Most British Bands

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spinoff from the best Brit bands thread - which bands do you see as The Most British Bands of all time?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:34 (twenty-three years ago)

1. Ian Dury
2. Cornershop
3. Skrewdriver
4. The Pogues (ha!)
5. The Streets
6. Ali G
7. The Smiths
8. 'wasis
9. The Kinks
10. Fairport Convention

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Very hard to answer because of regionalist tendencies within Britain. You can find something distinctively British about most British bands, or at least project it onto them.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Steps. Even if they were originally a line-dancing concept troupe...

― Mr Swygart (mrswygart), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:41 (twenty-three years ago)

Very hard to answer because of regionalist tendencies within Britain.

hmmm... would The Most English Band be any easier to define?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Well your list Fritz would work as 'the most English'. Being from England I'm not sure how much 'Englishness' in pop resonates with the Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish - it might be 'British' I just don't know.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Portishead. The Pentangle. Blur. Pulp.

― Roger Fascist, Monday, 9 September 2002 10:52 (twenty-three years ago)

I think I am guilty of the common North American misusage of "British" and "English" as interchangable terms - which betrays a greater ignorance than I like to admit. Sorry.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:53 (twenty-three years ago)

Well it's understandable - I think 'regional' bands (English included) tend to be more 'British' than they are 'American' or even 'European'. I suppose it's like saying Steely Dan is a typically American band - would that apply across all of the US?

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 9 September 2002 10:58 (twenty-three years ago)

hmmm - well, I guess Steely Dan would be an archetypally Los Angeles band which would make them a good "American" band since LA is like America's superego or something.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 11:05 (twenty-three years ago)

LA and New York kind of transcend regionalism because they are the twin towers of American self-image.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 11:06 (twenty-three years ago)

can I add Smiley Culture and Status Quo to my list?

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 11:17 (twenty-three years ago)

Billy Bragg is the only artist I can think of for not being able to mistake for anywhere but Britian if you didnt know anything about music styles or artists.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 9 September 2002 12:09 (twenty-three years ago)

You can leave Skrewdriver out!

― Jez, Monday, 9 September 2002 13:18 (twenty-three years ago)

The Jam, the Smiths, Cardiacs, XTC

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 9 September 2002 13:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Herman's Hermits
Donovan
Tom Jones
The Stone Roses
Happy Mondays
The Who
The Zombies

― christoff (christoff), Monday, 9 September 2002 13:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Manfred Mann, Madness, Pink Floyd

― Jez, Monday, 9 September 2002 13:40 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm afraid i don't really understand the concept of 'britishness', i'm not really that great with englishness, but i will offer the following as 'most english' - hood, manix, liberty x, autechre, st etienne, montgolfier brothers, the field mice, sonz of a loop da loop era, liberator djs, gavin cheung, jonny l, the sundays, orbital

― gareth (gareth), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:23 (twenty-three years ago)

and the fall! and doc scott

― gareth (gareth), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:24 (twenty-three years ago)

I always assumed Steely Dan was from New York!

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Skrewdriver would have been my answer by the way, or maybe Queen.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 14:58 (twenty-three years ago)

stop that now

― M Matos (M Matos), Monday, 9 September 2002 15:03 (twenty-three years ago)

No question, MC Pitman

― nick.K (nick.K), Monday, 9 September 2002 15:04 (twenty-three years ago)

Sorry Kris, Skrewdriver are in no way a typical British band - they were nothing but a mouthpiece for the BNP.

― Jez, Monday, 9 September 2002 15:34 (twenty-three years ago)

i didn't mention skrewdriver as a typically british band, just one that epitomised a certain view of britishness/englishness - not one that I would expect anyone here to subscribe to.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 16:45 (twenty-three years ago)

& tried to temper it by mentioning their antithesis - cornershop - in the same breath

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Monday, 9 September 2002 16:46 (twenty-three years ago)

Hey, I mentioned Queen in the same breath! (I guess they're not really much of an antithesis to Skrewdriver). I haven't even heard any of the racist Skrewdriver stuff.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 17:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Oh wait, yeah I have.

― Kris (aqueduct), Monday, 9 September 2002 17:08 (twenty-three years ago)

Pulp, Pulp, Pulp! And possibly the Housemartins.

― Poppy (poppy), Monday, 9 September 2002 17:18 (twenty-three years ago)

I always assumed Steely Dan was from New York!

They are.

― Jody Beth Rosen, Monday, 9 September 2002 17:27 (twenty-three years ago)

Los Angeles? Superego? Shurely Shome Mishtake?

― ArfArf, Monday, 9 September 2002 17:28 (twenty-three years ago)

Sorry - I wasn't trying to get uppity; I do get your point. Maybe I could add The Redskins ;-)

― Jez, Monday, 9 September 2002 17:45 (twenty-three years ago)

i would add the clientele to the list.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Monday, 9 September 2002 17:49 (twenty-three years ago)

Off the top of my head:
Pink Floyd
Yes
Genesis
The Smiths
Pulp

― Juan Marquez, Monday, 9 September 2002 18:17 (twenty-three years ago)

The Kinks.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 9 September 2002 18:18 (twenty-three years ago)

The Spice Girls. The Wombles. The Pipkins.

― Arthur (Arthur), Monday, 9 September 2002 18:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Kevin Coyne.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Monday, 9 September 2002 19:12 (twenty-three years ago)

I would say THE KINKS , but british rock ruled over the rest of the world in almost every aspect.

― Fede, Monday, 9 September 2002 19:21 (twenty-three years ago)

I wonder why no-one has said The Beatles: isn't their adoption of other cultures and musical styles quintessentially English? Or are they just too obvious?

― Enid Roach (Enid Roach), Monday, 9 September 2002 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

As an Englishman, I don't think of 60s English bands as being particularly "English" because the country has changed so hugely since then - in part *because* of those bands, but for whatever reason the sound doesn't seem rooted in place for me.

― Tom (Groke), Monday, 9 September 2002 22:07 (twenty-three years ago)

Robert Wyatt.

― Andrew L (Andrew L), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 06:23 (twenty-three years ago)

The Incredible String Band or The Small Faces.

― gazza, Tuesday, 10 September 2002 06:33 (twenty-three years ago)

unless i'm mistaken, no one has mentioned the wedding present yet. love 'em or hate 'em, they are surely quintessentially english - especially first few years - and unlike blur, there was no artifice in what they were doing. or are people going to claim that they are only "Northern" ? ugh...

hood is a good call too, representing the rural constituency...

― kieron, Tuesday, 10 September 2002 21:04 (twenty-three years ago)

The Cure.

― Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 21:19 (twenty-three years ago)

Radical Posture.

― dan (dan), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 21:25 (twenty-three years ago)

Denim, World Of Twist, Mud

― Paul (scifisoul), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 21:39 (twenty-three years ago)

Frankie Goese To Hollywood
Public Image Ltd.
Anythign w/ Billy Childish

― brg30 (brg30), Tuesday, 10 September 2002 22:35 (twenty-three years ago)

"there was no artifice in what they were doing"

so how can they be "quintessentially English"?

― Tom (Groke), Wednesday, 11 September 2002 05:27 (twenty-three years ago)

well if the term british is gonna be used ,which to me would include northern ireland(no politics please, at the moment it is,whether people like it or not). i'd have to say the divine comedy.
(but then at the same time he's very irish aswell).hmmm...so in between,just like NI itself.

― Myles, Wednesday, 11 September 2002 20:37 (twenty-three years ago)

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