What is THE English pop song?

A few contenders:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5J3gX47rHGg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEoAuu_ZuFI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QnBccG_ChI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKCoBt43HWE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhyEMZkfLMo

Oh, and...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgwYYN_f60g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA7sidgFGHU

lolz Waterloo Sunset was my first thought too

Yeah I would cosign Waterloo Sunset tbh or maybe Autumn Almanac.

These are more London pop songs though.

pulp - common ppl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iF47M3YDlg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xakoLYwokBo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZANKFxrcKU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRHA9W-zExQ

I've thought about this question before and this is what I came up with. It strikes me as the essence of a certain type of well-to-do, eccentric Englishness - for its instrumentation, its enunciation, and especially for the violin melody under the second verse.

Dunno, but I guess Kate Bush represents middle class England in a very typical way, whereas my examples are more white working class England.

Common People's a really good answer too

"Penny Lane?"

ive got a lovely bunch of cocoanuts

Itchycoo Park

But Cloudbursting is about an Austrian who lived in Maine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWwRmaZ-eW8

that was rude of me, i apologize

"Penny Lane" is a good call in that it's about an England that's pretty much gone, so the nostalgia factor adds to its poignance. It actually feel like England in the '60s, or even more pertinent, how someone might imagine '60s England to feel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnCNJD3-e7g

I had no idea 'Cloudbusting' was about anything - I don't expect sense from Kate. Thirded re 'Penny Lane'.

THe Jimmy Nail one is a left-field choice here. But pretty good.

I suppose "WatSun", purely for getting it right, and spawning lots of imitators who got nowhere near.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckMvj1piK58

Geir's suggestions are all London - you see there was this band from Liverpool, Geir, called the Beatles, you might not have heard of them. I don't know the Martin Newell song, I've never heard (of) it, so it's not much of a pop song then.

Regarding "Lazy Sunday" Vs. "Itchycoo Park" I would say "Lazy Sunday" is more typically English, because it is sung in a thick English accent and about a very English subject matter, whereas "Itchycoo Park" has a more "neutral" accent and a vocal style heavily influenced by American music.

XP: And I might have suggested some Beatles ones, but I think Northern bands such as The Beatles were maybe slightly more American influenced in their musical style than those London based acts I have mentioned. But sure "Penny Lane" is a good call, because I feel that song has more of a Music Hall approach (and obviously very locally based lyrics) than their earlier material does.

In the case of Newell it may be hard to decide exactly where in the UK he is from, although he was London based when he started his career.

No XTC, Geir?

Btw I guess this one might be considered too. More humour than music, maybe, but very archetypically English, also musically:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo

I'm just tipping my toes into the edge of the well of madness here, but maybe being American-influenced is a big part of the "English" pop song experience?

You could argue that, just like the typical American rock song will probably have considerable African (and perhaps also Irish) elements in it. But I would say that a more typically English style, heavily influenced by Music Hall and Vaudeville, also appeared sometime around 1966-67.

But even in 1963/4 what made the Beatles and the Stones popular either side of the Atlantic was their reshaping or miscreating or Englishing of American musics.

and perhaps also Irish

Uh, what? You mean like House of Pain.

I consider Irish traditional music to be a very important influence on American folk and country, which in turn is also an important part of rock music.

I seem to recall reading that a lot of that "traditional" music was Scottish tbh.

Well a lot of it's from Ulster and is not really Irish as such but that's a can of worms there

Right yeah gotcha that would explain that crazy "North American Pioneers" theme park thing we always drive past.

http://www.nmni.com/uafp

There it is. Never been enticed really.

PAGING MARCELLO CARLIN - You are urgently required to come and trample angrily all over this thread, for one thread only

I think I'm right in saying Irish traditional music, the stuff not from Ulster, has had minimal influence on American music

But House of Pain!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_gZ3eCFnaE

Can't believe I didn't post the Wurzels first but wd have to go with "Farmer Bill's Cowman" over that one.

I think I'm right in saying Irish traditional music, the stuff not from Ulster, has had minimal influence on American music

uh no, you're wrong. irish tunes were argueably just as important as scottish & english tunes in the creation of american folk music, and most strongly influenced the northern 'Yankee' style ballads. (people tend to think that early american folk = appalachian, which is more scots based)

What do you mean by northern 'Yankee' style ballads?

No-one's mentioned Billy Bragg yet. I would say "Between the Wars" and (even better) "The Home Front" are quintessentially English.

Pop songs though?

xpost
the early folk song tradition from New England, Maine etc. few of the songs are now well known, but the tunes & plots of the songs travelled west with the settlers and had huge influence on future songs.
"Indeed, from the early days until the present, the singing Irishman has been the principal singer and song-maker in the north" - A. Lomax

Ah, showing my ignorance here, but I've never heard of them!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYt6Q8rnjJo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BbAl64yIMg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqbsW5hE8v8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vY26l5SAxJs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KG6R3pFCtk0

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28GDuzZp-4E

Sorry, Scott, the Oppressed are Welsh!

Madness - Our House

oops.

i never knew that. i heart the oppressed.

poo, are you a fan of distorted truth? i've been digging their smashed hits album. never heard them before this month though!

Don't know that one but I'll check it out, thanks!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6T9qp9XbRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bFGfIAJRvo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sn9mLnKmPco

mouldy old dough ftw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19wAAyxZhUo

late 80's/early 90's. scottish oi stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAxV2r1aOb8

x-post

"Shipbuilding" is another good call.

Also, since Kate's already all over this thread, why not "Wuthering Heights"? Admittedly, it's a niche type of English whimsy/romanticism, but you can't argue that it's extremely English. Also, along those lines, something by Syd Barrett ("Vegetable Man"?).

I wish I could read these American rock/English pop threads properly, but the number of embedded youtube videos nobody's actually going to watch are making my computer die.

quel dommage!

I would have thought "Greensleeves." Is that not pop enough? Jeff Beck played it.

salsa shark, turn off images - then you'll get links then rather than the embedded vids

I wish I could read these American rock/English pop threads properly, but the number of embedded youtube videos nobody's actually going to watch are making my computer die.

Had the same problem with similar threads until I abandonded Internet Explorer and started using Firefox as my regular browser instead.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcmfrMNPcKc

Kinks' "Waterloo Sunset" sorta nailed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKEgKrA7Ehs

Chas and Dave actually a very good call:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-thA7Gv2s68