British Soul
Since the rise of the Beatles in the early '60s, England has had no problem giving the United States a serious run for its money in the rock department. It is hard to imagine rock music without the contributions of Great Britain, which has given us everyone from the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin to the Sex Pistols -- not to mention Black Sabbath, the Clash, the Who, Judas Priest, Oasis and countless others. British rock has been the subject of numerous articles and essays, but one subject that hasn't been discussed nearly as much is British R&B.; Perhaps England's contributions to rock have been so great that the country's contributions to soul, funk and urban contemporary have been overshadowed, and perhaps R&B; is so closely identified with the United States that American listeners usually don't give much thought to the subject of non-American R&B.; After all, R&B; is still dominated by the U.S., and it probably always will be.
But England is, in fact, the world's second largest market for R&B; -- historically, British listeners have spent more money on soul and urban contemporary than any other country except the United States. From the Temptations to Anita Baker to Mary J. Blige, American R&B; singers have enjoyed a great deal of support in England over the years. Great Britain has also been highly supportive of rap, but that's the subject of another essay. The main focus of this essay is British R&B; singing -- soul, funk, urban, disco and otherwise.
The list of R&B-based; (or at least R&B-minded;) artists who have come from England over the years is a long one; it's a list that includes, among many others, Sade, Lisa Stansfield, Hot Chocolate, Imagination, Junior, Loose Ends, the Brand New Heavies, Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler, Mica Paris, Billy Ocean, Cathy Dennis, Five Star, the Style Council, David Grant, Jamiroquai and Rick Astley. How do British R&B; artists differ from American R&B; artists? In most cases, their phrasing isn't all that different; people who speak with British accents don't necessarily sing with British accents. If any one thing separates British R&B; singers (some of them, anyway) from their American counterparts, it is a tendency to be more eclectic. In the U.S., urban radio formats can be extremely rigid and unforgiving; consequently, many American urban artists are likely to avoid being too experimental (which isn't to say that American risk-takers like Erykah Badu, the Fugees and Macy Gray haven't beaten the odds). In England, America's urban radio formats are less of a consideration for R&B; artists -- British radio plays a lot of things that American stations won't touch.
Another big difference between British and American R&B; artists is the reggae factor -- a lot of British soul and urban singers have grown up listening to reggae. In England, reggae has been mainstream for a long time, whereas reggae has more of a cult following in the U.S. It should be noted that in London's black community, the Afro-Caribbean culture is quite strong; so it isn't uncommon for a British soul or urban singer to show some reggae, Caribbean or Afro-pop influence even if R&B; is his/her main focus.
In 1975, Americans got a taste of British R&B; when Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing" because a big hit in the U.S. Hot Chocolate, a soul/funk band with rock and pop influences, was never huge in the U.S.; their only big hits on the American side of the Atlantic were "You Sexy Thing" and 1978's "Every 1's a Winner". Nonetheless, they had a strong following in the U.K. and went down in history as the finest British soulsters of that era. The '70s also gave us Hi-Tension, a British funk outfit whose influences included Kool & the Gang, Earth, Wind & Fire and Brass Construction. Although little known in the U.S., Hi-Tension recorded a noteworthy self-titled LP for Island in 1978.
The early to mid-'80s was when England's R&B; scene really exploded -- that was the era that gave us major hits by Junior, Imagination, Billy Ocean, Loose Ends and Sade. Americans who listened to urban radio during that time are likely to remember Junior for "Mama Used to Say," Imagination for "Just An Illusion" and Loose Ends for "Hanging on a String". Comparing Ocean and Sade really underscores the diversity of British R&B; in the '80s; Ocean had Caribbean influences, while Sade brought jazz sensibilities to hits like "Smooth Operator" and "The Sweetest Taboo" -- and yet, both of them are part of British R&B.;
One of the most risk-taking British urban/pop groups of the '80s was the Style Council, a band that was founded by punk icon Paul Weller. Before the Style Council's formation in 1983, Weller was part of the Jam -- a famous British punk band of the late '70s and early '80s. Influenced by soul, pop and jazz, the Style Council was a radical departure from Weller's work with the Jam (just as Public Image was a serious departure from singer John Lydon's work with the Sex Pistols). The Style Council weren't soul purists and never claimed to be, but they were certainly unpredictable and ambitious. In fact, some British rock critics felt that they could be too ambitious and eclectic for their own good -- that creatively, they sometimes bit off more than they could chew. Another frequent complaint about the Style Council was that their sociopolitical lyrics could be preachy, but all things considered, Weller's band built an impressive catalog in the '80s.
Although the Style Council had their share of British hits, urban stations in the U.S. were generally unreceptive to their eclectic approach. Not that the Style Council was unique in that sense -- many of England's urban, dance-pop and neo-soul artists of the '80s and '90s were probably too eclectic for urban radio in the U.S. Nonetheless, American listeners have heard a fair amount of British R&B; and dance music on the radio -- gems like Princess' "Say I'm Your Number One" in 1986, Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" in 1987, Soul II Soul's "Keep on Movin'" in 1989 and Lisa Stansfield's "All Around the World" in 1990.
The '80s also gave us plenty of British artists who were more pop than R&B; but still had a definite soul influence, including Wham!, George Michael, Culture Club, the Eurythmics, Everything But the Girl, Swing Out Sister and Simply Red. Culture Club's Motown-influenced "Church of the Poison Mind," the Eurythmics' "Missionary Man," Simply Red's "Holding Back the Years" and Wham!'s "Careless Whisper" aren't the work of soul purists, but they are the work of pop artists who have a healthy appreciation of American R&B.;
In the early '90s, veteran Los Angeles Times rock critic Robert Hilburn traveled to London and wrote an article about a "new British invasion" -- and this time, the "invaders" that he was describing were R&B-oriented; instead of rock-oriented. Hilburn was inspired to write the article by the wave of British R&B; artists who emerged in the late '80s and early '90s -- a wave that included, among others, Soul II Soul, Caron Wheeler (who was a Soul II Soul participant before she became a full-time solo artist), Mica Paris, the Brand New Heavies, Cathy Dennis and Lisa Stansfield (who has often been described as the most convincing white R&B; singer to come along since Teena Marie). Many of the British artists who emerged during that period had a neo-soul outlook and were able to blend influences from different eras. Stansfield, for example, combined a strong Barry White influence with a high-tech urban/hip-hop production style on her debut album, Affection, which included her breakthrough hit "All Around the World". Soul II Soul leader Jazzie B., meanwhile, was influenced by Chic but was also influenced by everything from hip-hop and house to African music.
While Soul II Soul, Paris and Stansfield were the essence of neo-soul, the Brand New Heavies favored a totally retro approach on their '90s albums. If you didn't know for a fact that their self-titled debut album was recorded in the early '90s, it would be easy to assume that it was recorded in the '70s -- their sound was right out of the era that gave us Tower Of Power, Rufus/Chaka Khan and the Average White Band (who came from England's neighbor Scotland). The Brand New Heavies were never innovative or groundbreaking, but they were still great at what they did and had a jewel of a lead singer in N'Dea Davenport (who was featured on the U.K. hits "Dream Come True" and "Stay This Way"). Davenport, an American vocalist who had moved to England, subsequently left the band and pursued a solo career.
One can only speculate on where R&B; in general will go in the 21st Century. But it is a safe bet that while the United States will continue to dominate the field, England will remain a strong market for R&B; as well as dance-pop and rap.
Recommended Recordings:
Lisa Stansfield, Affection (Arista)
Sade, Diamond Life (Epic)
Junior, Ji (Mercury)
Brand New Heavies, The Brand New Heavies (Delicious Vinyl)
Soul II Soul, Keep On Movin' (Virgin)
Soul II Soul, Vol. II: 1990, A New Decade (Virgin)
Imagination, Like It Is (RCA)
Hot Chocolate, Hot Chocolate (Big Tree)
Caron Wheeler, U.K. Blak (EMI)
Mica Paris, Contribution (Island)
Samantha Siva, Rhythm of the Voices (Genie)
Cathy Dennis, Move to This (Polydor)
Princess, Princess (Next Plateau)
Hi-Tension, Hi-Tension (Island)
Rick Astley, Whenever You Need Somebody (RCA)
David Grant, Anxious Edge (4th & Broadway)
Billy Ocean, Suddenly (Arista)
The Style Council, My Ever Changing Moods (Geffen)
