American Reacts to Top 10 British Bands Who Never Cracked America!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 13 มิ.ย. 2024
- Join me on a musical journey through the top 10 British bands that, surprisingly, never quite cracked the American music scene. From hidden gems to overlooked legends, we'll explore the rich tapestry of British music that may have flown under the radar in the USA.
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If the American music industry lasted for a thousand years it still would never be ready for the Happy Mondays 😂
Don't think you could ever be 'ready' for the Happy Mondays, but once they find you enjoy the ride
Imagine Bez gurning his face off, on stage at Madison Square Gardens 😂😂
The Happy Mondays weren’t ready for the Happy Mondays.
@@BRIDINC1972 There are pockets of us "Yanks" who've enjoyed the Happy Mondays' ride they provide, whether ready or not. 🙂
Happy Mondays ledginary
Let's be clear here, skinhead then is not the image skinheads have now, madness came from. The two tone movement or what's called ska, started by the specials in Coventry. It was a very inclusive movement and multi culture was celebrated by two tone bands, I always thought mojo was British so would have thought they would have know this. Two tone is incredibly important in British the history of British music
As the person doing the voiceover was obviously English, I’d say that there is a reasonable chance that it was someone too young to remember, too clueless to research and daft enough to believe that modern perceptions, behaviours and beliefs are what it was always like.
Indeed - back before the movement got linked in with the far right there were many black skinheads too - it really started out as an anti racism movement.
There was a huge Jamaican influence to this music. Although the term 'skinhead' was actually often used to describe the style, I don't think there were mix-ups with aggressive skinheads who were racist and took there inspiration from the nazi era. Those skinheads flaunted with a more edgy, guitar based punk or hard rock music, not two tone stuff.
Probably two tone also stands for the two tones of black and white music.
If you said 'skinhead' at the time, it was definitely a negetively laden term, but it couldn't stick to two tone bands.
2Tone was indeed very inclusive.
@@lynnejamieson2063There's also the twitter - inspired duty to report any 'controversy', unfortunately.
How can anyone vaguely into music not be aware of The Jam? A whole generation of US indie rock bands were modelled on their sound.
yeah well america has always copied what others do then claim it as its own original
The Jam were quintessentially English... the USA would never have "got it"
@@nealhalfpenny415 Probably not for wide appeal, but I believe bands like Green Day, The Killers and The Strokes have cited them as an inspiration.
@@roganroberts8789The killers (and I think the strokes) were more successful over here than the US because of this
Absolute Beginners is absolutely amazing!
I'm from Birmingham, Alabama. Stereophonics has been one of my favorite bands since 1997, along with Ian Brown and The Stone Roses. Check out Paul Weller, he's an absolute legend.
i read the first part and though ahhh my City, then you said Alabama XD i forget there's a Birmingham over in the states too
@@FunniesRSplus, obviously I’m a scooterist and also big into Ska, Reggae, Rocksteady, Northern Soul, Brit Pop, Punk, Dark Wave, etc. 👍
Hello fellow Alabama resident!
@@kimberlyvespa Where in Alabama are you from?
@@Cobbi-19 we live in East Central Alabama down here in Ashland! Originally from Miami/Ft. Lauderdale.
Stereophonics, Pulp, and Manic Street Preachers are essential listening. I'm American and I love these bands.
whingy bastards , the JAM though come on americans
The Waterboys are a must also
I’m Welsh (like the Stereophonics) and have visited San Francisco quite a few times. Their song, Have a Nice Day, always really resonates with me and takes me back to good days in the Bay ❤
Suede also.
@@makavelismith - Yes! I love their 1st 2 albums!
I loved the British music scene back in the 90's. I'm American. It was harder to be exposed while living in rural Pennsylvania with dial up internet but I did manage to catch in to some of these bands. Brits make the best music.
Well you're an enigma and a reyton (reyton = a good person, Derbyshire dialect) with good taste. You have my support!
It was also much easier to gain national exposure in a European country than the US in the analogue age. Blondie, Hendrix, Tom Perry, Nirvana made a name for themselves in UK and Germany in order to raise profile back at home.
Here Here. to your last comment. The states may have brought us rhythm and blues and rock n roll and grunge. But the brits have continually shaped and worked creatively to make new and interesting music.
@@manctwo-wheeler9341 Have you checked out The Reytons - from Rotherham so not a million miles away from Derbyshire. Good band - very Sheffield Arctic Monkeys vibe
Same!! My 1990-1991 memories in Southern Colorado were a lot of them- Happy Mondays, Big Audio Dynamite(BAD II) EMF, Jesus Jones, & I thought Stereophonics sounded familiar but I think my brain was reaching for Stereo MCs.
The pronunciation of Lanzarote had me in stitches I won’t lie
The Waterboys' "Whole of the Moon" is ....well a fantastic song. Ethereal.
Wildwood was one of my favourite albums I still play it now 😊
'All the things she gave me' that's another great song by the Waterboys!🙂👍
Old England is Dying, Stolen Child are good'uns@@sarahwelty9223
One of the best songs of all time
One of the greatest songs ever recorded without a doubt... Amazing song..
Actually Madness had a very strong association with the ska/mod revival and the two-tone label over here in the UK, I was a school kid at the time and we all wore mod parka coats, and we'd stitch fabric band badges all over the coats, usually The Who and The Jam were the first two bands people chose, but then it was Madness as they were HUGE over here, they really were, then it would be the other two-tone bands like The Beat, The Selector and The Specials.
Madness - It Must Be Love was a cover of a song originally by Labi Siffre, and in that clip they show he's actually in the video, which I always thought was a really nice touch!
Madness, The Specials and The Jam were also big in Scandinavia.
@@markjones127 Most people here in America have completely forgotten that It Must be Love was a top 40 (#33) follow-up to Our House, which you'd think would disqualify them for "One-Hit-Wonder" status. But in the days of the Internet - and specifically Internet-users who only look up music they already remember - "One-Hit-Wonders" (at least in America) are basically just artists who those people only remember one song from. Sad, idiotic and frustrating.
By the way, while I would certainly never consider myself a Madness-expert or fan, I certainly know other songs, such as One Step Beyond, House of Fun and their title song, "Madness", as well! Fun, light-hearted & silly stuff!
The Beat were always my favourite band from that era. I still love them today 👍🙂
@@lennartforsberg1519 I listened to a lot of different music and I had friends with eclectic taste, but for some reason I was the only girl in the neighbourhood who just loved Madness.
They cast Pulp in a really bad light here, they literally played a huge sold-out tour this year and are still very popular. Definitely worth checking out their albums, especially 'His 'n Hers', 'Different Class' and 'This is Hardcore'.
I also went to a Stone Roses reunion in Manchester in 2012, so I'm not sure when that video was made.
They're also headlining the Edinburgh Hogmanay this year.
@@h-Qalziel Amazing! They're a great live band, Jarvis is a top-tier front man.
Yes I went to see pulp in their home town of Sheffield a couple of months ago
I'm surprised Americans don't know of Pulp via Jarvis Cocker and the whole Michael Jackson incident.
I'd argue that His 'N Hers, Different Class and This Is Hardcore can go up against any three consecutive albums from any other artist in the history of music.
Would probably put them in the Top 10 list of "best three consecutive albums" along with:
- REM's Green/Out Of Time/Automatic
- Pumpkins' Gish/Siamese Dream/Mellon Collie
- MJ's Off The Wall/Thriller/Bad
- DM's Masses/Violator/Faith & Devotion
- GnR's first three (either cheating and counting Use Your Illusion as one album or picking either one!)
- Eagles' last three
- A couple or three by my two favorite bands, The Bee Gees and Beatles... 😛
Imagine discovering all of these gems for the first time in one go. Some of my favourite bands in here ❤
i’d love to be able to listen to all of these bands for the first time again
Paul Weller not only had a career after the Jam he has had a number one album in each of the last five decades and is still going to this day. With over 30 albums to his name he maybe one of the most prolific artists in the UK.
Absolutely. The King.
I'm from Brazil and a great fun of Paul. The Jam a kind of punk rock but a bit more mellow, after only 22 he quit. Came out with Style Council and completely different music, two great albums . The man is a genius musician
Great band but very British. The lyrics somehow will not translate to the Americans, at least not massively. Same with Kinks, just one or two early songs during the British invasion but most of their work so very British. You can even say the same for most of Blurs stuff and their lyrics.
@@annatraustadottir4387I get your point but the Arctic Monkeys did quite well in the US, despite Alex Turner's sheffield accent and northern slang such as "nowt" and "shite"
Wasn't Paul Weller from the Style Council too?
The thing about the skinhead scene in the early days it was pretty much the opposite of today's stereotype. It was a very multicultural movement heavily influenced by Jamaican rude boy culture. It was only later that the scene was overtaken by the far right and rest is history.
The music of choice was Reggae, Rocksteady and later white/black music hybrids such as Ska and Two Tone which led to bands multicultural bands like The Specials and Madness.
Was coming here to say the same. Wish watchmojo would clarify this in their content. It's annoying that they leave it hanging like that.
That depends on how far back you want to go. In 1969 skinheads were nothing but trouble and they enjoyed causing fights. They were also notoriously racist despite dancing to Jamaican music.
Don Letts has a good documentary on the BBC/TH-cam "The Story Of Skinhead " well worth a watch for the history.
@@patrickquinlan3056 Yes, they took over the tough look as they all had small penises and wanted to look bigger and better than they were. Skinheads listened to Ska. The comment in this video is very misleading.
Multicultural like the 7 white dudes in Madness?
Stereophonics are STILL one of the most talented music groups I have ever known. I was once sat outside their "rehearsal space" that they have at their live gigs just to jam and warm up and it was awesome just to sit and listen to them playing around, just jamming out tunes. Even during their sound check it was as if someone had just pressed play on their CD, they were so tight A fantastic band to hear live.
i cant stand them, plastic rock band, like a lot of British groups, never appeal to an American rock audience
@@markjackson9827Don’t judge all our music by The Stereophonics. They’re just terrible
I dont, Im a big fan of Whitesnake, Dire Straits and the Macc Lads. @@mariannetuite7411
Stereophonics are so good, I love their music
@@markjackson9827well said. Really over rated generic rubbish, you have a good ear for real music
These bands were also well known in Europe. Bands that make waves in UK usually do so also in many European Countries. I knew all of these bands.
The Verve may not be on this list as they had a platinum album with Urban Hymns. But they are definitely a band had they gotten along and stayed together, they could’ve been absolutely huge here. They were just so good. Phenomenal musicians and then to have a voice like Richard Ashcroft had, they could’ve been bigger than Coldplay or Radiohead are here if they stayed together.
Been lucky enough to see The Verve a few times and Richard when they split... Great band with one of the greatest lead singers of all time
Amazing album
Urban Hymns, the Verve's amazing album in 97, got me clean from Heroin and Crack , velvet morning is an amazing price of musical genius.. this album is a God given epic definitely in the top 5 albums of all time. Great shout.
Mate, my heart broke when you did not know The Jam. Weller is a lyrical genius, "Down In The Tube Station At Midnight" is a haunting song, and I believe he wrote it when he was 19 or 20.
got it signed.
I disappointed my father no end because of all the bands he taught me to appreciate growing up, The Jam was one of three bands I just could never get on board with. The other two being The Smiths and Fleetwood Mac
@@mariannetuite7411How? Every tune of theirs is brilliant!
I've never been a big listener of theirs but never have I heard a crap tune from The Jam.
Weller is a genius.
I believe the lyrics and song idea was binned prior to working through the song but then retrieved by the producer
Too true! I still sing it now
!
Try “Fool’s Gold” by The Stone Roses, that’s likely to be the most recognisable of their major hits.
"Skinheads" didn't use to be Neo-nazis - they stole the look. In the early period, most UK punks were skinheads, and the mohawks became more common to set them apart from the nazis
S.H.A.R.P.s!
Madness is still one of my favorite bands. Pulp and Suede were like my "secret" bands during high school in the 90's because no one in NM knew who they were.
That's a great feeling. Pulp started incredibly early!
You would like the Smith's.
The correct answer to the 90s question "Oasis or Blur?" was always Suede
@@jasonmcclatchie6877 Pulp
@@jasonmcclatchie6877 Or "Pulp" 😄
Interesting that many of those bands also did pretty well on New Zealand charts, I guess we share closer cultural ties with the Brits.
All these bands did well at least in Finland and Sweden but probably in all of Northern Europe. I had an American girlfriend and she was very into British contemporary rock so you have to assume there are many more like her.
Well.... since you're country was created by the Brits....
@@Si_Mondo you fail England? That unpossible.
Then there are american bands that are fairly well known in other parts of the world too, but barely anyone here knows they exist.
Fellow kiwi here.......i was just saying something similar....I had the pleasure of living in the UK in the 90's and was a wonderful time for brit music a day we love it.....I think because the bands we grew up with are also heavily influenced by UK music....well it was....
Merry Xmas:)
Haha! This is really weird from our perspective - can't believe you've not heard of or "got", truly HUGE bands like The Jam, Pulp, Suede, the Manic Street Preachers or the Stereophonics! These bands were absolutely massive over here.
To be honest an artist is only truely huge if they crack America. For all Noel's "biggest band in the world" Oasis never did crack the US and so, consequently, never were.
@@garysimmonds9636Blur outshone them by far, with the record companies it's not based on talent !
@@garysimmonds9636yeah that was a favourite comment of Noel’s. I reckon he thought if he said it enough times, it would happen. Never did.
@@williambuchanan8607 Except Blur were always far superior to Oasis.
@scottw.3258 I love Blur, but Wonderwall and Don't look back in anger are anthems of the 90's. Blur never made anything close to that.
Motorcycle Emptiness (Manic Street Preachers) and Made of Stone (The Stone Roses) are among the greatest songs ever written
100% agree with Motorcycle Emptiness
Fools gold 😉
I'd argue a design for life is a better song than motorcycle emptiness
FunFact: In Manchester we have what we call adi-dads. They have a paul weller haircut, are aged between 50 and 70 and wear adidas spezial/samba trainers, a parka coat and always request the stone roses to every DJ every single night. They don't like hip hop, except for Young MC and they talk about The Haçienda as if they actually went there and Peter Hook is their best mate. The Manchester indie scene is a rose tinted myth and street soul and jungle were far more prevalent here than they are ever given credit for.
I'm a 53 year old Manc, I do wear Adidas Sambas and a Lambretta parka and I don't like Hip hop! 🤣 However I think Peter Hook is a dick and I'd ask for The Smiths not The Stone Roses, I did attend The Hacienda a couple of times, but much preferred 42nd St, The Hacienda was way overrated.....Even "Grab a granny night" at The Ritz was more fun! 😉
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580Ahaha good lad! watched a thing yesterday about how Panic by The Smiths is about Jimmy Saville - interesting take but it does make sense!
@@TasteTheD I watched that too! It certainly was thought provoking and reading the words does seem to fit.
You're right about the Madchester indie scene being a bit of a myth, it's legend has grown over the past 35 years (probably via people that weren't there) Manchester was a pretty grim and seedy place back then, I did most of my partying in old Irish clubs, such as Chorlton Irish club & St Brendan's in Old Trafford, before going off to the Shabeens in Moss Side, certainly an eye opener for a naive teenager! Thinking back, I must've been mental, but when you're 18, you think you're invincible.
@@imgoingtocountdownfromthir4580 haha sounds like a right ol' time. good on ya mate. South is where the party is at for sure! You hear that The boys are back in town by Thin Lizzie was written in/about Whalley Range? Thats another mad one
@@TasteTheD I remember at the time Morrisey said it was about Tony Blackburn after he kept butting in on an episode of Pop Quiz on the telly. The tosser Steve Wright presumed it was about him because of his dislike for them.
Madness had a very "London" vibe, almost pantomime, which Brits would recognise.
I've no idea what Yanks would make of it!
I loved Madness back in the 80’s, and I lived in America then.
This makes me sad for the London we’ve lost.
By the stage in the video coming Madness my thoughts were that this guy JJLA knows his music a lot better than WatchMojo.
Aussies got it. We have a strong east-end influence
@AndyViant You're right. I was visiting Australia back in 1992, and on arriving at my hotel in Sydney, I switched the telly on in my room. The first thing that came on was a channel that was showing back to back Madness videos. I spent the rest of the day watching them instead of going out to explore Sydney!
One of the best things about moving to the UK is having all these (and more) performers play regularly on my favourite radio station- Absolute Radio.
Listen to Radio X!
@@lewdar_ me to
The Jam was the tightest trio of its generation. My greatest regret in life was not skipping my high school graduation for driving to Vancouver B.C. to see them on what it turned out to thier final tour in 1982. Man...what a wasted evening that turned to be.
Like the comment from NZ , Australia followed the British music scene very closely and these bands were very popular here. ☺️
Whoever decided to illustrate the music of The Waterboys without using "The Whole of the Moon" wants their head examining ! I know it's a cliche song but it is their biggest tune.
I thought the same!
Bang on the Ear,or the Fisherman's Blue...local to here, Ayr Scotland
The one reason why many americans may have heard of Pulp's singer, Jarvis Cocker is because of his notorious stage invasion when Michael Jackson was singing Earth Song live onstage.
The Jam were amazing...very much the sound of my youth. You should check them out. After The Jam Paul Weller went on to form another band called The Style Council. Also very good.
Style Council, cool?? Ha ha yeah
The best part was when Jarvis wafted his backside at the audience.
Jarvis also features in one of the Harry Potter movies if I recall. As does Ian Brown of the Stone Roses
Not to mention he was in Harry Potter and the goblet of fire 👍
@@mariannetuite7411yep, Ian Browne is seen stirring his tea in the leaky cauldron in POA. Jarvis Cocker is the lead singer of the band at the Yule ball in GOF and wore clothes from his own wardrobe for the role.
Paul Weller also fronted The Style Council. His solo song "Wild Wood" is one of my all time favorites.
The Jam's "A Town Called Malice" is a classic as well.
The Stone Roses' "Fools Gold" was the biggest hit outside the UK.
The Happy Mondays never really broke anywhere outside the UK. I know Step On and Kinky Afro mostly from British panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
Happy Mondays was quite popular among Canadian alternative music crowds.
A Town Called Malice was about Coventry, wasn't it?
I had a mate in Leamington Spa who said Coventry was where you went on a night out if you wanted a fight 😂😂
@@Si_Mondo It could have been about pretty much any town in the UK, I think that was part of the appeal. They sing about any place being so awful and you think "Shout out to my home town!"
Wild wood is a classic
❤
Don’t forget Shout to the Top
Travis looked set to break through in the States, but they kind of petered out in the early 2000s (after their drummer was seriously injured in an accident, I think).
I went on here looking to see if anyone would mention Travis. I studied abroad in the UK in 1999/2000 and I remember they were huge! I was lucky to see them at a small venue back in the states when I got back.
Going back a bit , T Rex were never very big in America , but huge in the UK !
Status Quo as well, and Slade. Status Quo's only American hit was 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' yet they have the most charting songs of any band in British history.
Yep ! Many others !
Listen to the first album by Madness: One Step Beyond. It's fantastic!
The Jam were a really great band: I saw them live in the early 1980s.
Second one too! 👌
I wish they'd made more of The Kaiser Chiefs (the very first band you saw in the video.) I mean, they did show them, but to not even give them a shout -out on the list..? They're well worth a listen. Some of their best-known hits include 'I Predict A Riot,' 'Oh My God' and the one in the video 'Ruby.' One of their more recent albums is 'Education, Education, Education and War,' and is just a banger from start to finish.
I agree Kaiser cheifs at there best various albums bloody brilliant.them the Jam The Verve ALL fabulous
When I finished watching this, Kaiser Chiefs were actually the first band that popped into my head. As for some of the ones on the list....what does "cracked the US" even mean? The 90's bands did get heard in the US, but on alternative rock radio in larger cities and college stations across the country. I lived in San Francisco in the '90's and Happy Mondays' "Step On" was part of the soundtrack of my life. As for Pulp, really? William Shatner did a Pulp cover for heaven's sake. I remember Supergrass' first album and the lead single from it, but they seemed to retreat back to the UK after that. Madness were all over MTV and the radio with "our house," but I heard other songs from them as well. The Jam were hugely influential.
Love’s not a competition but I’m winning. Wonderful song.
I think the problem with a lot of American and British bands is sometimes they're too quintessentially British or American and the the music simply doesn't travel , I'm sure there are just as many American bands that are super talented that the Brits simply don't get to hear.
One being the whole genre of country music
before i watch the video, i want to say that my ultimate favourite is Stereophonics!
Whenever I hear the barmaid and the thief I’m looking for a guitar and on my feet bopping - awesome !
😝🏴
Agreed 👌👍🏴🤘
Absolutely👍
100%
Paul Weller's must listen albums - Stanley road and Wild wood
Genius
Agreed. Just works of musical art. Closely followed by his first solo album
As a dj in college and after, I've heard of most of these bands. The Stone Roses, I Wanna Be Adored, was in our heavy rotation as I was departing the station.
Manic Street Preachers are fabulous. Very political and challenging lyrics. One of their biggest hits was "If you tolerate this your children will be next".
Yeah, great lyrics. That one being one of their best.
Libraries gave us power
That song was prophetic
Those words, never more important than right now. If parents & everyone in general don't figure out what is going on today, and put a stop to it, their kids, and grandkids that haven't even been born yet, face a horrific, dystopian future.
People need to read the 2030 net zero agenda, the Paris Climate agrmt etc, and see what is in that, and what it actually means for your future. It is not what they tell us it is.
Or how about “If White America Told The Truth For One Day Its World Would Fall Apart”.
Actually, that may go some way to explaining how they never achieved mainstream success in the US!
The Jam were iconic in England just like the Police.
Maximo Park have got to be one of the most underrated band ever. Incredible albums start to finish.
Only band on the list i had never heard of
I love Maximo Park..
@@gavintimson5940check out the first three albums. Absolutely superb.
Stopped at @12:57 to guess #1 Slade. Gotta be.
EDIT:
I cannot believe Slade was not even included. Absolutely criminal.
In the 70's Slade sold more singles in Britain *_than any other band,_* period. More than Zeppelin. Queen. Pink Floyd. David Bowie. _et al._ You name it.
They were the 1st Brit band to have 3 single debut at #1. 17 consecutive top 20's. 30 albums, 3 at #1. Only the Beatles did better.
Huge influence on American bands.
And they tried not once, but 2 times to crack America.
Criminal negligence to overlook one of the best bands ever.
Criminal.
My favourite band ever. They've never disappointed since I first heard them in 2005, last saw them live last summer.
Just found your channel. You have the perfect voice for narrating stories. Very soothing and calming ❤️
the Kasabian debut album is 10/10 and deserves more love
Indeed. West Ryder is also one of the best albums of the last 25 years.
Also a very different and way worse band now.
Great band... not the same without Tom
Very good bands mentioned there, im surprised that Ocean Colour Scene didn't get a mention, especially the brilliant album Moseley Shoals. A must have in my collection.
Yes I Love Ocean Colour Scene 😊
And what about Inspiral Carpets, Pop Will Eat Itself and The Sundays. All great bands of that 80s/90s period.
An a Brit from England, I was singing along to the opening song and was fully gagged when you said you didn't know it!
Everyone needs to hear "Stars of CCTV" by Hard-Fi.
It describes British culture in the early 2000's perfectly.
If you weren't part of it, you saw it happening all around you.
It's an absolute classic!
They recently had a revival of that album for one night in London. I couldn't go! I love that album.
I would put The Enemy into that too. Especially the We’ll Live and Die In These Towns album. Be Somebody is a brilliant song too
Its definitely Hard to Beat
I brought their album in new York in 2006
they really don't mate lol
By far, the most famous British band who never cracked America is SLADE.
Noddy has one of the best voices in music! Slade is still one of my favorite bands.
I discovered them via Quiet Riot. I had a glam rock phase.
I think Marillion was one of those bands that we always saw doing well in the UK and never had any success in the US, even with their lead singer being in Band Aid... but then we got Kayleigh which was not a hit but a great ballad
Glam Rock wasn't something that interested the US but was popular in other countries. One could say the same with Status Que and Bad Company
Glam Rock wasn't something that interested the US but was popular in other countries. One could say the same with Status Que and Bad Company
Madness certainly have a recognisable 'sound', even if it doesn't post neatly into a particular niche genre, and have had a massive string of hits here in the UK.
The remaining 3 members of Take That are still recording and touring with large stadium shows.
They're principally a ska/two tone band, although their songs included a variety of other genres.
Their latest album reached #1 and included 6 of the 'original' 7 members. Not sure they're quite at the 'stadium' level, think its really arena level. I saw them in Manchester in early December 2023.
It’s the heavy heavy monster sound! 😊
@@doricdave7192 One step beyond!
Madness genre hopping? It didn't do Madonna any harm, not until much later 😅
I'd like to see a similar video about British solo artists who were big in the UK but never cracked America. Cliff Richard imediately springs to mind.
Shirley Bassey too.
Cliff Richard was a pound shop Elvis, Americans had the real Elvis so not surprising they had no interest.
@@vordman Shirley Bassey is huge in America, she's sang 3 James Bond songs
@@paulguise698 I think she's only known for those themes. Never had any big hits over there.
I only think of the Young Ones when I hear of Cliff Richard.
The Jam have lots of amazing songs, not just the commercial ones but songs like Man in the Corner Shop, Carnation and The Butterfly Collector, they have dozens of excellent songs, Paul Weller is a genius.
funeral pyre the jams finest moment, awesome song
Agree completely, The Jam was a fantastic three piece band with tons of great songs. Love the “Setting sons” and “Sound effects” albums as well as all the rest they did. Pity that they split up the band far too early…
The Butterfly Collector is one of my all time favorites.
Down in the tube station has to be one of the greatest songs ever wrote
In the US, Suede are known as London Suede, there was already a band there called Suede so they had to change their name. Worth checking them out.
Interesting to add, US companies require that the iconic british rock sound you're hearing is "toned down, or americanised" to fit in with the US appeal. Therefore a lot stay with their classic and "unaltered' British sound which is often a lot more heavy, "grungy" and melancholy, relating to the British culture and weather, as opposed to more happy and upbeat American sounds relating to your culture ❤
Yes, grungy and heavy is exactly how I would describe take that and girls aloud!!!!
@@yanceyboyz Dont forget the rain sodden Chumbawumba and Right Said fred LOL :)
strange then that Status Quo never made it in the US. How would you explain that?
I think this is especially true of Britpop. The little of that scene that crossed over was either Oasis (who are more Beatles / glam rock / Pink Floyd influenced than Britpop) or the odd post-Britpop song like "Song 2", which was intended as a grunge parody. The true Britpop stuff is too tied to British culture, in the same way only the more pop-oriented country songs have made it to Europe.
This is just wrong, just looking at the first half of the 90s, all the major grunge bands were way more popular in America except Nirvana. Bands like Nine inch nails, tool, white zombie, Primus , pantera and megadeth had multi platinum albums. These were all relatively niche bands in the UK in comparison to stone roses or happy mondays
It's probably not a coincidence that the biggest American bands here from that era were REM and Bon Jovi
If anything britpop was a reaction to how grungy and dark American rock was
A few good bands here. My personal favourites being Supergrass, The Stone Roses, The Jam, and Kasabian’s first few albums
You have a new subscriber (from England) as I appreciate your passion for music. Your chilled voice and delivery which is nice compared to people with annoying delivery. Good reaction mate 👍🏻
I'm British and I have quite a few American friends at uni. The amount of times I find out about yet another group or artist that theyve never heard of, or a song I think of as an iconic hit and they just have no idea! It baffles me, honestly.
Agree. When I was at uni (in Australia) we had American exchange students come and stay. This was in the mid-90's, so relevant to many of these bands. Anyway, the thing that used to REALLY blow me away was the number of American bands they would not know! Bands that everyone our age at uni in Aus then did know, like Rage Against The Machine. Baffling indeed.
This is wild. I think it just comes down to personal taste. I’m a Brit with American friends (who live in America not the UK) who love Suede, Pulp, Manics, Happy Mondays and Kasabian… they’ve been played lots on college radio stations and independent stations like KEXP, not to mention MTV. They may not be huge, but definitely not unheard of. I think it depends on which American you ask! It’s a hugely diverse country.
Thank you. It's a large and diverse country. They could have said that My Bloody Valentine and Lush never "cracked America," but it didn't stop them from being hugely influential (I saw Lush play Union Square in San Francisco in 1992 and walked away having decided to start a band that sounded like THAT. Which I did).
Happy Mondays is the best band in here ;)
Weirdly, The Jam, Stones Roses, Pulp are really huge in UK. All iconics and in their own genre, truly capture an era and scene
Loved The Happy Mondays live back in the day!! ❤
The Jam were HUGE in the UK for years. My favourite song of theirs is called English Rose, you should check it out very atmospheric :D Paul Weller went on to form The Style Council, totally different sound, but I loved them. It's funny watching this video and the one about Britpop anthems, I had forgotten how many bands I loved from the 90's! I love 80's music, but I'm realising the 90's had a lot to love also :D
If you like English Rose did you listen to Liza Radley too? They're of a similar ilk, and era. A couple of classics, agreed!
Stereophonics is probably the most surprising there, for a time they were kinda god tier and they had a sound you could imagine crossing over.
Kelly Jones is an absolute tool though. Stereophonics were at their best when Stuart was still around
Yes I agree. Even though im no fan, on a commercial front out of all the bands here, I would have thought the Stereophonics would have easily crossed over. Their sound is classic American rock.
The bit where you talk about a band having a certain niche to get the proper marketing is totally an American thing, over here it's all about the music, you either like it or you don't. Good video all the same👍
Yes. Quite sad really that any potential creativity in the US music scene is crushed by the commercial/marketing men. Almost as though the American people are considered incapable of deciding what they like and have to be spoon-fed by people in power.
Sounds eerily like US politics doesn't it - how else could the forthcoming presidential election be between 2 such unsuitable individuals?
UK music scene is crap. If you listened to the radio you’d think the only music that existed is corporate indie, corporate pop and rap/drill.
@@gordianknot6867 almost like it got Americanised..........
@@gordianknot6867 it is now. I was talking about back in the day, right up to the early 2000s
@@1nikg back when we had a rich culture, when musicians were still being interviewed for TV and presenters had more character, when they could smoke and get pissed on live TV for the sake of comedy.
The Jam and Madness, just fabulous
Found your channel today and loving your videos! It’s surprising how many bands you haven’t heard of that are massive over here especially stereophonics
The (proper) album that Our House was on, wasn't even released in the US until a long time later. In the UK it was on an album called The Rise And Fall which was seen as a kind of more mature album than their early stuff (bear in mind they were barely out of their teens at this point). In the US, an album called "Madness" was released instead which had about half of The Rise and Fall with the rest filled out with previous singles.
There’s another video called “Classic British Bands That Cracked The US” you should react to that one next! 😁
Lan-Za-Rott-Tee!
Just my contribution. Great video though man loved it.
I’m Welsh, and this era was my heyday.
Pulp and the Waterboys are great. Literally my two favorite tunes ever are from the Waterboys; Whole of the Moon and Fisherman's Blues. As for Pulp, I believe Common People was a HUGE song in Britain, and the cover version by William Shatner and Joe Jackson is awesome. Check it out.
Stereophonics "Dakota" is one of my favorite songs of all time, give it a listen, you won't regret it.
The Stereophonic’s doing a cover of The Jam’s Eton rifles is an excellent attempt.
I mean, If you're a Beatles fan there are going to be ton of 90s UK indie bands you'd probably quite like.
Due to the internet, there are a lot of bands from the past that are much more widely known internationally now than they were during their careers. Even Queen, widely thought of now as a huge, global cultural phenomenon and one of the biggest bands ever, while they did have some US hits, never achieved the level of success in the states that they had in Europe, Australasia and Latin America. During Freddie Mercury’s lifetime, they did not have the stature that they have achieved retrospectively.
US should be so grateful for the internet so they can finally access all the great british, european and other bands they missed out on! :)
USA gave up on Queen after the cross-dressing in the I Want to Break Free video.
I went to see Kasabian years ago after my husband and I saw an early concert television appearance which absolutely bowled us over. Still love the music today amongst other groups.
Imagine living in a world where you are into guitar music and the jam exist but you've never heard of them!??! It would be the equivalent to going to America and telling people you are into rock music but have never heard of guns and roses.
Clearly, they needed to be renamed 'Jelly'.... /-:
Honestly, "guitar music" is very wide and worlds apart. Don't expect fans of "guitar music" to be into either The Jam or Guns n Roses.
The Stone Roses debut album is the greatest debut of all time, its a 10/10 album from start to finish, sounds like a best of album that most bands would kill for.
For me the best debut is Roxy Music's first in 1972. That's just my opinion, not a fact.
I can understand the Roses not registering in the US. Stunning debut then vanished, they didn’t follow up the initial success. Always been a bit frustrated, they let me down by not rattling out another four or five great albums. Such is life!
I entirely agree with this. But if timings were different and they'd included Mersey Paradise, we're talking 11/10. Fancy a pint?
@@Maxley.. add Where Angels Play for a 12/10 and I'll buy you that pint.... 👍
Yes , it's just a pity Ian Brown was a complete tosser .
Thank you for an honest reaction video. Subscribed.
Loving your videos and reactions to some of my favourite bands of all time! Hoping I can find some more bands for you that you don't know much about are haven't heard of if that's ok? 👍
JJ ... Stereophonics, The Manics and Kasabian are definitely worth a listen ... love your vids. xxx
I'm not going to argue that they're the best band on this list etc, but the video undersells Take That massively. They were absolutely huge in the UK when they first formed, set all kinds of records etc. And they made a bunch of really successful records when they reformed, as well as many sell out tours etc.
I imagine they've sold as many records in the uk as most of the rest of the list combined.
Like them or loathe them, it's pretty unthinkable that many people in the uk wouldn't have heard of Take That. Which makes the idea that Americans just haven't heard of them quite jarring. Whereas there are plenty of brits that haven't heard of the Stone Roses etc...
I saw headline this year that stated that Taylor or Beyonce (don't remember which, but not both) broke their record for sold out shows at Wembley during single tour (8). That says something. Glossing that over as, "popular boyband in 90's, did a bit of a return in 2000's" is a hell of an understatement.
Take That are the musical equivalent of buying a big mac, bland product for people who aren't into music
@@The.Last.Guitar.Hero.Absolutely false. While a lot of their hits were boyband-by-numbers, almost all of their early albums contain some surprisingly great and quite diverse music.
I listen to everything from Adam Ant to White Zombie. The Carpenters to Steve Earle. Take That definitely holds their own. In my opinion they were only ever rivalled by New Kids On The Block in terms of great 80’s/90’s boy bands
@@The.Last.Guitar.Hero. Any music to be decent has to be somewhat challenging IMHO, and the vast majority of the public want easy to digest, danceable songs with no unexpected changes or too many ideas, as this would be a barrier for them to consuming it. Music is just "product" for the zombies in human form these days, a.k.a. NPC Normies.
Some of these bands (The Jam, Pulp, Madness, The Stone Roses and possibly even Suede for a short time and The Manic Street Preachers) were not just popular in the UK, but arguably the biggest and most influential bands of their time in our country.
The Jam released a lot of material in a short time and had a distinct sound. Weller's later popularity in the '90s was partially built around this as a lot of the bands then had grown up on his music and The Jam's popularity outlasted their existence.
Madness were probably the more poppy band of their time. They were heavily influenced by or in the two tone, ska, Specials side of things. They had a lot of hits in the UK. I bought their Greatest Hits album as a teenager in the '90s and it was filled with songs I already knew but didn't realise I did. Their music just popped up everywhere for a while, in tv shows, in adverts...everywhere. Suggs also had some decent solo stuff too.
Pulp were, I think, genuinely the biggest band in the UK for a spell in the UK. We had moved into Britpop by then (as the music magazines called it) via the band underneath, then Oasis and then Blur, already with a couple of albums under their belt, Blur. When Pulp released Common People their music was at every teenage party. I think it was a no 1 song or maybe the album (Different Class) was. I actually prefer the album before (His n Hers) and after (This Is Hardcore).
Suede were popularly acclaimed with launching the whole Britpop scene (Blur, Oasis, and almost every British guitar band of the time). Their debut album was very fresh sounding at the time but either drugs or internal disputes made it difficult for them to endure. Their members went on to other things so were influential elsewhere too. They were very Bowie-esque (and his music was incredibly influential to all those bands, along with the more noted Beatles influences).
The Stone Roses, around 1990, were the biggest band in the UK. Half the kids I knew were influenced by them, not just musically, but fashion too. They only released two albums but their singer had more solo work thereafter (some of it of similar quality).
The Waterboys are a band that remind me of being a kid. Their singer was Scottish but always sounded very Irish to me. He was/is a fantastic singer. I was at Glastonbury in either '94 or '95 and he stole the show. He's another that you don't quite realise how much of his (and their) music you know until you hear it. Songs like Fisherman's Blues, A Girl Called Johnny and others are classics. I can't believe anyone hasn't heard The Whole Of The Moon (I've heard it too often by now).
The Happy Mondays were a bit of a riot. I think drugs were very much part of their DNA. They had amazing hooks and crossed over a lot with the burgeoning dance scene (via the Hacienda club). Both them and the Stone Roses were as popular after their demise as they were before. They were very very influential on every British indie band that followed for the next decade-plus.
Supergrass - try Richard III.
Stereophonics - try Mr Writer.
Kasabian - were never my favourites.
Can't be bothered doing the others but those seem the most surprising to me. It makes me wonder whether other popular British bands of the '80s and '90s, like The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, Blur, Portishead, The The, The Verve and likewise managed to cross over? Or conversely, did we miss out on very popular music at the time (Grunge was the thing then, I guess) from the US? As I recall, RnB was more of the US market at the time than it was here. We were very much split between either dance-inspired bands like The Prodigy or The Shamen or indie/shoegaze stuff (which was our big thing through the '90s).
I love your voice. So calming.
The waterboys song "The whole of the moon". A great song
Totally agree!
The whole of album "this is the sea" too 😉
Whole of the album* I failed 😅
KASABIAN and .Stereophonics are my favourites and play rock and real instruments always do well in large venues and stadiums.
love his voice...very chilled and soothing!
Some of the guitar work on the stone roses' first album is criminally under appreciated by guitar players. Its just brilliant
John Squier's other band after (?) The Stone Roses - The Seahorses - put out a total guitarists' album which I LOVE 😊
Paul Weller, is seen on the 1984 Bandaid "Do they know its Christmas.
Manic Street Preachers have arguably the best back catalogue on the basis of the number of quality songs.
Even their newer material is solid.
@@Redundant_underscore Agreed. I do think they are a bit underrated, despite their consistency.
Great reaction, as usual. Seeing as you are one of us ( an honorary Brit) I think it’s time you got in to the Ren rabbit hole. I would love to hear your take on this extraordinary artist. I would recommend Hi Ren to start you off. Hopefully yours 😄
The Jam formed in 1972, but they didn't so much "precede" UK Punk as survived it, thriving in its chaotic latter stages and aftermath, with their biggest hits coming from their first single release in 1977 until their break up in 1982, when their first 15 singles were re-released and all placed within the top 100 in the UK, making them for all intents and purposes a post-punk band. The 1982 release The Gift - the band's final studio LP - was a massive commercial success, peaking at No. 1 on the UK charts while spending an unprecedented 16 weeks on the US Billboard Hot 100. Not exactly unknown across the pond, then.
Another band that deserves a mention is Snow Patrol, very big in the UK but mostly unheard of in the USA.
I wish I had never heard of them.
Held in very high regard in their homeland here in NI
@@makavelismithha ha agreed still x1000 better than Kasabian
Yes, despite their lead singer doing a song with Taylor Swift as well. Good call, George.
Stopped at @12:57 to guess #1 Slade. Gotta be.
EDIT:
I cannot believe Slade was not even included. Absolutely criminal.
In the 70's Slade sold more singles in Britain *_than any other band,_* period. More than Zeppelin. Queen. Pink Floyd. David Bowie. _et al._ You name it.
They were the 1st Brit band to have 3 single debut at #1. 17 consecutive top 20's. 30 albums, 3 at #1. Only the Beatles did better.
Huge influence on American bands.
And they tried not once, but 2 times to crack America.
Criminal negligence to overlook one of the best bands ever.
Criminal.
Great video again. The track "Start" by the Jam is very Beatley , worth checking out if you have not heard it.
So much like the Beatles’ Taxman. But the Jam were fantastic.
@@paulhollis8879It’s 100% based on a credited copy of the bass riff from taxman.
The Jam are a great band to listen to as their lyrics to their songs are like stories of the time. My favourite has always been A Town Called Malice.
After the Jam dissolved Paul went onto the band The Style Council.
great song, funeral pyre is awesome
The Style Council - loved The Jam, totally ambivalent to TSC.
Love stereophonics and MSP ❤️
If you're a Beatles fan, do you like the Kinks too? If so, have you heard they're getting back together & recording a new album? I can't wait.
If you haven't heard of them & you want to listen to some of their stuff, I recommend Lola, You Really Got Me, A Well Respected Man, Waterloo Sunset & All Day & all of the Night.
Pete Townsend of the Who said they were his heroes, the band he wanted the Who to emulate.
Pulp common people great brit song you will love it
It is a good song. Oddly, I think I've heard william Shatner's cover of it on the radio here in the US more times than the original.
Their biggest hit but not their best. "Babies" is the one 😉
You have to hear the song by Stereophonics - Mr. Writer! It is an amazing song!
Paul Weller disbanded The Jam when they were at their peak, but according to him they couldn't go any further musically therefore he decided to leave and start a whole different musical project with The Style Council. TSC was a pop group unlike The Jam, but still great nonethless, they even got a top 40 US Billboard single 'My Ever Changing Moods'. After 4 albums and 1 EP (plus a non released album), he also disbanded the group, then he started his long and successful solo career with great albums through different decades, his most famous solo song being 'You Do Something To Me' from his third solo album 'Stanley Road'.
Paul Weller is one of the biggest music genius in UK history imo, he drastically changed his musical style several times and still kept it great.
Hoped to see the Manics there. I'm not exaggerating when I say they are the best band ever. I'm doing a video now to demonstrate that. Literally hundreds of brilliant songs over 35 years.
I agree - I actually got to see them live before Richey died and have a tattoo based on his (like the one from the cover to Generation Terrorists but says "Useless Generation").
Totally agree 👍
seen them live 5 times, every one incredible
The Jam are my favourite band , grew up with them in my teens, seen Paul Weller several times , seeing him in April again. Stereophonics are amazing seen them couple times too, fantastic live. Also seen Madness & Happy Mondays in that list all great bands
Your voice is so calming
Very knowledgeable presenter with a wonderful soothing voice. Well done.
Madness released a new album recently, which went to no.1 in the UK charts.