John Lydon thought the ‘British Invasion’ was “awful”
The British Invasion was a seismic moment in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. For a brief period, having an English accent was enough for American audiences to pay attention to a band, and many used this to their advantage. However, in the eyes of Sex Pistols leader John Lydon, it was inauthentic and gave British acts a bad name.
Most notably, the ‘British Invasion’ led to the birth of Beatlemania in America, single-handedly changing the musical landscape forever. By their own admission, during this era of The Beatles, they borrowed heavily from R&B acts from Black culture. Similarly to Elvis Presley, their skin colour made it more palatable for a mainstream audience.
Similarly, other British Invasion acts who emerged simultaneously, such as The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Animals and The Small Faces, all pulled from the same group of influences, name-checking artists including Chuck Berry and Little Richard.
America couldn’t get enough of these British bands, with them dominating the charts between 1964 and 1967. Back home, they were all successful too, but breaking America was previously unheard of before they laid their flag and forced people to see acts from the United Kingdom in a new light.
Lydon was only a child when this period occurred, but looking back on it years later, the Sex Pistols singer explained why it didn’t sit well with him. The main ingredient he likes to see from artists is an element of originality, and he believed Led Zeppelin were a British band that deserved to be recognised as musical royalty.
Although Zeppelin arrived years after the British Invasion, Lydon respected how they brought their own flavour to rock music, which he didn’t see from their predecessors. He told Newsweek in 2017: “The chaps that stand up, they’ve always impressed me because what they did was challenging in its time. Led Zeppelin, they took the blues and turned it backwards, upside down and on its heads. That incredible drummer [John Bonham], insane!”
Lydon then changed the subject to the British Invasion, adding: “They come from a different period in time. I was never very interested in rock bands that were imitating black America. I resented that. So the ideology of the British Invasion is so awful.”
He elaborated: “That was putting white faces on black music, played very badly, without the empathy and the grueling existence that black people had to endure. When I started with the Pistols, what I did not want was a piss-poor representation of English blues music.”
While the wave of British acts did borrow from Black music, they always made sure to pay credit to those who preceded them and wore their inspiration firmly on their sleeve. However, Lydon’s point is still valid, and undoubtedly, more Black R&B artists deserved to be in the spotlight, considering their vast influence on the scene.
