British Invasion

The British Invasion was an influx of rock and roll performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the

The British Invasion was an influx of rock and roll performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States, Australia, Canada and elsewhere. The classic British Invasion was in 1964-1966, but the term may also be applied to later "waves" of UK artists to significantly impact entertainment markets outside of Britain.^{[citation needed]}

The British Invasion began in 1964, and peaked in 1965. Prior to then British musical acts had only achieved fleeting success in what was then a relatively insular market. The first major breakthrough was the success of Dame Vera Lynn when she became the first British act to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in 1952. Other acts in the intervening years had some success, most notably George Shearing, Lonnie Donegan, Petula Clark and The Tornados, who were the first British group to reach #1 in the US, though with a fertile market in Rock and Roll it was natural that audiences would prefer their own country's works rather than a pale imitation.