholy Hill" & "Saturn Bars." As much as they are a Cartoon band, the project has evolved way beyond that. But it had to start somewhere, with their tentative first steps. This is New British Canon and this is the story of "Clint Eastwood".

Despite its influence, the timespan of Britpop was so very brief. From the release of “The Drowners” by Suede and “Popscene” by Blur, through Blur vs Oasis to its death knell with the release of OK Computer, merely 4 years and change. But the band that best represented that fleeting yet enduring cultural moment, the class divides, the classic pop literacy and the misfits-have-overrun-the-country attitude is Pulp. Formed in 1978, but finally with a chance at chart success in the Britpop era, the band, fronted by the awkwardly charismatic Jarvis Cocker, produced some of the most cuttingly insightful tracks of the 90s with “Do You Remember the First Time?”, “Mis-shapes” & “This Is Hardcore” But "Common People", their 1995 tale of class, sex and supermarkets, would define Britpop forever more. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Common People.”

If you were an indie kid in Britain in the 1980s, there were three main bands. The Smiths, obviously, with Morrissey’s Wildian wit and Johnny Marr’s iconic jangle. New Order, of course, continuing the legacy of Joy Division into more electronic and dance-able territory. And last but not least were the Cocteau Twins. A singular band infused with the swirling effects-assisted guitar textures of Robin Guthrie and the swooning ethereal croon of Elizabeth Fraser. Through their nine-album career, they produced some of the most beautifully haunted music in British alternative including "Wax and Wane", "Sugar Hiccup", "Pearly Dewdrops Drops", "Carolyn's Finger", "Iceblink Luck" and "Cherry-coloured Funk", not to mention their work with This Mortal Coil on "Song to the Siren". But one song amid the chiming splendour of 1984’s Treasure stands out as their key moment, the perfect sum of their dream-pop parts. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Lorelei”.

Grime is perhaps the most important British musical movement since Britpop. An electronic music formed from equal parts 2-Step Garage, Jungle and Hip-Hop, when it emerged in the early 2000s it was exciting, innovative and entirely the UK’s own thing. Grime had existed before Dizzee Rascal, with artists like Wiley, So Solid Crew, Lethal B and "Pulse X" leading the way, though yet to be named as such, but he was the one that brought it to the masses. His debut single, the jittering grime bounce of “I Luv U” and "The Big Beat"-assisted old school Hip Hop of "Fix Up, Look Sharp" burst the teenager onto the national scene, followed in short order by his Mercury Prize winning Boy In Da Corner album. Fizzing with his energetic yelp, it was what Simon Reynolds’ would later describe as ‘Grime’s “Anarchy In the UK”’; and the scene would soon follow in Dizzee Rascal’s 140BPM sub-low footsteps. But how did this come about? This is New British Canon and this is the story of “I Luv U.”

Perhaps it’s the rain but Britain has produced its fair share of darkly-hued pop groups. From Black Sabbath to Bauhaus, The Cure through to Echo and The Bunnymen and Radiohead, we’re a nation obsessed with gloom. During the 1980s, one band that truly embodied this mood was The Sisters Of Mercy. Fronted by Andrew Eldritch, their only consistent member, the group in their original incarnation mixed loud guitars, dry ice and seriously danceable moodiness to thrilling effect on tracks like "Temple of Love", "Alice" and "No Time to Cry". But it wouldn’t be until 1987’s Floodland, its ridiculously overblown lead single as well as "Lucretia My Reflection" that they proved that goth in inverted commas could indeed assault Top of the Pops. Here they faced off against their former bandmates Wayne Huseey and Craig Adams, now called The Mission and their single "Wasteland". This is New British Canon and this is the story of “This Corrosion.”

British Electropop came down to four main ingredients: Kraftwerk, “I Feel Love,” David Bowie and Punk. With the latter it wasn’t so much the sound as the attitude, the DIY idea that anyone can form a band. While Punk Rock required you to learn how to play guitar chords, with electropop’s synths you only needed one finger to write a song. Gary Numan with His Tubeway Army were the first punks to gain a UK number one with a synthesizer, but he would not be the last. One of the most enduring electropop hits was in 1981 by Soft Cell. Though often painted as a one hit wonder, the duo are so much more, having hits with "Bedsitter", "Torch", "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" and "What!" as well as influencing everything from Pop, Darkwave, Industrial and Dance music in their wake. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Tainted Love.”