The 1970s: a miserable time for Britain. A series of economic and social crises meant modern life was rubbish. And our Pop was pretty boring. We were drowning in a surfeit of over-the-top glam and self-indulgent Prog-Rock. Something had to change. And in late ’76 it did. Pop Britannia: Two Tribes
Punks concerned themselves with overthrowing all aspects of the British establishment. But ultimately Punk itself would prove to be a short-lived fad that would have a surprising legacy on British Pop. ibid.
The Human League started out as an avant-garde electronic band by two computer nerds. ibid.
The boy-band formula was a winner. You didn’t even need to be a proper Svengali to strike commercial gold in the ’90s. ibid.
Brit-Pop had arrived. But the band that would come to crystallise the new attitude was Oasis. ibid.
For the last thirty years the soul of British Pop has been contested by the two tribes of art and commerce. Our dreamers and entrepreneurs have constantly reinvented Pop that has been the soundtrack to our culture. Over the last sixty years Britain has gone Pop. We invented Pop. And we’ve been really good at it. ibid.
Our Pop has helped us express what it is to be British. ibid.
I love it. First and foremost I like the independence of the life. I like the glamour. I like the feel of the audience. I like the luxury. Adam Faith, Face to Face 1960
We came down to the Regal Edmonton for a talent competition with The Railroaders – and it was miss-mash of acts. Bruce Welch, The Shadows [esias lived near Regal art deco theatre. Bob Marley’s appearance he missed. They pulled down the theatre and put up a supermarket]
In times of trouble and stress people turn to the fantasy of pop music. Noddy Holder, Slade
With Pop music, the format dictates the form to a big degree. Just think of the Pop single. It has endured as a form even in the download age because bands conform to a strict format, and work, often very productively, within the parameters. David Byrne
Pop music can absorb so many peculiar talents, ranging from the completely nonmusical poseur who just uses music as a kind of springboard for a sense of style, to people who just love putting all that complicated stuff together, brick by brick, on their computers, to people like me who like playing conceptual games and being surprised. Brian Eno
A lot of pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. Ian Anderson
Pop music will never be lowbrow. Lady Gaga
I love Pop music. It’s not easy to write a good Pop song. John Lydon
Pop music I have always loved best. But the more extreme, fascist-led examples of the music business I tend to detest the most. John Lydon
Pop music has greater power to change people and to affect people because it’s a universal language. You don’t have to understand music to understand the power of a pop song. Paul Epworth
I like Pop music. I consider Rock-n-Roll to be a branch of Pop music. Tom Stoppard
Dick Clark’s American Bandstand spread the gospel of American Pop music and teenage style that transcended the regional boundaries of our country and united a youth culture that eventually spread its message throughout the entire world. John Oates
When I’m dead, I wanna leave a body of work, like authors or great painters do. I don’t wanna get ideas above my station, but why shouldn’t this be comparable? Pop music was supposed to be a flash in the pan, but here we are 50 years later, and it means something to us, and it always will do. It’s incredibly important. Paul Weller
Pop music for me was definitely escapist, but never studious. Siouxsie Sioux
I never minded being thought of as a Pop star. People have always thought I wanted to be seen as a serious musician, but I didn’t – I just wanted people to know that I was absolutely serious about Pop music. George Michael
46,992. The way popular music is categorized and formatted cuts down on everyone’s options. And although people don’t talk about it, there are a lot of issues of race determining musical categories of what’s Rock, R&B, or even Folk. It ends up restricting creativity. Tracy Chapman
This is where the hit-parade is compiled. At the BMRB headquarters in Ealing. When the chart is compiled on a Tuesday morning it is phoned through to the BBC. Pop Charts Britannia: 60 Years of the Top 10, original news report, BBC 2012
For sixty years the singles chart has been the ultimate expression of what makes Pop music. ibid.
The chart was characterised by American records of a sweetly sentimental nature. ibid.
Juke Box Jury was BBC television’s first concession to the singles chart in 1959. ibid.
The sixties was a decade of singles heaven. ibid.
The battle lines between young and old were now etched into the top ten. ibid.
1967: Engelbert v the Beatles. ibid.
Brian Adams’ sixteen weeks at the top shattered a record. ibid.
Oasis v Blur. ibid.
Snow Patrol gave the last ever studio performance on a weekly Top of the Pops. The show was cancelled in 2006 after 42 years. ibid.
In 2009 it seemed as if men were running out of things to say. Female artists suddenly ruled the charts. But they’re far from the first to balance beehives, give up their private lives, or sing heart-breaking soul. Queens of British Pop I, BBC 2012
The woman Elton John described as the greatest white singer there has ever been ... Dusty Springfield. ibid.
By late 1963 The Beatles were making Britain the centre of the Pop universe. ibid.
Sandie Shaw ... worked at Ford Dagenham but dreamed of becoming a singer. ibid.
Marianne Faithfull could never be and never was ordinary. ibid.
Marianne gave Mick culture; Mick gave Marianne Rock-n-Roll. ibid.
Enter the girl from Detroit. Our first Rock-n-Roll queen – Suzi Quatro. ibid.
In the mid-seventies ... came the Ice Queen. A human blade. A bird of prey: Siouxsie Sioux ... Siouxsie was an instant Gothic goddess. ibid.
Half-carnal, half-dreamtime ... Kate Bush ... Kate Bush set a new standard of creativity and control. ibid.
Annie Lennox pioneered glam-drogeny. Queens of British Pop II, BBC 2012
Annie and Dave joined a new-wave band The Tourists. ibid.
Alison Moyet is our most reluctant queen ... Alison started her singing career in a punk band called The Vandals in her home town of Basildon ... Yazoo split in 1983 ... Moyet was effectively fired from her own career. ibid.
Kylie Minogue ... half-show girl, half-titan ... Her videos got steamier. ibid.
Amy Winehouse is the voice and talent of her generation ... She was drinking more and it started to show ... She made the nine o’clock news just for still being alive. ibid.
47,017. From 1964 onwards a group of British pioneers would get in their covered wagons and go West ... How the Brits rocked America in the ’60s. How the Brits Rocked America: How the West Was Won, BBC 2015
American Pop was self-absorbed. ibid.
The Beatle’s ecstatic welcome had been proceeded by I Wanna Hold Your Hand. ibid.
In the UK a Beatle-led youth revolution was in full swing by 1964. ibid.
In behind them poured an invasion of British bands. ibid.
1n 1964 and ’65 British music would virtually own the American charts. ibid.
Rolling Stones – their career in America didn’t really take off until 1965. ibid.
The ultimate American Beatles hit TV screens in 1966: The Monkees. ibid.
By 1966 young America had its own Bohemian king: Bob Dylan. ibid.
Monterey Pop in 1967 was the epiphany of a new counter-culture. ibid.
America would be the land of opportunity for British rock. ibid.
For British rock music in the seventies America truly was the land of opportunity. Between 1967 and 1976 British rock groups became lords and masters of a new stadium-based touring empire. How the Brits Rocked America: Go West: Stairway to Heaven II
In August 1965 The Beatles played at Shea Stadium in their second tour of America. ibid.