Best British Bands: 15 Groups That Rocked The World

14: Yes

When it comes to progressive rock, Yes arguably still embody the genre like no other act. Known for their elaborate stage sets, innovative lighting displays and ingenious album covers designed by Roger Dean, the group were seemingly unstoppable during the early 70s, with albums such as Fragile, Close To The Edge and Tales Of Topographic Oceans going platinum, although the band were challenged during that decade’s latter years, when the punk movement sought to sweep aside everything that had come before.

Nonetheless, Yes are nothing if not resilient. They not only survived punk, but reinvented themselves as a mainstream pop act during the 80s and scored major chart success with albums including 90125 (featuring the band’s biggest US single, Owner Of A Lonely Heart) and Big Generator. The group’s ever-changing line-up has ensured regular infusions of fresh blood over the years, enabling them to remain one of rock’s steadiest live draws in the 21st century, and their monster discography ensures they still stand tall among the best British bands.

Must hear: Roundabout

13: Coldplay

Proving that grit and graft still count for something, Coldplay came up through London’s small-club circuit during the late 90s, releasing their debut EP on the indie label Fierce Panda and becoming the first unsigned act to guest on BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq’s Evening Session.

The band’s big break came in 2000, when their debut album, Parachutes (featuring staples such as Yellow and Shiver), topped the UK chart, taking Chris Martin and company to the heart of the mainstream – a place they’ve reserved ever since. Stuffed full of durable, arena-friendly anthems, Coldplay’s unassailable 2000s trio A Rush Of Blood To The Head, X&Y and Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends did much of the heavy lifting in terms of securing their legend, but subsequent releases such as 2015’s A Head Full Of Dreams and 2021’s Music Of The Spheres have found the group seamlessly incorporating electronica, R&B, gospel and other disparate influences into their overall sound. Indeed, with upwards of 100 million album sales (and counting), and their appeal showing little sign of waning, Coldplay’s name is writ large in the roll call of the best British bands of all time.

Must hear: Yellow

12: Oasis

The headlines inspired by the announcement of Oasis’ 2025 reunion tour showed that Noel and Liam Gallagher are still capable of commanding attention on a truly colossal scale. Along with albums such as Blur’s Parklife, Pulp’s Different Class and Supergrass’ I Should Coco, Oasis’ first two records, Definitely Maybe and (What’s The Story) Morning Glory, defined the sound of Britpop, and they remain touchstones for new generations of rock acts. With the sound of Knebworth ’96 still ringing in fans’ ears, space must be made for Oasis among the best British bands of any era.

Must hear: Live Forever

11: Blur

Blur first arrived amid the shoegaze and indie-dance scenes of the early 90s. Their 1991 debut album, Leisure, was the sound of a band finding its voice, and with 1993’s Modern Life Is Rubbish they did just that. The band made their great leap forward, however, with their game-changing third album, Parklife, and its rapid-fire follow-up, The Great Escape, with frontman Damon Albarn emerging as one of his generation’s finest songwriters, and Blur duking it out for Britpop supremacy with Oasis.

To their credit, the group refused to stand still. The Blur (1996), 13 (1999) and Think Tank (2003) albums saw them pushing ever further into left field, taking in influences from US indie-rock, hip-hop and African music, while still maintaining a mainstream presence. Subsequent reunions and two further albums, The Magic Whip (2015) and The Ballad Of Darren (2023), have reminded us exactly why Blur have long taken their place among the very best British bands.

Must hear: To The End

10: Joy Division/New Order

Most great bands, British or otherwise, secure their legends through making records which change the future music. One Manchester band, though, can legitimately claim to have made records of such a calibre in two different guises. Firstly, having witnessed Sex Pistols’ legendary shows at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall, guitarist Bernard Sumner, bassist Peter Hook and drummer Stephen Morris became Warsaw, then Joy Division, alongside vocalist Ian Curtis. However, their band quickly outstripped the confines of punk. With significant assistance from Curtis’ lyrical erudition and producer Martin Hannett’s innovative recording techniques, they recorded two of the post-punk era’s landmark albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer, before Curtis’ death by suicide abruptly brought the band’s story to a close in May 1980.

Such a tragedy would have spelt the end for most groups, but Sumner, Hook and Morris were made of sterner stuff, and – after drafting in keyboardist Gillian Gilbert – they rose again as New Order, creating a signature sound that still drew upon angular guitar rock but also incorporated electronica and the contemporary sounds of the dancefloor. The band will always be remembered for making the biggest-selling 12” single of all time, 1983’s game-changing Blue Monday, but classic albums such as 1983’s Power, Corruption And Lies, 1985’s Low-Life and 1989’s immaculate Technique have collectively set their legend in stone.

Must hear: Blue Monday

9: The Who

As explosive as rock musicians can get, both onstage and off, The Who epitomise the idea of living life on the edge, yet – give or take a couple of hiatuses – this seemingly indestructible London outfit has existed for a remarkable six decades. Though forever synonymous with the British Mod movement of the mid-60s, they became a major global force with albums such as 1969’s Tommy and 1973’s Quadrophenia, while 1970’s Live At Leeds confirmed their status as one of the most explosive live acts of all time.

The deaths of mercurial drummer Keith Moon and bassist John Entwistle inevitably robbed the group of some of their firepower, but with Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey still at the helm, The Who remain a huge live draw, and the influence they’ve exerted on bands ranging from Sex Pistols and The Clash through to Green Day and Pearl Jam renders their inclusion among the best British bands absolutely mandatory.

Must hear: Won’t Get Fooled Again

8: The Jam

The Jam’s debut album, In The City (1977), arrived in the thick of punk’s charge on the mainstream, but while they were galvanised into action by the likes of Sex Pistols and The Clash, this Surrey-based trio, led by the idealistic Paul Weller, were initially more in thrall to the Mod ideals of their early heroes, The Who. However, like Pete Townshend, Weller had the ability to transcend his initial influences and, after his band found their own inimitable style, they released a string of albums (All Mod Cons, Setting Sons) and singles (Going Underground, Start!, A Town Called Malice) which helped define the British rock scene of the late 70s and early 80s.

Weller would go on to enjoy sustained success with The Style Council and as a solo artist, but The Jam’s immaculate catalogue – and their courageous decision to split while still at the top of their game, in late 1982 – ensures they simply have to be thought of as one of the best British bands of all time.

Must hear: Going Underground

7: Iron Maiden

Heavy metal acts tend to attract fierce loyalty from their followers, but even allowing for that basic tenet, Iron Maiden have inspired an almost unrivalled level of devotion for more than five decades.

Starting out as one of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)’s most hotly-tipped acts, they immediately had an impact, with their self-titled, punk-inflected debut album and its follow-up, Killers, both making the UK Top 20. However, the band went up a level after Bruce Dickinson replaced original vocalist Paul Di’Anno, and their formidable third album, 1982’s The Number Of The Beast, topped the UK charts and made inroads in North America.

That record’s success ushered in Maiden’s golden age, with high-impact albums such as Powerslave, Somewhere In Time and Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son defining the sound of heavy metal during the 80s. Dickinson took a brief hiatus from the group in the mid-90s, but Iron Maiden have gone from strength to strength over the last 15 years, with excellent albums such as The Book Of Souls (2015) and Senjutsu (2021) ensuring their place in the upper echelons of the best British bands.

Must hear: The Number Of The Beast

6: The Smiths

Like The Jam, The Smiths accrued a perfect body of work before their 1987 split, with their final album, Strangeways, Here We Come, suggesting that the Mancunian indie-pop heroes were still hitting fresh artistic peaks even as they called time. Indeed, during their five-year career, Morrissey and Johnny Marr’s singular outfit rarely put a foot wrong. Kicking off with two classic singles in Hand In Glove and This Charming Man, they inspired Beatles-esque levels of devotion before they’d even issued their self-titled debut album, while subsequent releases Meat Is Murder and the flawless The Queen Is Dead have ensured that, decades down the line, the group are still being talked about.

Must hear: The Queen Is Dead

5: Fleetwood Mac

Fleetwood Mac’s story could have been very different if US-born duo Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks hadn’t sprinkled gold dust over albums such as 1975’s Fleetwood Mac and its all-conquering follow-up, Rumours.

Yet the group will always be avowedly British at heart. They enjoyed a pretty hefty dollop of mainstream success in their initial guise as a talented blues-rock outfit led by the brilliant, if troubled, London-born guitarist/vocalist Peter Green during the late 60s, while – following Green’s departure – another London-born guitar prodigy, Danny Kirwan, shaped the sound of the group’s acclaimed early-70s releases such as Kiln House and Bare Trees.

During Kirwan’s tenure as bandleader, Lancashire-born keyboardist/vocalist Christine McVie also came on board, and it was often her songwriting skills (she penned hits such as Don’t Stop, Everywhere and Little Lies), alongside the rock-like presence of British rhythm section Mick Fleetwood (drums) and John McVie (bass), which helped keep the band on an even keel throughout their tempestuous 50-year history.

Must hear: Don’t Stop

4: Pink Floyd

Most of the best British bands have labyrinthine careers, but Pink Floyd’s wide-ranging output truly places them in a category of their own.

The Cambridge quartet had an initial taste of chart success as purveyors of quintessentially English psych-pop under the tutelage of their original leader, Syd Barrett. However, Barrett’s mental-health-related withdrawal from the group forced them to change direction. With guitarist David Gilmour in the fold, the band edged ever closer to mainstream success before attaining lift-off with 1973’s The Dark Side Of The Moon, a treatise on madness, death and the human condition which sold gazillions thanks to its universal themes and accessible tunes.

Pink Floyd maintained their arena status with further 70s classics, Wish You Were Here, Animals and the startling double set The Wall. Founding bassist Roger Waters left following 1983’s stark The Final Cut, but Gilmour, keyboardist Richard Wright and drummer Nick Mason added three more worthy albums to the Floyd canon, courtesy of 1987’s A Momentary Lapse Of Reason, 1994’s The Division Bell and 2014’s The Endless River – the latter released partially in tribute to Wright, who died in 2008.

Must hear: Money

3: The Rolling Stones

The idea that The Rolling Stones played the bad boys against the clean-cut Beatles was always spurious (though it made for good copy), but it’s fair to suggest the Stones were the Liverpudlian four-piece’s only serious domestic chart rivals. Initially following in the footsteps of their US blues heroes such as Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, the band broadened their horizons when Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ songwriting partnership began to bear fruit, and they really came into contention when the ubiquitous (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction became a transatlantic chart-topper in 1965.

Album-wise, the Stones lagged behind The Beatles for a while, though 1966’s Aftermath was a significant step up and 1967’s Their Satanic Majesties Request found them holding their own in the psychedelic-rock stakes. They recorded much of their truly seminal work in the early 70s, however, with albums such as Sticky Fingers and the acclaimed Exile On Main St. perfecting the gritty, rootsy rock’n’roll they’ve long made their own. These days, the Stones tend to prioritise colossal live shows over studio recordings, but the recent, chart-topping Hackney Diamonds proves they can still kick up a mighty thunder when the mood strikes.

Must hear: Jumpin’ Jack Flash

2: Led Zeppelin

If everyone was grabbing at The Beatles and the Stones’ coattails during the 60s, then Led Zeppelin were the British band setting the pace for much of the 70s. Their first two albums, Led Zeppelin and Led Zeppelin II, came out in 1969, and the group’s rise was truly meteoric – they were already stepping into North America’s biggest venues by the time their acclaimed fourth album, best known as “Led Zeppelin IV”, appeared in 1971.

However, Led Zeppelin’s place among the best British bands isn’t secured simply because of their colossal commercial yield, but also by the depth and breadth of their back catalogue. They will probably always be cited as progenitors of heavy metal, but for every bludgeoning Whole Lotta Love, Black Dog, Immigrant Song and Custard Pie there’s an excursion into melancholic introspection (Thank You), epic folk-rock (The Battle Of Evermore), prog-rock perfection (Stairway To Heaven) and even dancefloor-friendly funk (Trampled Under Foot). It’s because of this thrilling diversity that Led Zeppelin’s discography still leaves the band’s numerous imitators for dead.

Must hear: Whole Lotta Love

1: The Beatles

Many bands worth their salt have said their reason for forming is to “be bigger than The Beatles”, and while that’s a highly laudable goal, the chances are it’s not going to happen. Indeed, when it comes to the best British bands, John, Paul, George and Ringo will most likely always lead the way, and, with that in mind, there’s not a whole lot more we can do to endorse The Beatles’ work, save to note that their rate of development as artists and songsmiths – from Please Please Me to Strawberry Fields Forever in under five years – was simply staggering: their use of the studio as, effectively, an instrument in its own right was so innovative that many artists are still figuring out how they performed their greatest sonic tricks. Seemingly destined to top lists of the best British bands until the end of time, The Beatles did it first – and, in many cases, better.

Must hear: Tomorrow Never Knows

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