One Direction, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Jessie J, Kings of Leon, Music is universal and pays no mind to continental or national borders. Countries like the U.K., Denmark, France, and even Poland, are known for their chart-topping hits. Another country in particular, the United Kingdom, is known for its musical connections with the U.S. Famous artists like The Beatles, Frank Turner, U2, The Rolling Stones, and Mumford & Sons, have made their way over to the states.
“Obviously, we have fantastic talent in the UK. We are very lucky in that respect. But that’s backed up by a music industry that invests at much higher levels than many of our competitor nations,” said Geoff Taylor, head of the British Music Industry body, in a recent interview with BBC.
This isn’t the only time however that British Music has invaded America. In 1963, the Huntely-Brinkely Report aired a story on a little band called the Beatles. The story, however, had to be cut short because of the Kennedy assassination. The CBS evening news with Walter Cronkite eventually re-aired the story. The following day after seeing the report, Marsha Albert, a 15-year old girl, wrote a letter to disc jockey Carroll James who worked for WDCC, a radio station in Washington D.C., asking why music like what The Beatles played didn’t exist in America. James later had the girl introduce the song “I Want to Hold Your Hand” on the radio.
This ushered in an era of British popularity in America that has had lasting effects on the music industry. Suddenly British music became popular, Bands like The Rolling Stones, The Springfields, and the Troggs, became music acts that people enjoyed. Now, a second British invasion seems to be happening. Bands like One Direction are dominating the charts and overshadowing similar American acts like The Jonas Brothers and Big Time Rush.
“If you look at Adele and Ed Sheeran, it’s very unchallenging music but it’s selling massively,” said Mark Beaumont, Journalist, with BBC. Westminster students are starting to exact sentiment. British music may be huge on the charts, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is ground- breaking music. “Although they have good voices, I feel that they lack uniqueness, and that their music and production does not have a very distinct style,” said Mat Goebel, sophomore.
Ipods aren’t the only places British music is listened to, on popular radio stations such as 107.7 or 98.1, these songs can be heard all too clearly. “All of their songs sound exactly the same, I can’t listen to my favorite radio station without hearing their music” said Luke Shields, sophomore, and this is only talking about One Direction. As British Artists take U.S. charts by storm, Westminster students ask themselves do they really deserve too? Musical talent thrives in the U.K. and with their music filling Westminster students Ipods, it looks like the U.K. is here to stay.
