We list some of the best British rock bands of all time. Most of them became famous during The British Invasion which was led by the worldwide success of bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones.
The British Invasion was a phenomenon that occurred in the mid-1960s when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom, as well as other aspects of British culture, became popular in the United States, and significant to the rising “counterculture” on both sides of the Atlantic.
Many of the British artists who rose to fame as part of the British Invasion began their music careers in skiffle groups. The rebellious tone and image of US rock and roll and blues musicians became popular with British youth in the late 1950s. While early commercial attempts to replicate American rock and roll mostly failed, the trad jazz–inspired skiffle craze, with its ‘do it yourself’ attitude, was the starting point of several popular British rock bands.
Top 30 Best British Rock Bands
1. Queen
Queen is an English rock band originally consisting of four members: vocalist and pianist Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bass guitarist John Deacon, and drummer Roger Taylor. The band formed in London in 1970 after May and Taylor’s former band Smile split after having released an album and single. Freddie replaced lead vocalist Tim Staffell, after the latter’s departure from the original trio. Through his legendary theatrical performances, Queen became one of the most popular bands in the world in the mid-’70s, topping the charts in England and regularly cracking the Billboard 200 Top Ten with albums like 1975’s A Night at the Opera, 1976’s A Day at the Races, and 1977’s News of the World. In 1990, Queen received the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. They’ve sold over 250 million records, making them one of the world’s best-selling music artists. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, and in 2018 they were presented the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
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2. Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield. Although the UK has definitely introduced formidable acts to the global arena such as The Bee Gees, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and David Bowie, not many attained success quite as rapidly as Arctic Monkeys. Each of the band’s first five singles “I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor”, “When the Sun Goes Down”, “Leave Before The Lights Come On”, “Brianstorm” and “Fluorescent Adolescent” hit the UK Top Five. In the United Kingdom, the band became the first independent-label band to debut at number one in the UK with their first five albums.
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3. The Beatles
The Beatles were a highly influential English rock ‘n’ roll band from Liverpool. They are the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful rock music band in music history. The innovative music and style of band members John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr helped to define the 1960s, and they continue to be well regarded for their artistic achievements and their huge commercial success. They gained popularity in the United Kingdom after their first hit, “Love Me Do”, in late 1962. They acquired the nickname “the Fab Four” as Beatlemania grew in Britain over the following year, and by early 1964 they had become international stars, leading the “British Invasion” of the United States music market. The Beatles are the best-selling music act of all time, with estimated sales of 600 million units worldwide. In 2004 and 2011, the group topped Rolling Stone’s lists of the greatest artists in history.
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4. The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band whose music propelled them to the heights of popularity during the “British Invasion” in the early 1960s. They went on to become the longest-lived major rock band in history, and one of the most successful. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues-based rock & roll that came to define hard rock. The band has won three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004.
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5. Radiohead
Radiohead are an English alternative rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitars, piano), Jonny Greenwood (guitars, keyboards, other instruments), Ed O’Brien (guitars, backing vocals), Colin Greenwood (bass, synthesisers) and Phil Selway (drums, percussion). Radiohead released their first single, “Creep”, in 1992. The song was initially unsuccessful, but it became a worldwide hit several months after the release of their debut album, Pablo Honey (1993).Radiohead’s third album, OK Computer (1997), propelled them to greater international fame. Featuring an expansive sound and themes of modern alienation, OK Computer has often been acclaimed as a landmark record of the 1990s. Rolling Stone named Radiohead one of the 100 greatest artists of all time. In 2019, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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6. Oasis
Oasis were an English rock band that formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher (vocals and tambourine), Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan (bass guitar) and Tony McCarroll (drums, percussion), who were soon joined by Liam’s older brother Noel Gallagher (lead guitar and vocals). Their second album, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? was released in 1995, which was an international success, and became one of the best selling albums of all time. In 1997, Oasis released their third album, Be Here Now, becoming the fastest selling album in UK chart history. They are among the most successful acts on the UK Singles Chart and Albums Chart, with eight UK number-one singles and eight UK number-one albums.
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7. Led Zeppelin
Initially called the New Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin was formed in 1968 by Jimmy Page, the final lead guitarist for the legendary British blues band the Yardbirds. Bassist and keyboard player Jones, like Page, was a veteran studio musician; vocalist Plant and drummer Bonham came from little-known provincial bands. Zeppelin ushered in the era of album rock — they refused to release singles off their albums, even when they were garnering massive radio play — and of arena rock, playing ever-larger stadiums as their ticket sales skyrocketed. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. The band is also considered “as influential” during the 1970s as the Beatles were during the 1960s.
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8. Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd started in 1965 with the members Syd Barrett, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright. Some of the members of the Pink Floyd band started out in previous other bands such as Sigma 6, The Meggadeaths, and The screaming Abdabs all formed in 1964. Gaining a following as a psychedelic band, they were distinguished for their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philosophical lyrics and elaborate live shows, and became a leading band of the progressive rock genre. They are one of the most commercially successful and influential groups in popular music history. Pink Floyd were inducted into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005.
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9. Dire Straits
Dire Straits were a British rock band who emerged during the post-punk era of the late 1970s, active between 1977 and 1995. Comprising Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), his younger brother David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals), and Pick Withers (drums and percussion), and managed by Ed Bicknell, Dire Straits played a more bluesy style, and while their sound was minimalistic and stripped down, they owed little to punk rock which was at the forefront at the time. If anything, the band was a direct outgrowth of the roots revivalism of pub rock, but where pub rock celebrated good times, Dire Straits were melancholy. As their career progressed, Dire Straits became more refined and their new maturity happened to coincide with the rise of MTV and the compact disc. These two musical revolutions from the mid-’80s helped make Dire Straits’ sixth album, Brothers in Arms, an international blockbuster. Despite the band’s international success, they couldn’t sustain their stardom, waiting a full six years to deliver a follow-up to Brothers in Arms, by which time their audience had shrunk significantly. The band disbanded for good in 1995, after which Knopfler launched a solo career full-time. Dire Straits have sold over 120 million units worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists.
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10. Keane
Keane is an English rock band, first established in Battle, East Sussex, United Kingdom in 1995, taking their current name in 1997. The group is comprised of composer, bassist, and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, lead vocalist Tom Chaplin and drummer Richard Hughes. The band achieved mainstream, international success with the release of their debut album Hopes and Fears in 2004. Topping the UK charts, the album won the 2005 Brit Award for Best British Album and was the second best-selling British album of 2004.
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11. Muse
Muse is an alternative rock band from Teignmouth, England, United Kingdom. The band consists of Matthew Bellamy on lead vocals, piano, keyboard and guitar, Chris Wolstenholme on backing vocals and bass guitar, and Dominic Howard on drums and percussion. Muse have won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, two Brit Awards, five MTV Europe Music Awards and eight NME Awards.
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12. The Clash
The Clash were originally formed when Bernie Rhodes, friend and business rival of Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, tried to form his own punk rock group. He recruited guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Terry Chimes from protopunk band London S.S. Later on, vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer joined the band. Their explosive, uptempo punk-rock manifestos were unleashed with pure adrenaline and total conviction. Following the Sex Pistols’ dissolution in January 1978, the Clash became the central voice of the punk movement and remained at the forefront for five years. In January 2003, shortly after the death of Joe Strummer, the band—including original drummer Terry Chimes—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the Clash number 28 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
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13. The Smiths
The Smiths were a British alternative rock band, formed in Manchester in 1982. Based on the song writing partnership of Morrissey (vocals) and Johnny Marr (guitar), the band also included Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). The Smiths were the definitive British indie rock band of the ’80s, marking the end of synth-driven new wave and the beginning of the guitar rock that dominated English rock into the ’90s. Internal tensions led to the Smiths’ breakup in 1987, followed by public lawsuits over royalties. Their live album Rank (1988) reached the top 10 in Europe.
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14. Blur
Blur is an alternative rock band that is known for spearheading the Britpop musical movement in the 1990’s, becoming one of the “Big Four” acts of the genre, alongside Pulp, Suede. and Oasis. They formed in Colchester, England in 1989. The band consists of Damon Albarn (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Graham Coxon (guitar, vocals), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums). The band released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK.
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15. The Who
The Who were key figures of the British Invasion, the mid-60s mod movement, and 70s arena rock. They exploded conventional rock and R&B structures with Pete Townshend’s furious guitar chords, John Entwistle’s hyperactive basslines, and Keith Moon’s vigorous, seemingly chaotic drumming. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk rock, power pop and mod bands, and their songs are still regularly played. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
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16. The Verve
The Verve (originally Verve) was an English alternative rock band. The band was formed in 1989 at Winstanley College, Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, by vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones and drummer Peter Salisbury. Simon Tong later became a member. The band’s commercial breakthrough was the 1997 album Urban Hymns, one of the best-selling albums in UK history. It features the hit singles “Bitter Sweet Symphony”, “The Drugs Don’t Work”, “Sonnet” and “Lucky Man”. The band won two Brit Awards, winning Best British Group, and appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone.
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17. Deep Purple
Deep Purple is an English hard rock band that formed in Hertfordshire in 1968. They’re regarded as pioneers of the popular music genre of heavy metal along such acts as Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. The band (specifically Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan, Glover, Coverdale, Evans, and Hughes) were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
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18. The Animals
The Animals were a British rock band of the 1960s, formed in Newcastle. They were part of the British Invasion, being one of the most popular bands of their era. The Animals were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
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19. The Kinks
The Kinks is an English rock group that came out of the British R&B scene of the early 1960s. Formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray Davies and Dave Davies in 1964 and categorised in the United States as a “British Invasion” band, the Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock groups of the era. In 1990, the original four members of the Kinks were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as the UK Music Hall of Fame in November 2005.
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20. Whitesnake
Whitesnake is an English hard rock band, founded in 1978 by vocalist David Coverdale (formerly of Deep Purple) in North Yorkshire, UK. After recalibrating their sound to better adapt to the burgeoning ’80s hair and pop-metal scene, they found commercial success with 1984’s Slide It In and then cannonballed into the mainstream in 1987 with the release of their multi-platinum-selling eponymous seventh effort, which spawned the power ballad “Is This Love” and the massive crossover number one hit “Here I Go Again.” Whitesnake’s early sound has been characterized by critics as blues rock, but by the mid-1980s the band slowly began moving toward a more commercially accessible hard rock style. The band have been nominated for several awards during their career, including Best British Group at the 1988 Brit Awards.
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Honorable mentions
21. The Hollies
22. T. Rex
23. Stereophonics
24. Roxy Music
25. Kasabian
26. The Zombies
27. Status Quo
28. Pulp
29. The Stone Roses
30. The Moody Blues
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