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The Beatles’ triumphant arrival in New York City on February 7, 1964, opened America’s doors to a wealth of British musical talent. What followed would be called with historical condescension by the willingly reconquered colony the second British Invasion. Liverpool became the first hotbed of the so-called “beat boom.” With the Beatles, other exuberant male quartets such as the Searchers, the Fourmost, and Gerry and the Pacemakers plus the quintet Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotaslaunched “Merseybeat,” so named for the estuary that runs alongside Liverpool. The Beatles first reached the British record charts in late 1962 (shortly after the Tornados’ “Telstar,” an instrumental smash that sent word of what was in store by becoming the first British record to top the American singles chart); the rest joined the hit parade in 1963. Rock swept Britain. By 1964 Greater London could claim the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Who, the Kinks, the Pretty Things, Dusty Springfield, the Dave Clark Five, Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, and Manfred Mann. Manchester had the Hollies, Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, Freddie and the Dreamers, and Herman’s Hermits. Newcastle had the Animals. And Birmingham had the Spencer Davis Group (featuring Steve Winwood) and the Moody Blues. Bands sprang up from Belfast (Them, with Van Morrison) to St. Albans (the Zombies), with more inventive artists arriving to keep the styles moving forward, including the Small Faces, the Move, the Creation, the Troggs, Donovan, the Walker Brothers, and John’s Children.

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