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British Pop and Rock Music

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and the global influence of British pop.

British pop and rock musicians have had a global influence since the 1960s. The Beatles, formed in Liverpool in 1960, are the best-selling music act of all time. The Rolling Stones, formed in London in 1962, are the longest-running rock band of comparable stature. Other 1960s acts that defined the era include The Who, The Kinks and Pink Floyd.

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The 1970s saw the rise of David Bowie, Queen and Led Zeppelin, and the punk movement led by the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Britpop in the 1990s — Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Suede — drew on those traditions. Adele, Ed Sheeran, Stormzy and Dua Lipa are among the most successful British pop artists of the present day.

You may be asked which city the Beatles came from (Liverpool), or to identify a famous British band of the 1960s.

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