THE SHOW

The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon that completely re-directed the course of history. In January, 1964, America was still mourning the death of President John F. Kennedy and everything seemed to be in a vacuum; music was dominated by manufactured teen idols; Elvis was in Hollywood; everything was squeaky clean and dull. On Sunday night, Feb 9, 1964, close to 50% of US television viewers tuned in to the #1 variety show of the era, The Ed Sullivan Show, to see the American debut of a British group called The Beatles.

The very next morning; all music, art, fashion, literature… in fact, the very essence of pop culture had been transformed, erased, re-vitalized, and reinvigorated.

Within a week, British music dominated the charts and the airwaves; The Rolling Stones, Dave Clark 5, The Animals, Hollies, Manfred Mann, Dusty Springfield, The Searchers, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Zombies, Freddie & The Dreamers, Herman’s Hermits, The Kinks, and dozens more. There was a sense of teenage rebellion with long hair, pointy boots and a unique kind of music that sped up and mashed up American sounds with an unstoppable urgency and rhythm. You could be whoever or whatever you wanted. The rules were gone!