Timecapsulez

Top Ten 60s British Invasion Bands

Back in the 60s, across the world a new sound and beat invaded radios stations and TV broadcasts everywhere. Starting with The Beatles in 1964 hitting America, The Ed Sullivan TV show introduced 4 lads from Liverpool. Soon after, an onslaught of incredible bands with cool British accents, cool outfits and unforgettable songs followed. It changed the worldwide music scene overnight and it has never been the same since.

The British music scene brought with it lots of influence that exploded onto the international stage. It quickly captured the hearts and minds of young people on every street corner. The catchy melodies and cutting-edge fashion made British groups household names and for many, they represented a new way of life and style - one that was exciting and full of new culture-filled possibilities.

At the height of the British invasion, the music dominated radio airwaves also dominated the charts for strings of memorable hits. It was clear they had something special and were here to stay.

Here’s our top 10 list of British Invasion Bands. But feel free with our extended welcome to add any of your picks to our list. It’s never easy leaving out other greats so we empathize with American Bandstand, Ready Steady Go and Casey Casem because they all had tough jobs selecting which bands and songs to feature or leave out.

Ok on with our list…

1. Whatever your 1st experience listening to The Beatles was; whether they changed your hairstyle back in the 60s or you fell in love with them much later, The Beatles ruled and still rule. Never before were songs put together in such an uncanny but catchy way. They combined lead vocals and harmonies using their own unique blend which is unmistakable on every record. Brian Epstein, The Beatles band manager was considered the 5th Beatle at one time. He was also considered a genius for seeing in them what the major record companies didn’t see or hear at 1st. The rest is history. From “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, to “Yesterday” all the way to “Revolution” and in between, there’s never been anything like The Beatles, and there never will be.

2. The Rolling Stones: The Stones are one of the most iconic and influential bands of all time. They formed in the 1960s and rose to prominence with their signature sound and style. The Stones were a key part of the British Invasion which saw many British bands achieve massive success in the United States and globally. The band continued to be hugely successful throughout the decade releasing a string of classic albums and singles. This pushed The Stones through the following decades and are still going strong today. Kicking off their hits with “Satisfaction” featuring a hallmark fuzztone lead guitar line, it’s been more than 50 years since they first started making music.

3. The Who is a 60s band that was influential in the development of rock music. The band is known for their energetic live performances that even led to busting up their instruments live on stage. Their hits such as "My Generation", "I Can See for Miles”, “Pictures of Lily” all the way to “Pinball Wizard” won massive radio play across the globe. Their hits also went on well into the 70s and beyond. The Who were one of the first bands to employ feedback in their music. The band's innovative approach to rock music helped to establish them as one of the most important rock bands of all time and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.

4. The Kinks were a young British rock band that formed in North London, in 1964. The group consisted of brothers Ray and Dave Davies. They’re considered one of the most significant rock bands of the 1960s. The band's hits include "You Really Got Me", "All Day and All of the Night", and "Tired of Waiting for You". The Kinks stopped touring in 1996, but reunited in 2003. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012.

5. The Animals were a one of the great 60s bands popular for their rhythm-and-bluesy sound. They were most well-known for their hits "House of the Rising Sun", "We Gotta Get Out of This Place" and "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood”. The Animals were one of the first bands to successfully blend rock and roll with blues. They paved the way for many other bands who would come after them. The Animals were formed in North London, England in March of 1962. The bold lead vocalist of the group was, Eric Burdon; one of the most powerful voices in rock music.

6. Cream formed in 1966 as a power trio. The band members were Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. They were known for their long solos and improvisation. The band was also known for their fast, hard-driving sound that live audiences especially loved in their concerts. At first, they were not that popular, but they slowly gained fame towards the late 1960s. In 1968, Cream broke up because of problems between the band members. However, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later on thanks to songs like; “Sunshine of my love”, White Room, Cross Roads from their great LPs like; Disraeli Gears, Fresh Cream and Goodbye Cream.

7. One of the most significant bands of the time was, The Dave Clark Five. The band was known for their high energy live performances and catchy pop songs. They had a unique combination with Dave Clark as a lead-singer drummer along with the cool sounds of lead organ and saxophone. They were a break from the heavy strummed rock guitars and one of the first British bands to achieve success hitting it big on the Ed Sullivan show. With their catchy tunes and danceable beats, they became one of the most popular groups of the decade. They had a string of hits including "Glad All Over", "Bits and Pieces" and “Because”. At the time, they were a force to be reckoned with on the 1960s music scene. The Dave Clark Five were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. The band's leader, Dave Clark, was considered by many to be one of the most influential business men in music of his generation.

8. The 60s band The Yardbirds are best remembered for their string of hit singles, including "For Your Love," "Heart Full of Soul," "Evil Hearted You," and "Over Under Sideways and Down." Formed in 1963, the band was part of the British Invasion, bringing their distinctive blues-infused rock sound to America. The Yardbirds were known for their innovative approach to music. They incorporated elements of rock, blues, and psychedelia featuring, Jeff Beck, the world-famous rock guitarist extraordinaire.

9. The Hollies were a British rock band formed in Manchester in the early 1960s. Initially known for their close harmonies, they featured Graham Nash as lead vocalist. The Hollies became better known for their string of hits during the mid-1960s and had several top ten songs including; "Bus Stop”, Look Through Any Window", “Here I Go Again" and “Just One Look". Yet, more hits came in the 70s as this was no one hit wonder band. The Hollies were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.

10. The Zombies were a British Invasion band popular during the 60s heyday that fit in well within the music scene of the times. The band was founded in 1961 in England and consisted of five members most notable was Rod Argent who went on later to form his own group, Argent. The Zombies are best known for their 1968 top 10 hit song "She's Not There". It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and they did their rounds on popular British Invasion concerts where several bands toured on the same ticket and they also appeared on Ed Sullivan and Hullabaloo popular TV shows.

Ok that’s it for this edition of our top 10 series. And don’t forget, feel free to add your voice into the mix and add-on to the list.

If you want to see some very cool 60s British Invasion masterpieces... just head over to our site and take a look around. https://timecapsulez.com/stores/

We had a great question asked by, Alex, one of our Timecapsulez' Facebook visitors. So, we answered it as a comment but thought it should become a full post so it can be seen right on our FB page feed.

The question asked:

Why does vinyl lack in bass? Is it the player? Every record I play has a lot less bass than its digital counterpart. And some of them are real low volume. Why?

Thanks for your question, Alex. And for anyone else who would like our answer and view on this, please check out the following:

In the days of ‘vinyl only’, lack of bass was not really so noticeable because there was nothing to compare it to. However, since the advent of digital recordings, you may miss some bass on vinyl. So, here’s a couple ideas we’ll impart on this interesting topic. Let’s get right into it…

1) Digital audio can be hit much harder with volume when mastering a record due to its dynamic range and is more resilient to distortion. So, when mastering, you can load more bass onto the mix and feel it.

2) While vinyl can go as low as 20hz, it can distort if overloaded in the mastering process. So, laying off the bass in the vinyl pressing heydays kept the distortion levels down. A mastering engineer would be the one to handle the final balance between bass, middle and high frequencies along with how much compression to apply in the final recording.

Synopsis: What we experience in lack of bass fullness of a vinyl record, we get back in the form of a rich, warm compressed vinyl record. Which btw “is” the beauty and uniqueness of the vinyl record sound.

A tip and solution:

Getting a good preamp to boost bass is where you can get the best of both worlds to dial it in. Boost the bass you miss on vinyl and experience the true full sound of record compression.

Also keep in mind, bass is something certain people cannot detect. There are people who do not listen to nor perceive bass on recordings. Of course, if you removed it from the mix, they would miss it almost thinking they’re listening to a Victrola which has no bass.

So, perception is reality which always wins the debate.

However, at the same time there are those who love bass and want more of it. Especially since hearing the wide-range sound of digital (though colder) some of us still want more bass sounds on vinyl too.

So, for those who miss bass on vinyl, just boost it and we’re onboard with you. We also boost bass with a good vintage preamp. That way we can have bass right where we want it and you can too.

So, give a good preamp a shot and we hope this helped answered the less bass on vinyl records question.

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