Unforgettable Invasion

Comprising songs that became classics and bands that became popular,‘British Invasion’ continues to influence new-age bands,music lovers,city clubs and even music channels. Across the world,bands still pay tributes to different British bands from that era such as,The Beatles,The Rolling Stones,Pink Floyd,Queen and Led Zepplin.

Abhishek Shah,a member of Mumbai-based band,The Echoes says,”I wish I was born in that period. The passion musicians had for music then is unparalleled. Every song had its own story and every band member played a part in writing the songs.” The Echoes next performance is in Pune at Hard Rock Cafe on July 19,when they will pay a tribute to the legendary British rock band,Led Zepplin. They are heavily influenced by bands from the British invasion period and have accordingly named their band after the Pink Floyd song,‘Echoes’. Their album,‘Stitched’ is also inspired by music from the 60s to the 90s,says Shah,”This is the music we have grown up with and you’ll find a hint of everything you heard from the 70s and the 90s in our songs.”

Very recently,High Spirits,in Pune,hosted a tribute to the British invasion period,where four independent musicians – Ananda Sen,Rohan Ganguli,Kristofor Paul Mendonca and Pradeep Mathews- performed songs by The Rolling Stones,The Who,The Kinks and the Beatles. Even Pune-based band,RLA or Retro-Legendary Act mostly performs covers of bands like Pink Floyd,Deep Purple and Led Zepplin.

Mathews and Mendonca are members of a Mumbai based band,The Mavyns – a pop-rock group,influenced by artists from the 60s,such as the Beatles. “British rock comes along with a certain arrogance and attitude that fascinates artists like us. Their music was complex but well-composed and reminds us of our younger days when we’d listen to these songs with our parents or our friends,” says Mathews. British Invasion songs,says Sen,are not restricted to older audiences which love to listen to rock from that era. “In fact,a lot of young people attend such gigs and are equally aware and appreciative of the music. Today,we have the internet and younger generations can easily access music even if it is decades old.” Sen and Ganguli are part of The Supersonics,a band based in Kolkata.

“Back then,all band members would sit and create the songs together; that is why their music is so honest and pure. Anyone can connect to their songs,” says RLA guitarist Ritesh Ohol.

“Even music channels have dedicated programmes that regularly play music from this period. There are more live bands now than they were earlier and they play covers from that period and write a lot of music inspired by those songs. This has kept the music alive,” says Tirthankar Poddar,a band member who is also known by his stage name 2Blue. The response to the music also depends on where you’re playing it,says Poddar; for example,in cities like Mumbai,Bangalore and Pune,where there is a large cosmopolitan crowd,the audience knows the songs very well and connects with the music instantly.