Music of the United Kingdom
[12] Musicians from the British Isles also developed some distinctive forms of music, including Celtic chant, the Contenance Angloise, the rota, polyphonic votive antiphons and the carol in the medieval era.
[13] In contrast, court music of the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, although having unique elements remained much more integrated into wider European culture.
The Baroque era in British music can be seen as an interaction of national and international trends, sometimes absorbing continental fashions and practices and sometimes attempting, as in the creation of ballad opera, to produce an indigenous tradition.
[19] These traditions, including the cultural strands drawn from the United Kingdom's constituent nations and provinces, continued to evolve in distinctive ways through the work of such composers as Arthur Sullivan, Gustav Holst, Edward Elgar, Hubert Parry, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Benjamin Britten,[20] Michael Tippett, Peter Maxwell Davies and Harrison Birtwistle.
Notable living British classical composers include Michael Nyman, James MacMillan, Jeremy Peyton Jones, Gavin Bryars, Andrew Poppy, Judith Weir, Sally Beamish and Anna Meredith.
Having long been subordinate to English culture, Welsh musicians in the late 20th century had to reconstruct traditional music when a roots revival began.
This revival began in the late 1970s and achieved some mainstream success in the UK in the 1980s with performers like Robin Huw Bowen, Moniars and Gwerinos.
[34] Glam rock, which was developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter—this is widely associated with David Bowie.
[36] Music historian Vernon Joynson claimed that new wave emerged in the UK in late 1976, when many bands began disassociating themselves from punk.
[37] Gothic rock emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s by bands including Siouxsie and the Banshees,[38] Joy Division,[39][38][40] Bauhaus,[39] and the Cure.
In addition to advancing the scope of rock music, British acts developed avant-funk and neo soul and created acid jazz.
[42] These synthpop and new wave associated acts often featured on the American pop charts, and according to Rolling Stone, brought "revolution in sound and style".
New Pop became an umbrella term used by the music industry to describe young, mostly British, androgynous, and technologically oriented artists such as Culture Club and Eurythmics.
[45] Newsweek magazine ran an issue which featured Scottish singer Annie Lennox of Eurythmics and Boy George on the cover of its issue with the caption Britain Rocks America – Again, while Rolling Stone would release an "England Swings: Great Britain invades America's music and style.
[43] Pop-star George Michael was one of the most popular acts of the MTV Generation, cementing this position with his hugely successful Faith album in 1987.
[48][49][50] During the 21st century, blue-eyed soul came to be dominated by British singers, including Amy Winehouse, Duffy and most notably Adele, who has broken several sales and chart records.
[54][55] Highlighting the influence of immigrants in the United Kingdom during the 21st century, British African-Caribbean people created grime, Afrobeats, and afroswing.
