In the 1960s and 1970s, a slew of impactful bands from the United Kingdom traveled across the Atlantic Ocean to play in America. Once in the United States, they performed their songs for ravenous fans who cheered loudly while spending their allowance money on rock albums.
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But the so-called British Invasion didn’t stop there. Beyond the 1960s and 1970s, more bands from across the pond made waves in the United States. And that’s just what we wanted to highlight here below. Indeed, these are three British Invasion bands from the 1990s who inspire us to sing.
Oasis
Oasis was one of the biggest rock bands of the 1990s—period. There’s a reason their recent reunion tour has been the talk of the rock world during the past year—they were and are just that good. With songs like “Wonderwall” and “Champagne Supernova”, Oasis was part of the Britpop revolution in the 1990s. That could also have been called British Invasion 2.0. But no matter what name you gave the era, the band led the way with their brand of psychedelic rock that translated to both the MTV and radio airwaves perfectly.
Blur
Today, songwriter and performer Damon Albarn is known for his cartoonish rap group Gorillaz. But the impactful artist rose to fame prior to all that in the 1990s with his band Blur. Known as the chief Britpop rival to Oasis, Blur fans loved the group’s songs like “Girls & Boys” and “Parklife” for their sly, bombastic energy. In total, Blur released six albums in the 1990s. And while they could never quite match the power of Oasis, the group was essential listening back in the day.
The Verve
The Verve was another famous peer of groups like Oasis and Blur. That band perhaps had the most famous track of the three in the 1990s. Indeed, The Verve’s song “Bitter Sweet Symphony” has lasted through the ages, with its heartbreaking violins and mind-bending chorus. Ironically, The Verve sampled an earlier British Invasion artist to help make the song—The Rolling Stones—proving that everything old is one day new again.
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