
In the halcyon years of the 'British Invasion' of America - 1964
and 1965 - who were the two most successful acts? Well The
Beatles were obviously the first. But who was the second? The
Rolling Stones? The Animals? The
Who? Guess again.
The Who had no hits in the US until 1967, and it wasn't until
1966 that The Animals got into the top five of British acts in the
US. And while The Stones were always popular it wasn't until 1966
that they came close to rivalling The Beatles in chart success.
The bands that America was most excited about (other than The
Beatles) were Billy J Kramer & The
Dakotas, Herman's Hermits and
The Dave Clark Five. Other bands
that followed in the wake of The Beatles and formed part of the
flood of British Invasion groups were The
Searchers, Peter & Gordon
and The Nashville Teens.
American record companies scrambled to sign anything with long
hair and an English accent. Some acts, like Chad
Stewart and Jeremy Clyde, were significantly more successful
in America than at home in the UK.
The first US number one of 1965 was by Petula
Clark. Other stateside chart-toppers early in that year were
provided by The Beatles, Freddie
& The Dreamers, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits
and Wayne Fontana.
The US Department of Labor counteracted by announcing it would
not issue many British rock bands with work permits or visas.
Although at Number One in America with Game of Love, Wayne
Fontana and The Mindbenders were refused work permits on the
grounds that "The artists are insufficiently well-known in
America to warrant them working here".
Other British groups to suffer similar treatment included The
Hollies, The Zombies and The
Animals. Although the Department of Labor refused to admit it, the
action was widely interpreted as an attempt to protect the careers
of America's star acts.
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