British Rock

British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by The Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the development of American music and rock music across the world.

Initial attempts to emulate American rock and roll took place in Britain in the mid-1950s, but the terms "rock music" and "rock" usually refer to the music derived from the blues-rock and other genres that emerged during the 1960s. The term is often used in combination with other terms to describe a variety of hybrids or sub-genres, and is often contrasted with pop music, with which it shares many structures and instrumentation. Rock music has tended to be more oriented toward the albums market, putting an emphasis on innovation, virtuosity, performance and song writing by the performers.

Although much too diverse to be a genre in itself, British rock has produced many of the most significant groups and performers in rock music internationally, and has initiated or significantly developed many of the most influential sub-genres, including beat music, progressive rock, art rock, heavy metal music, punk, post punk, new romanticism, and indie rock.