3 British Rock Bands From the 60s That Inspired Britpop in the 90s

Many iconic British rock bands were inspired by American music. The Beatles and The Rolling Stones each began their careers by covering Chuck Berry. And Brian Jones famously named his band after the Muddy Waters song “Rollin’ Stone”.

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Meanwhile, blues revivalists like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, and Jeff Beck helped popularize American roots music with The Yardbirds, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, and Led Zeppelin.

But in the 90s, a backlash to American grunge led British youth to embrace their own rich music history. This new movement became known as Britpop and found its motivation in homegrown bands from the 60s.

In the late 50s, Merceybeat had emerged from skiffle, American rhythm and blues, and music hall. The precursor to garage and psychedelic rock eventually led to the British Invasion in 1964. Then, Britpop bands in the 90s continued in this tradition of domestic rock and roll and cultural pride. They exported their culture to the rest of the world and even landed hits in the U.S. during the height of grunge’s popularity.

Britpop in the 90s would have sounded very different without these 60s British rock bands.

The Kinks

You don’t get to Oasis and Blur without the garage rock of The Kinks. Ray and Dave Davies, along with Pete Quaife, were part of the first British Invasion. At least until the band was banned from touring in the U.S. in 1965. (The Gallagher brothers seemed to have absorbed the chaotic lessons of the Davies’ sibling rivalry.)

The Kinks influenced punk, too. Most notably for Britpop, they had fans in The Jam. And you certainly don’t get to Britain’s 90s scene without the Modfather, Paul Weller. There’s also a noticeable connection between The Kinks’ “Waterloo Sunset” and Damon Albarn’s songwriting during Blur’s Cool Britannia years.

The Beatles

Judging by Oasis alone, this one seems obvious. But The Beatles also shaped Madchester legends, The Stone Roses, whose baggy jams paved the way for Britpop. “I Am The Resurrection” features Paul McCartney’s bass line from “Taxman”, played in reverse.

But it wasn’t only Macca’s grooves. Outside Britpop’s big four (Oasis, Blur, Pulp, and Suede), The Beatles’ psychedelic period was recycled often by Ocean Colour Scene and Cast. Not to mention how much George Harrison’s raga rock influenced Kula Shaker.

The Who

There are plenty of photos of The Who draped in the Union Jack. Or of Pete Townshend sporting a mod jacket with the flag stitched on it. The Who’s embrace of Britishness foreshadows the 90s bands’ national pride. Noel Gallagher famously played a Union Jack-painted Epiphone guitar.

More than aesthetic, The Who’s early garage and proto-punk, mixed with 60s pop melodies, also guided future anthems by Oasis and Blur. Moreover, Oasis and The Who once shared drummers when Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son) split time between bands. “All the people / So many people.”  

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