New British Canon

Founded in 2003, MySpace forever changed how music was promoted. For the first time, artists had a way of sharing their music online with a direct link to their fans. It led to an explosion of creativity and major label deals, with artists going from nobodies to pop stars seemingly overnight. Lily Allen was one such artist. Her words were jaded yet mischievous, painting stories of disappointing lovers, messy breakups and inexpert pickup artists, built on a foundation of reggae-pop, drum n’ bass and grime. By album two she was more than aware of the un-reality of pop stardom, and set out to bring it down from the inside. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “The Fear.”

Few modern rock bands have had the near immediate success of Wet Leg. Earning ungainly comparisons to Pavement, Liz Phair and The B-52s thanks to their deadpan talk-singing, Wet Leg’s musical formula was simple: loud guitars, fun times and not taking yourself too seriously. A welcome change of pace from the dour post-Brexit post-punk surrounding them. Released in the Summer of 2021, their buzzy debut single blended innuendo, Mean Girls references and French furniture to thrilling effect, perhaps even signalling a new dawn for UK rock. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Chaise Longue.”

When MTV first launched, there simply weren’t enough music videos to fill their 24 hour format. This forced the young channel to take a chance on previously-unknown-in-the-US artists to fill time, including A Flock of Seagulls, Adam and the Ants, The Buggles, U2, Spandau Ballet & Visage. It paid off: within a couple of years a whole wave of videogenic British New Pop bands would take over the Billboard Chart, almost single-handedly creating what was called The Second British Invasion. But even in the age of MTV, The Eurythmics were striking. Annie Lennox's orange close-cropped hair and sleek tailored suit stood apart from other female pop stars of the time. The swirling darkness of their breakthrough single would define the sound of the 80s forever more. This is New British Canon and this is the story of “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

If you’ve heard of the KLF, you probably know them as a band that burnt a million pounds. But that is only the conclusion to their story. The journey that led them to the Isle of Jura on that fateful August morning in 1994 is even more fascinating. A journey that includes getting sued by ABBA, gaining a number one single in the guise of a talking car, pioneering at least one genre of dance music and becoming one of the most successful singles bands of the early 90s. They were two men compelled by the forces of chaos to spread as much confusion as possible and they transformed that into a pop career. This is New British Canon and this is the Story of The KLF.

As a sub-genre, girl groups have gifted us with so many moments of pop perfection. For the most part these were groups assembled by a producer for the purpose of creating chart hits with little musical input from the performers. But formed in 1981, Bananarama were different. Spurred on by the DIY ethos of punk and the out-there fashion of the New Romantics, they hit the scene in Doc Martens, dungarees and bird-nest hair, self-possessed and spewing hits. A bevy of early covers would make way for some of the finest British pop of the 1980s - their calling card a scorching dog day confection infused with shambolic dance moves and the mother of all marimba lines. This is New British Canon and this is the Story of “Cruel Summer.”

Peter Gabriel has inhabited many roles. From a costumed prog poet in Genesis to a conservationist balladeer on the Wall-E soundtrack. However his run of self-titled albums are where he found himself as a musician. On his third album in 1980, he took all the post punk, synth pop and world music happening around him and blended it into his twitchy lopsided art rock. Gabriel spun tales of mental health disarray and anthems of dissatisfaction, and, with help from a French game show and Kate Bush, whistled his way to one of his biggest hits. This is New British Canon and This is the Story of “Games Without Frontiers.”

XTC burst out of late 1970s Britain with hooks for days. While many of the punk bands around them proudly ignored anything before 1976, they took notes from The Beatles, Kinks, and Beach Boys and reformed them into pugnacious state-of-the-art pop. “Making Plans For Nigel,” “Generals and Majors” and “Senses Working Overtime” made their unique stamp on the UK Charts. But when XTC stopped playing live in 1982, their career took a much more interesting turn. Unable to sell their Englishness to the UK, instead via calamitous recording sessions with Todd Rundgren and a dismissed b-side, XTC landed a punch squarely below the Bible Belt. This is New British Canon, and this is the story of “Dear God.”