The British Invasion
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
artists 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 Britain.
The US Department of Labor counteracted by announcing it would
not issue many British rock bands with work permits or visas.
Although at Number 1 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, The
Nashville Teens 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 own star acts.
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