Our favorite British bands of all time
16. One Direction
Origin: London
Essential song: “Story of my life”
The boy band One Direction was formed in 2010, after the 7th edition of the music show “The X Factor”. Soon after that, they were one of most treasured possessions of Simon Cowell’s record label. Success came really quick for the band as in 2013, their album was the best sold album in UK.
15. Iron Maiden
Origin: London
Essential song: “Hollowed Be Thy Name”
Iron Maiden is a heavy metal band created in 1975. Until present, they are proud to present an impressive discography of 37 albums and 38 music videos. In 2013, they were presented as one of the few bands in the world that performed in over 2000 live shows. Besides the obvious legacy that they left behind, their music, Iron Maiden will also be known as the “band with a mascot”, named Eddie the Head.
Band fact: Iron Maiden is the first international metal band who played in India for a crowd of 30,000 people.
14. Placebo
Origin: London
Essential song: “Every me, every you”
The band was formed back in 1994 as an alternative rock band, most of the time referred as a glam rock band. It appears that the name “Placebo” has Latin origins and can be translated as “I will, please”. However, the singers said many times that it is also a satiric response of many bands named after a drug in the 1990’s.
13. Radiohead
Origin: Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Essential song: “No surprises”
The band was formed in 1985 but the great success came about 10 years later, in 1993, when their first album was released, even though the first single “Creep” was introduced a few months earlier. Radiohead dominated the music tops in the 90’s, being more and more competitive: they started to adopt hip hop influences and to generate music sounds using the computer.
12. Spice Girls
Origin: London
Essential song: “Wannabe”
Spice Girls is a popular global phenomenon from the 90’s, considered to be the pioneers of a new music trend, later known as “teen pop”: the first ones to use the “girl power”. This band became the bestselling female group of all time and are recognized as the biggest band since the Beatles.
11. Muse
Origin: Teignmouth, Devon
Essential song: “Sing for absolution”
The band is well known for the complexity of their music, combining no less than 5 genders, including alternative rock, electronic and rock opera.
Band Fact: – One of Muse’s concerts from HAARP tour was voted “Wembley Stadium’s Greatest Event”, beating amazing shows signed by Queen, Michael Jackson, and even the World Cup.
10. Arctic Monkeys
Origin: Sheffield
Essential song: “Do I Wanna Know”
Arctic Monkeys’s music sounds like indie rock and even if they like to experiment with each album, this sound is a particular feature for them. The band is also recognized as being one of the firsts that came into the public attention via Internet and one of the firsts that are part of post-punk revival music era.
9. The Who
Origin: London
Essential song: “Behind blue eyes”
The Who is known as one of the three most influential British rock bands in the world along with The Rolling Stones and The Beatles – “Holy Trinity of British Rock”. The band was created in 1964. Their trademarks include: The Mod, crashing guitars onstage, rock opera, “Union Jack” on clothes and many others, resumed in two words as: complex acts.
Band facts: The Who are considered to be one of the firsts Pop Art bands in the world. Besides this they are often called the “Godfathers of Punk”, influencing a large number of punk bands.
