Three Greatest British Invasion Bands

[rockerreds]

British Invasion has always been one of my favorite periods in popular music.I was curious how the fellow habitues of this board rank the various major bands of that genre.

[Bulldog]

I selected Yardbirds, Beatles and Rolling Stones. 

[Brian]

ELO doesn't count?    Way to appear in between invasions, freaking screw-ups. 

[mn dave]

Nah. ELO was the next decade. I chose Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Zombies.

[adamdavid80]

Blur, Oasis, and The Verve.

(Kidding...I went with beatles, stones, - these two are no-brainers and mandatory, frankly - and animals, but only bc I loved eric burdon's voice so much.  The Yardbirds - as the various incarnations gave us Beck, Clapton, and Page - are the correct third answer.)

[drogulus]

      Beatles and Stones for immediate and long lasting impact, Yardbirds for influence. I never thought it would be that easy, but really it is. 

     

[Szykneij]

The Who?

[Daverz]

The Kinks, the Kinks, and the Kinks.

[rockerreds]

The Who?

The Who were a little later.

[hornteacher]

      Beatles and Stones for immediate and long lasting impact, Yardbirds for influence. I never thought it would be that easy, but really it is. 

What he said.......

[mn dave]

The Kinks, the Kinks, and the Kinks.

I like them way more than the Yardbirds.

[adamdavid80]

I like them way more than the Yardbirds.

Maybe so, but they weren't really a crossover band in the way that some of the other examples are.  They were still very "British" in every sense...village green preservation society was an "English" album, the way that Sgt Pepper was a psychedelic album.  The beatles, stones, and yardbirds were all more influenced by american music - blues, in particular, but also r&b, soul, etc - and played that up much moreso than their englishness.  the kinks, just the opposite.

though, indeed, they kicked ass.  and i always love a band that has a sibling rivalry dynamic.

[mn dave]

Maybe so, but they weren't really a crossover band in the way that some of the other examples are.  They were still very "British" in every sense...village green preservation society was an "English" album, the way that Sgt Pepper was a psychedelic album.  The beatles, stones, and yardbirds were all more influenced by american music - blues, in particular, but also r&b, soul, etc - and played that up much moreso than their englishness.  the kinks, just the opposite.

though, indeed, they kicked ass.  and i always love a band that has a sibling rivalry dynamic.

I know. I was just saying...

I like straight blues, but most blues-heavy rock bands don't do much for me.

[jwinter]

Beatles, Stones, Kinks 

'nuff said

[drogulus]

     The Kinks and the Who are both British Invasion, and you could argue for them. If accomplishment is the measure than the Yardbirds drop out and these 2 get in. If influence is factored in the Yardbirds are in* and the Who are in too. Somehow I think the Who don't quite make it because they had almost no presence (just one minor hit in the U.S.) until the second wave. They are part of the history of hard rock, which Pete Townshend practically invented (the giant amplifiers that hard rock depends on were invented for him). So you could say the Who were premature second wave. The Kinks were a great band, so I don't know why they don't belong other than there are 3 places, so there's no room. 

     8

     <sub>*On their last tour the Yardbirds changed personnel and became The New Yardbirds, then after they fulfilled their last contract obligations changed it again to Led Zeppelin.

     Yardbirds in '68 (before the personnel change) turning into Led Zep, a frozen moment in evolution  :</sub>

[mp3=200,20,0,center]http://www.fileden.com/files/2007/11/2/1559968/Live%20Yardbirds%20Featuring%20Jimmy%20Page%20-%2004%20-%20I%27m%20Confused.mp3[/mp3]

[drogulus]

The High Numbers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hflF6YCsqbs
'

     Moon was about 17 at the time.

[mn dave]

Here's how I rank them (to my taste). I like the more melodic stuff, usually.

Beatles     
Zombies
Hollies
Animals
Kinks
Rolling Stones
Yardbirds    
Them
Gerry and The Pacemakers
Herman's Hermits

Don't really know/care about these:
Freddie and The Dreamers
Manfred Mann    
Dave Clark Five
Searchers

[rockerreds]

Here's how I rank them (to my taste). I like the more melodic stuff, usually.

Beatles     
Zombies
Hollies
Animals
Kinks
Rolling Stones
Yardbirds    
Them
Gerry and The Pacemakers
Herman's Hermits

Don't really know/care about these:
Freddie and The Dreamers
Manfred Mann    
Dave Clark Five
Searchers

Dave-your list displays very good taste.But if you prefer the melodic stuff you should check out The Searchers.

[mn dave]

Dave-your list displays very good taste.But if you prefer the melodic stuff you should check out The Searchers.

Noted! Thanks, man. 

[mn dave]

Just downloaded The Very Best of the Searchers.