How To Become The Biggest Band In Britain
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 21 ส.ค. 2024
- How did the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Sex Pistols and Oasis become the biggest bands in the UK and leave such a lasting legacy? How did their music become timeless whereas other bands are forgotten? Join me to discover the four keys that each of the 4 bands used to become rock stars & superstars... and to talk about how it could one day happen again
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Many thanks, JH.
"Four specific keys to unlock the door":
Beatles = G
Led Z = Em
Sex P = C
Oasis = F#m
Oasis=E minor, capo at the second fret.
@@kasparschnyder5716 Em with capo on second fret = F#m
@@kasparschnyder5716 … Which they probably did just to make it easier to fret their cowboy chords.
Beatle = G Mixolydian
This may be the best vid yet, man. Please keep up the great work - and the whole comedian angle is exactly correct - I noticed that here in the US a decade ago and we’re still waiting for the next great rock band. I have a feeling we’ll be waiting a long time still, because even the comedians seem to be backing off around here, but I’m still hopeful for the UK, considering every major band that I adore is from there, not here. It’s a funny time we’re living in. Can’t wait to quit the Colonies for July 4th week to come to Blighty and see Blur. Your channel is the only TH-cam channel I watch since I quit the news. Please keep up the good work - hope you and yours are well👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Cheers YBL - yeah it seems like UK and USA while different often seem to run along parallel rails in this stuff. But re the comedians, at least there's some people out there who still have some balls!
Have a good time at Wembley - bet it's going to be ace
Dunno man, you had The Dolls and The Ramones, Blondie were also pretty cool. You're 60's garage scene was also far superior too as you actually had garages to practise in, most UK houses didn't. Your garage bands weren't afraid to use a fuzz pedal either.
You don't like The Killers, The Strokes ou The Black Keys? or any emo/new metal band?
You've outdone yourself once again James! Great original analysis. Very important conclusion and message at the end!
Cheers RF! Glad you enjoyed it :)
It’s dead I’m afraid. An aspect you’ve perhaps overlooked is that these bands flourished in an era where they were invested in. Labels, like banks, had the money to take a chance on lunatics like Lennon, Lydon, Page, and Gallagher. They had the budgets to pair these wonderful creatives with serious engineers and producers in proper studios to create jaw dropping albums. Streaming can not sustain that expenditure or investment. You have to look like Dua Lipa, be 100% obedient to the label like Harry Styles, and hit the bullseye first time with a hit for a label to invest even a penny into you. They haven’t got the money to take risks anymore, because no one is buying or consuming music in a cost effective way. All that is left is touring, which is now reserved for legacy artists and those who’ve already climbed the mountain. Some will get thru - Wet Leg, Royal Blood, The 1975, Haim… but the infrastructure just isn’t there anymore for anyone to scale the same heights. Why would a kid listen to a BBC chart show when their algorithm already knows what they like? Why would they wait for a music video to come on Kerrang or VH1 when all their mates are in Fortnight? Music is now without value - we are saturated in it, the gatekeepers are totally impotent, and the art itself is devalued by streaming and fighting to compete with all the other media and content we have been left to drown in..
Completely agree with your points here. But I always say; there are worse fates for than drowning in a sea of entertainment.
@@denver-gi7ot yes but the quality of the entertainment is suffering because of the devaluation and death of the business model that created the greats. I’d rather be rationing brilliance than drowning in mediocrity
100% Totally correct, have been saying this for years. Bands that do get a chance don't produce the magic either.
What, definitely maybe, cost fuck all to record compared to what labels put up to record an album these days, all the equipment was second hand, the that they had been given to them, and they never had a pot to piss in in 1994, even the record label creation records had no money really, definitely maybe cost hardly nothing to record what, so what u mean, that's why people loved oasis because they had nothing like there fans and was real, They had no money put into them on the first 2 albums, so what u sayin? Liam gallagher was a manufactured pop star, don't get wot u mean mate????
I agree with what u saying At the end, but oasis had no money thrown at them the first two albums, just look at the clothes they was wearing, sharing clothes between the band!!! They had fuck all till 1997 really!!
This was a fantastic video! It really opened my eyes to just how important the connection between music and culture is. However, I think that the gap between the Sex Pistols and Oasis was filled by Joy Division/New Order, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, The Smiths, etc. By the late 70s, the cultural pendulum was starting to swing the other way and people were starting to get sick of the punk movement with all its aggression and anarchy. It was at this time that the more depressing, bleak, and introspective post-punk movement was starting to kick off as former punks started to question the entire meaning and purpose behind the punk movement. This movement had all four keys to success: they had great songs, they sounded completely different to everything else on the charts, they had an anti-status quo message, and they had a completely unique dress code in the form of the Goth subculture. After the post-punk movement started to disintegrate and the country finally exited the Thatcher era, British culture started to become a bit more optimistic and hopeful of the future, which was accompanied by a strong sense of national pride, eventually giving birth to the Britpop/Cool Britannia movement.
Some very interesting points! I don't know a ton about the 80s in all honesty, so I decided to just jump ahead to the 90s, that I do know a fair bit about. But yeah, I think the Jam and the Smiths really were a huge deal in this regard in the 80s too
@bourbon. Agree 100%. The years between 78' - 84' produced some of the best music ever. Creative, angular, futuristic, powerful and diverse.
It's interesting though how Synth Pop bands like Wham, Duran Duran and The Human League etc... took over the zeitgeist and became the most popular bands in the world.
For me, the orginal post-punk era is the most interesting and creatively fertile there has been, in terms of the sheer variety of distinctive artstic voices emerging, the DIY spirit ingrained by the punk movement & appetite for experimentation and innovation, and it being genuinely open to anyone who had the courage, vision and charisma to throw themselves into it without any snobbish muso gatekeeping. That period from '78 to say the mid-'80s was extraodinary, all over the western world really, but especially across the UK.
You can take your pick as to the flagship band of that era; Siouxsie & The Banshees and Public Image Ltd. probably best represent the seamless transition from the Pistols into something much more creatively open-minded, ambitious & atmospheric, and The Smiths are essentially a product of the post-punk spirit just a little later down the line. The Cure, Cocteau Twins, Echo & The Bunnymen, so many groups doing such distinctive stuff, loads diving into adventure of electronica and exotic foreign sounds. But I'd say you'd have to give it to Joy Dvision, for having everything; the sound, the mythos, the almost supernaturally effortless innovative trajectory, the look, the massive cultural influence, the amazing albums with amazing production and amazing cover art, the intense performances and lyrics and song composition, and of course then through tragedy they go on to spawn another total gamechanger of a band.
@@superkilometricoboom the flagship band of that era commercially was the band of pretty/squeaky clean boys called Duran Duran, they managed to successfully upstage post-punk and commodify it into the new romantic package with some striking and expensive visuals. Out of 4 keys they probably 3, they weren't counter-cultural yet managed to sell their androgynous looks w/o crossing the line of certain demographics like Culture Club, Visage, Dead Or Alive did. Eurythmics were interesting, but not quite there.
One may argue that during the second part of the 80s-early 90s the biggest band in UK was actually...a certain irish band called U2, which, in a certain way, made sense in the light of all the turmoil in the Northern Ireland at the time.
Well that's it. I have the formula down now. See you at the top.
This channel is like a wiki for new bands, safe to say i am going to apply a lot of what you've taught to my own band. Also their just entertaining, cheers James!
You're very welcome 👍👍👍🎸🎸🎸
As a songwriter, I concur that this is your best informative work. Brilliant as always but very good information. You’re the best James. Cheers!
Thanks Bryan, I really appreciate it :)
This is an absolutely amazing video! Id love if you did more Led Zeppelin videos they have such an interesting history!
I always get pulled into your videos! You have such a genuine and authentic way of presenting music history that is very enlightening and inspiring. As an American I have learned so much about British music, culture, and history. I would love to hear your take on the evolution of American rock. I know it’s not what your channel is about but I would be so interested in hearing your perspective. You just have such a talent for educating and expressing thoughts about these topics unlike anyone else. I learn more from your videos than all the others I have seen!
My songs, about an album full, were written during the lockdowns. I then spent 2022 revising them, adding bits here and taking out other bits. Getting the lyrics right is hard work. Its only now I realized Time is the most important key of all. If you are in a band, everyone wants to get the album out, they want to organise the launch party, its all rushed. Nice song ideas were not given the time to really flourish and got lost or buried in the final mix. This time I am in full control and its a great place to be. I am playing all the instruments and getting everything right. Each song is like an album, thats the amount of time Im putting into it.
I could release the song Im working on right now called "When Your Ship Comes In" and it would be a great single but Im spending 2 or 3 weeks to get the intro just right.
Watching this video from an American perspective is interesting because it makes me realize that it's been years since we've had a truly massive rock band on this side of the pond. We're in the era where Imagine Dragons passes for rock these days...
There's a political barrier that modern rock bands in the US would have to get through. We're so polarized in this country that everyone is pretty much expected to take a side. It sort of seems like the solution would be for rock bands to avoid politics altogether, but we all know that never happens...
The Internet has been the primary means by which new bands can advertise themselves and be discovered ever since radio was made pretty much obsolete for that purpose. The only issue is that it's ridiculously easy to lose favor on the Internet. One little accusation (even a false one) and your reputation is totally ruined. If today's Internet existed years earlier, a lot of great bands would have been snuffed out way too soon.
This may be the most difficult time in history to become a "Rock 'n' Roll Star", but I think there's still hope for a rock revival in the near future. We can't be stuck in 2023 forever. It's about time for a revolution, my friends!
There is tons of good newer bands on youtube, from the US. Problem is, for some strange reason, the media only promote total senseless garbage now, like braindead rap and stripper pop. So it is up to us, the listeners, to help the good bands get huge.
The Sex Pistols wrote a perfect album. So they definitely had great songs. The guitar playing is more advanced than they are given credit for. You had a songwriter in Glen Matlock, a lyricist in Rotten, and a talented and explosive guitarist in Jones. When Matlock left, it was all but over because he was the craftsman.
Yeah. But he did like The Beatles…
The Sex Pistols sucked. They themselves admitted they only did it for the money, and did not care about rock and roll or the fans at all.
@@michaelcraig9449Steve Jones and Paul Cook had been playing for a few years in a different band. Jones claims he played until his fingers bled to get his chops, and he did have them. His style of playing riffs punctuated with lead lines is was widely imitated. Cite your source for Jones not caring about music. He certainly did before drugs took him down
@@michaelcraig9449That's what they said. That's what Malcolm said (laughing up his sleeve).
Really good video James,I turned 18 in 94 and was a madchester kid for sure, I remember in 92/93 waiting for something to come along and when Oasis did it was like someone found the volume switch again.
This is a very good analysis, I have to give you praise for one of the best conceptual views on modern music! Excellent indeed.
I do have one major bone to pick though --on the Oasis front. Though Oasis did stand out and became the last icon up to now, they were not the architypes like the bands mentioned! The Stone Roses, Charlatan’s, and a number of other bands proceeded them; though for various reasons they disintegrated or fell flat, Oasis were NOT the re-originators of the style (haircuts), the look, the attitude, the sound, or even the 90’s concept overall that they appeared to manifest. They completely inherited it all from the Madchester moment, 1989 to 1993.
If the Stone Roses, for example, had not imploded, even if they had released just two more average albums by 1994, then Oasis would most likely be just another band like the Charleston’s, Ride, or others, good, but not the cornerstone. As you pointed out, “the songs” are not the only key, no matter how good, and since they inherited a completed genre, pre-made for them, they fell into it as default. They were lucky, in the true sense of the times to have it handed to them. The Beatles, Zeppelin, Sex Pistols really did create all four keys - on their own, there was not a genre for them to grab or pick up, they were architypes.
There is no way Oasis invented or created their genre, it was completely inherited! They are not architypes. By the way, I do love Oasis, and it’s ironic they were able to have the torch passed to them, worthy of it, but they need to be examined without rose colored glasses.
Great analysis and presentation! Being born in 1951 my teenage years coincided with the Beatles time in the limelight and your description of the times is spot on 😎.
This is quite possibly the best message in modern times ever given as a blueprint for any new band to take the torch from, whether that happens or not you have to commend James for the excellent video
Thanks for that Johnny :)
The thing is that the blueprint is correct but it happens by accident mostly. The planets align for bands once in a while and they become huge. But can you use the blueprint to forcefully create the next big thing? I would say no. It’s too difficult to predict what people will get obsessed with.
@@hermanhawtrey8578 Very true, well said 👍🏻
Another clever and insightful video. Well done James! Love your content. In full agreement from a non-Brit Texan.
Much appreciated!
After Oasis there was the post post punk era that was good with the Strokes, Libertines etc. You have to be original, I have seen so many people copying Oasis and are shit, you get found out copying other groups. Great video
It's not the copying that gets found out but rather copying from a single source. Need to mix more ingredients together to make a new recipe people haven't tasted before.
I agree with what you said about the sex pistols! Their songs are mostly 3 powerchord-ers but NVMTB is still a really catchy album overall.
by the time the keyboarder in Yes got warmed up for his "amazin" ARP2600-solo ya already got to 4 legitimate bangers on NVMTB
@@dontliethetruth Hahaha, yes are the absolute archetype of overindulgent 70's music
I first heard NMVTB in high school in around '95 or so. My pal gave me his cassette copy of it. I was blown away. I didn't expect it to be nearly as accessible and catchy as it was. To me, it was another Nevermind, or WTSMG-a record where every song is great and you just jam the whole thing from beginning to end, but it works as a collection of singles as well. Johnny's vocals take a little getting used to, but were tuneful enough. I later went out and purchased the CD version. I bought Bollocks and a Ramones compilation (All the Best Volume 2). That was a fun week.
Nice video. Love your content! I would also add: The Beatles didn't just unlock Rock and Roll superstardom, they helped create it.
Elvis was nearly a decade before them though.
James, I'm not british, English isn't even my mother language but thanks for this, you have inspired me and encouraged me to maybe in a future (I'm still a teenager haha) being a rock n roll legend. Cheers🤘
Hey Emilio, glad to hear it! I can only really speak for British culture, the culture I know, but wherever you are I think human beings are basically the same. Go lead the revolution mate!
Emilio, the world is waiting...history is being written now by the youth
We are a band from Ireland and we are going to be the ones to change everything. We are sick of these modern day bands and have the vision to carry the legacy of real music. Mark our words. Rock n' roll will make its return.
Simply a GREAT video and call to arms. I seriously hope some of your younger viewers pick up the ball and run with it. I'm on the other side of the pond, but I'm ready, waiting, and hoping for it. Peace.
This is a fantastic analysis of rock 'n' roll days gone by and the parallels you've identified between these four bands are very astute. But, and it pains me to say this James, the "national mindset" and "general public opinion" don't exist anymore. We sometimes feel that it does when we speak to people who share the same opinions as us, and we conflate these prevailing opinions amongst our friends to be something that "everyone" in the country must feel the same thing.
Also from the 60s through to the 90s, young people took influence from the pop music charts, magazines and tv/film, and that was pretty much it, so once a band became popular and managed to saturate these primary channels of mainstream media, it's was then relatively easy for the general public to get on board, because there were so few other distractions. However with the internet, social media and an infinitely wider range of role models that young people have to chose from, it will no longer be possible for any singe entity (solo artist or band) to take over the mainstream again. That's why there hasn't really been a post-internet great rock band that defines the current generation. Sorry to be morbid but what you've created here isn't a textbook; it's an epitaph.
I sure hope that I'm wrong here, but I genuinely don't see how any one band is gonna suddenly get kids to put down their phones and turn their attention away from Tiktok/Instagram/influencers/video games and the million other minute, dopamine-hit distractions that they have.
I couldn't agree with you more! Your analysis is articulate and spot-on. James' video is a fantastic tribute to the rock 'n' roll days of yore, but it sadly doesn’t acknowledge the current state of the music industry and the cultural landscape we now live in. General public opinion is no longer homogenous, and it's harder for any singular entity to dominate mainstream media channels.
While I definitely appreciate James' point that bands shouldn't fear being cancelled, it's important to also note that each band he mentioned reflected the views of *younger* generations. As such, it's not enough to simply “go against the establishment” to be successful; the music also needs to capture the thoughts and feelings of today's YOUTH. While James compares the rock stars of the past to modern-day comedians like Gervais, it's important to note that Gervais has been criticized for promoting transphobic material that resonates more with an *older generation* confused and angry at societal change - not very rock n’ roll.
@@TheNonStickPans It is that big music is playing it safe and even trying to censure people who make music now including the bands that make music. Most of the best in USA are on the Black Keays label or are on smaller other labels that big music is squishing down. In the UK and the world problem is now there is too much choice and too much beyond quick internet where now people only get .5 seconds of stardom besides politicians. I am talking the trend that Twitter started but Tick Tock and TH-cam shorts made even worse. Soon people of later generations all those beyond Y/alpha will have worse attention spans then people of previous who were labeled with ADHD/strictly ADD with something even quicker then Tick Tock/TH-cam shorts that has 25 or 30 second videos or only allows 100 word characters. 😑
Really, really impressed by this video! Keep up the good work James!
I remember the first time I heard Oasis on the radio "Cigarettes and Alcohol". Loved it, got me dancing like nobody's business...the mix of Lydon and Lennon in the vocals. I thought the music was like T Rex meets Crazy Horse.
This is awe-some, nice work mate. In the 60s a lot of incredible music came out of the London scene (and the SF scene in America). Then in the 80s-90s it was the second Invasion and Britpop. I have faith in this scene, that another generation of beautiful and incredible artists will follow in their footsteps.
It is very difficult for another group to come out and change the scenery like these 4 bands did at their time. First they have to have a freaking genius not only at writing songs but with a good eye for what is going on socially and that is very hard because the cancel culture is more brutal with social media and that rubbish with people getting offended with every thing. Honestly, a long time has passed, it is not impossible but I don’t expect it to come.
I agree with what you’re saying but I think you’re missing the point of the end of the video, because though it is hard and scary to commit to the idea of putting yourself out there in the world of cancel culture… it is the only way any rock and roll band will ever reclaim the throne of British culture
James, I feel compelled to send you consulting fees😝🤘🏻🎸. This is extraordinary insight and advice. Thanks a million! 🙏🏼 I feel these 4 points have been tried by others and the formula may be known, old or status quo. It’s possible that the famous bands of the future will also innovate in the method. You have addressed that before as well 😉
Thanks! Kind of you to say, Glad you enjoyed the vid 🍻🍻
Brilliant, best video yet imo. Keep up the great work!
Thanks, will do!
Rock and roll was 10 years old by the time the Beatles got famous. The Beatles rock counter culture image was not new, by the mid 60's. It was the 2nd wave of rock and roll. Kind of odd that they could bring back the excitement and craziness that Elvis went through. Interesting how they did that.
I’m glad things are the way they are in contemporary music. These things are often cyclical and we’re in a Donny and Marie, Westlife-styley time in contemporary pop music and that kind of nondescript, art-as-product type music often accompanies a resurgence in innovate and exciting new artists. An over simplification I know, but thinking like this helps me navigate the dark and dearly landscape of contemporary music.
excellent video - when you spoke about the Beatles creating a cultural revolution I was reminded of spectators on the Kop at Anfield singing 'she loves you' in 1964.
The Kop sang everything though haha.
Love all these bands but the pistol were my high school band in 78 so they influenced my world view and musical taste for the rest of my life, still listen to that one amazing album they did...excellent video mate and cheers from old New Zealand punk...🤘
This is so brilliant. Thank you, James!
Very welcome mate
How do The Jam fit with this? Undisputed biggest band in Britain 80-82 but arguably the formula was a little different.
Yeah, the same could be said about The Specials and the 2 Tone movement.
Love the Jam - but not done enough research yet. Jam video coming soon, watch this space
the Jam were the kings of post-punk but very soon corporate rock took hold, synths & sampled beats were the new chic in the UK & EU. guitar music went underground & michael jackson taught everyone dance routines instead of guitar riffs
Really enjoyed this insight , great vid James thanks for all the hard work 🙌🏻
You’re very welcome 👍👍
The HAIR... with the music and the magic, you MUST have the hair!!!
Robert Plant had enough hair for everyone.
Have to agree. Seen some great bands in pubs with great songs, only never to be heard again. It’s all down to luck.
Can’t forget the instantly recognisable drumming of John Bonham for Led Zeppelin!
Another thing all these bands had was a unique album artwork style. It's probably a really small thing that isn't part of why they got to the top but I think it's interesting. The Beatles had a incredibly early sixties-style photos of the band, Led Zeppelin had their odd, vintage looking, unsaturated artwork, Sex Pistols had a bright cartoonish style to their artwork and Oasis had their famous, heavily-layered artwork. I also noticed they would also apply this to their singles. I think the 5th band that also reached the top, I think it's mentioned down below, is The Smiths. If we're talking about artwork then The Smiths had that, they had their artsy photographs taken from films and random moments. I also think that in the 00's the biggest British band was Arctic Monkeys. Once again, they had their artwork style, those 00's looking photographs of people and random things. I know the Smiths had all 4 keys, they most certainly had great songs, they had their unique sound: Morrisey's nasally vocals, Johnny Marr's layered, jangly guitar, Andy Rourke's melodic basslines and Mike Joyce's simple drumbeats, they definitely had a counter cultural message, Morrisey was a very controversial figure, The Smiths presented themselves in not really a feminine way but a more sensitive way almost, not really the others as much but Morrisey did, Morrisey would also speak his mind completely in his interviews which made him quite an interesting and counter cultural and they had a band look, the band wore dark clothes and wore random accessories with their quiffed hair. Arctic Monkeys had Great Songs and what at the time was a Unique Sound: Alex Turner's vocals sung in a very blatant Sheffield accent, simple writing and stripped-back production, their counter-cultural message was I'm not sure but I think it was club culture and 2000's culture eg their lyrics featured lots of talk about club life, I'm not 100% sure on that but I think it was that, they also had a band look - their flat neat hair and t-shirts and jeans, basically they just looked like average people with Arctic Monkeys, they, like Led Zeppelin, rose out of the movement which was started by Franz Ferdinand. Just a lot of insight I think I could see.
Pistols: NOT just a noise - actually brilliant and concise pop stuffed with tons of memorable hooks.
As Pat Finnerty has often opined, Three Blind Mice is a low-key banger.
Long story short, it's a good fringe
the spice girls also did everything you mentioned in this video. their songs are maybe not to everyones taste but they're objectively good songs, they had their own signature sound and their 5 voices playing off one another really gives them a distinct character. they embodied what an entire generation of women wanted with the two word message of "girl power" and everyone would probably know the spice girls if they saw them.
Sssshh please.
Not even on the same level
@@quagmiremusic6250 bro shut up you just don't like the spice girls
My mate sums it up best. "talent isn't enough".
The timing in which you uploaded is almost eerie. I just decided to shoot my shot at music and I've had this on my mind 24/7.
Brilliant video. Absolutely brilliant
Excellent video!! Will be more difficult than ever before for the “next “ BIG band ! Can’t even fart these days without someone somewhere getting offended and getting their knickers in a twist . It will come though , change is in the air …….perhaps …..definitely…..maybe ? 😜
Great video.
One small thing....One might include Bonham's drumming as part of Zep's signature sound.
Totally right. And Jones' bass.
Yes, I think this one is a very well reported explanation about why these bands are so interesting and why they will last for a long time in the UK culture (and not only in UK but pretty much all over the planet), but don't you think that also the advent of the internet played a key role on the cultural devaluation of certain artistic phenomenon, like for example rock bands? (the bands you presented they all belong to the pre-internet era). Since there's a lot of material, and as you said here, a lot of talented musicians around (internet, pubs, streets, everywhere...), don't you think that this may be also the reason why the magic and the mystery of this way to express art and cultural movements ended?
Absolutely superb analysis of the music scene James.
Your best video James, incredibly compelling. Cheers from Australia - resonates here too.
This video should be required viewing at all UK record companies and publishers.
The Singing Nun - Dominique
Theres a no 1 hit from 1963 for you, so there!
Love the video James, great stuff.
lol
Hahahaha nice work
Lol
So brilliant man! We've learned a lot! I only loved the beatles & oasis.. but now i understand why there's hippies & punks..
Oasis should have got Paul Cook to play drums when they got rid of McCarroll. They asked Glen Matlock to play when Guigsy left in 1995
I really enjoyed this analysis. A lot of cultural truths discussed and fascinating to look back at these interconnecting keys across time
Nice vid James ! hope you'll post more vids giving tips for upcoming artists like you used to!
I could honestly hear you speak for hours. I love that I can understand everything even though English is not my mother language. Stay awesome James
For a young and aspiring musician, this video has been very eye-opening and inspiring.
Great video as usual. However, I’d add a couple of things which I don’t think you mentioned. One is looks or physical appearance. I’m not talking about image hairstyle or how you dress but your physical looks. These bands or at least multiple members of each band had good or unique looks. It’s not something you can really control, but it is very important. It’s the reason Ian Stewart got kicked out of the Stones. He could’ve dressed like them, but his look was not right and did not fit the band. Secondly is charisma. This is not something you can teach or really acquire but all three of these bands had a lot of it. For me that is as important as anything in becoming the most famous band in Britain or America or anywhere. You have to exude a unique charisma. Young bands can be aware of this, and try to have it but again, it’s more of an inborn inherent thing in my opinion. You either have it or you don’t.
True. The video has some great ideas, but there's arguably other "keys", etc.
The shift in culture was brought in in part by the tavistock institute and the military industrial complex. Family values changed dramatically in just a couple of generations. A good book to read is Weird scenes from the Canyon by Dave Mcgowan that shows how most of the bands that were about in the 60's had family ties to military intelligence and the record companies are actually part of the military too.
Spot on Bob, The Tavistock Society and School of Frankfurt are massive organisations that determine pop counter culture.
As someone in his 60's, a poor Brit now living in Boston MA, I am obsessed with music and enjoy your channel, I have not heard your whole post this time yet but I note that you state that no-one can ever make it just with great social media followings, pod casts etc. Sadly, that is precisely all some modern artists have, and equally sadly, many have made a great deal of money and been very successful with that alone. You are an idealist ignoring the real world if you can't see that - Thats the sad harsh reality.
any chance of doing an analytical video like this for how bands like: The jam, T rex, Joy Division, The Who, Black Sabbeth, Queen, The Clash, The Arctic Monkeys, The Cure, the Smiths, Rolling Stones etc etc
Fantastic choices of bands mate. I would love that too
What a great video and vision of pop culture, you understand things a lot of people don't understand. Thank you
This guys analysis and articulation is incredible.
I love the pistols music. I didn't the first time I heard it though. After becoming more engaged with simple rock and roll I returned and they were heroes of straight ahead rock. It had the energy and attitude of the first days of rock and roll. Message was really secondary to this for me. Not my gen either.
Something cool to point out is that the Beatles, 70s Pink Floyd, Queen and Oasis all had multiple vocalists, 3, 2, 3 and 2, but when the general public heard them they all know what band it is, but can't differentiate the vocalists. Like a synergistic merging. I think only the Beach Boys have it in the US. CSN come close perhaps, but Y ruins it. Pink Floyd even had a third for one track -- Roy Harper, Have a Cigar.
Excellent post well thought out.i would include queen ? I have a lot of friends in America.Canada.Australia.all about my age 53 I always ask them the same question name your top five bands .guitarists..and songs .in every case all are British not bad for a little island eh👌👍
I'm a massive Queen fan. Most Oasis fans aren't for some reason, but I love em.
Ha yeah you're right we do bat WAY above our weight when it comes to music.
Be the very start of a music revolution.
Well I'm feeling platonic
Even Supersonic
4 Keys on GG
Whatever sound you want it
watched the Sex Pistols concert for the 1st time by choice, this video has fascinated me about stuff I didn’t know I’d be interested in! great stuff!
Great analysis as always. Some interesting points made.
Glad you enjoyed it
The Sex Pistols may not have been musical virtuosos, but to say that they didn’t really know how to properly play their instruments is a huge mistake. Steve, Paul & Glen were all solid musicians. Sid, not so much.
A new James Hargreaves video. Can't wait to watch this in full once I've done uni essay💪😎🎸
Great analysis and very true as well. Glad that you came around to The Pistols though James, a total one off although Sid replacing Glen was not the best move but got them more notoriety.
The Beatles had a massive advantage seeing as they were pretty much there at the very start of rock and roll … like everything else now markets are saturated and not unique
Absolutley briliant video and analysis.
Cheers Edward :)
Rock music flourished when rock stars were still allowed to be cool. When there was an element of unpredictable danger. We haven't seen this since Oasis, and they were a refreshing alternative to what KILLED the rockstar, and killed the cool for rock: Grunge. Rock lost it's place with grunge, handed the cool to rap, and never recovered. Rap kept throwing the party while Nirvana told people that parties suck, and so does life. Sad but true. It is actually statistically provable with numbers. But people don't wanna hear that shit lol Oasis was IMO the last REAL rock band from the lineage and tradition of legendary rock star stuff. Larger than life. Nothing after has even come CLOSE.
One of the best videos I've ever seen.
Steve Jones is one of the best guitarists ever though.
Like John Lydon, he found an approach that worked within his own technical limitations - and absolutely mastered it.
i wish it wast true but rock might be dead, so it doesnt matter how you do. just do what you do.
Excellent presentation. Subscribed!
Awesome video. I don't agree with everything said but the 4 main points are definitely correct. I would add that Publicity / Promotion is also a major ingredient to success.
The main thing these days that didn't exist when the 4 bands mentioned were around are: The Internet, Social Media and Technology (as in AI, Virtual Reality, The Metaverse and advances in making music and recording). We're living in a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT WORLD.
This means we're continually being bombarded with news and information, trends and fashion. Kids these days grow up knowing and seeing things that took us years to know and see. Kids these days literally laugh at the antics of The Sex Pistols or The Gallagher Bros, it's a joke to them b'cos they've grown up in a cynical world weary and jaded world where everything's been done.
I can break through to the mainstream with my music...working on it currently...
this whole video is just so right and i understand it completely, i really hope i can be in a band that makes a change now that i know how to. i think that a lot of people really do want the old music style and culture back secretly and dont like the new like electronic music so to do what everyones thinking would be to do that. i really do want to be a famous musician and a rockstar but im too embarrassed to tell it to people cos it seems like its impossible as if we’re not gonna bring it back if that makes sense. or like its a kids dream to be super famous so it ends up feeling really unrealistic. im 14 and finishing y9 in a few weeks so a lot of people and teachers expect me to have some idea of what i want to do after school, i know i want to be super famous and do what i love most for a living (which is playing guitar) but i wont tell them when they ask like if they ask me what i want to be when i grow up imma say i dunno cos its not like theyre gonna be totally convinced if i say i wanna be a musician… if that makes sense??? i know im young but the beatles were a skiffle band at my age and they still did gigs etc and well look at what they became. if you look at my videos they might not be that good but im sure if i keep practicing and really put all my work into it, cos i truly want to do it, then maybe i will do and with the help of the right people. hopefully i can save music
In this day and age, music doesn't hold the same 'enigma' it once did. So much information is easily accessible now, that the 'magic' of music no longer unites as it once did. The world has moved on
Does those tips apply for other countries too? 😂
Lovely vid man✌️
I don't 100% know to be honest! I can only speak about the UK as it's the only culture I really properly know - humanity is probably the same everywhere though, so here's hoping 👍👍
Brilliant video exploring music and culture. The best music in modern history has always came from oppression, it’s always been rebellion and expression.
Just as a side point, my generations big band was Arctic monkeys. I can see they haven’t had as big a mark on history as the bands listed in this video and maybe it’s to do with them not really hitting your 4 keys test. I’d argue they are Britain’s last great rock band.
James you speak 100! This gospel according to James Hargreaves 🙌 🙏
This is the best video you have made. It is a music video but its also a manifesto, lol.
Your point about the social revolution led by the Beatles is what the makers of Yesterday (the movie) missed entirely. The Beatles are erased from history and the only apparent difference is that their songs are gone as well. No sociological impact
I think it's no coincidence that comedians (the real good ones) have similarities with the great bands mentioned, look at Kinison, Andy Kaufmanns (sometimes described at 'anti comedy, Norm MacDonald doubling down on calling O.J. Simpson a Murderer on SNL until they fired him. Gervais killing it at the Oscars, both camps going against the normal and straight and holding a mirror up at society and showing its absurdities and conformity
Love your stuff James 👍
James, I don't know if you're going to read this and maybe not respond to me. Obviously your video is good, but there is something that leaves me doubtful. From when The Pistols had their last year of ascendancy in 1977, to the beginnings of Oasis's popularity in 1994, there's A LOT OF GAP between 1978 to 1993 (and specifically the '80s), I mean, almost all of the bands you mentioned came from of each era (curiously Zeppelin and Pistols repeat the 70's) but my question is, what band of the 80's left those keys at the peak of their popularity? I think it would be The Cure or The Smiths (the latter being the closest). I don't know what do you think about it?
Greetings from the other side of the world (Chile)
The Cure had a few more chart hits, both the Smiths & Cure developed a cult following & proved influential to lotsa other musicians but they refused to escape their goth-/art-rock niche to bigger heights. Depeche Mode made it big & turned a lot of kids to synth-rock until that was ev-e-ry-where
I would say The Jam and The Smiths are definitely on the list, good shout with The Cure too.
You deserve way more subs
I think this applies to more than just britain. Nirvana did the four key points too
As did Guns n Roses
Were you around for all the 90s offered us? You give Oasis way more credit than they deserve, imo. Their strategies perhaps worked more so than we imagined