# American acts that made it first in the UK - and Vice Versa **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915 "2019-10-17T18:40:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/1 "2019-10-17T18:40:34Z")
I know some of you guys watch Later With Jools Holland. Veteran (and some) US singer PP Arnold is on tonight’s show. I was idly thinking to myself, yeah, another American who had to come over to the UK to make it - happens a lot, which is interesting. And then I started to wonder about British acts that had to go over to the US to make it - and actually, that’s even more interesting to me, because I don’t think I know who they are. But surely it happens, right? Americans coming here - well, aside from PP Arnold, Jimi Hendrix must be the poster boy for that, becoming a star in the UK before returning to conquer America. More recently The Ramones and Blondie were big in the UK long before they made it in the US. More recently still - well, I don’t know, because I’m old. But in comedy as well, the unsurpassed [Bill Hicks was a star in Britain first](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Hicks#Early_fame). Reginald D Hunter - I don’t know if he is known much in the US, but he’s a star here. So yeah - who are the Brits who had to go to the US to make it? James Corden was very successful in the UK before he became huge in the US. Craig Ferguson was a Scottish comedian who really wasn’t that famous before he hosted The late Late Show in the US, so there’s one. Others? Musicians, comics, whatever, I would be very interested to know. j ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/2 "2019-10-17T19:03:24Z")
[Bush](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_(British_band)) (the band) were way bigger in the US than in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/3 "2019-10-17T19:10:18Z")
[John Oliver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver#Career) frequently jokes about how he is unknown in the UK… ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/4 "2019-10-17T19:12:19Z")
Course you realize, Big in the UK is like Big in Delaware. America is a huge place and hard to crack overall. The Stray Cats come to mind as a US act that slayed 'em overseas. There is a long tradition of Americans who play basic rock or soul, from Eddie Cochran to Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, getting a lot more attention when they leave their home base. ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/5 "2019-10-17T19:38:24Z")
UK to US: In the UK, the Dave Clark Five were a couple of hits. In America, they were screamed over and released tons of records that never saw the light of day back home. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/6 "2019-10-17T19:40:55Z")
How about France? Elliott Murphy released one critically acclaimed album in the US, but never achieved success. He moved to Paris and has had major success over there and throughout Europe. ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/7 "2019-10-17T19:47:49Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > [John Oliver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver#Career) frequently jokes about how he is unknown in the UK… Perfect example - I’ve never heard of him. Comedian, I assume? - checks link provided - so he is. > [@Hatchie](#): > > Course you realize, Big in the UK is like Big in Delaware. America is a huge place and hard to crack overall. > > The Stray Cats come to mind as a US act that slayed 'em overseas. There is a long tradition of Americans who play basic rock or soul, from Eddie Cochran to Barrence Whitfield and the Savages, getting a lot more attention when they leave their home base. Goddamn - I forgot The Stray Cats - I even saw them in Mancester half a lifetime ago. Yeah, I get that the UK is like - well, maybe Delaware’s a bit harsh, but I know what you mean. And it’s that tradition of getting attention when you leave your home base - in either direction - that I think is interesting. j ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/8 "2019-10-17T19:54:12Z")
The Muppets couldn’t get a full-time gig in the US. Henson did commercials and SNL sketches, and had lent his puppets to _Sesame Street_, but Kermit & Pals didn’t have a show of their own. They were turned down by ABC and no other US network wanted them. British producer Lew Grade hooked them up and thus began _The Muppet Show_. So, it’s not that they were BIG in the UK before the US, but the money people in the US didn’t see a future for them here. Turns out they were wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2019, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/9 "2019-10-17T20:45:39Z")
> [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Perfect example - I’ve never heard of him. Comedian, I assume? - checks link provided - so he is.j Has an HBO show that’s won multiple prime time Emmy awards for the past four years. So pretty successful over here. His show (_Last Week Tonight_) is apparently available in the UK, because whenever he shows video of the House of Commons he makes the point that in the UK using such video for comedic purposes is illegal so he substitutes random video such as old British sex-ed films instead. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/10 "2019-10-18T02:09:10Z")
James Taylor had to go to London, England, to really get his career going; he was the first non-British act signed to Apple records. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/11 "2019-10-18T02:32:51Z")
I hear Suzi Quatro was huge in England. In America, she was a third-tier supporting character on _Happy Days_. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/12 "2019-10-18T02:58:02Z")
Chrissie Hynde moved tp England to start her band. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/13 "2019-10-18T03:06:30Z")
Robin Leach was the poster boy for this for a long time. Famous in the US, never heard of him in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/14 "2019-10-18T03:18:17Z")
The Killers were a struggling band from Las Vegas until they signed with a British record label and their single “Mr Brightside” played on the BBC. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/15 "2019-10-18T05:14:29Z")
Country singer Slim Whitman, who was somewhat popular in the US, but apparently far more popular in England. In the 1970s, there were several of his albums sold in the US through a ubiquitous series of [direct-marketing TV ads](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRvbnNwL54I), which proclaimed that Slim had “the #1 record in England for more weeks than any singer in history – even Elvis and the Beatles!”, and “the man voted the #1 international artist in England four years in a row!” Most Americans, of course, had no idea who the guy was, but through those ads, he became a cult figure here in the 1970s and 1980s, and one of his songs, “Indian Love Call,” with his trademark yodeling, was a key plot point in the Tim Burton film _Mars Attacks!_ ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/16 "2019-10-18T05:47:20Z")
Kelly Monteithis an American comedian who has had more success in the UK, than in the US. He starred in the Kelly Monteith Show on the BBC. I worked with him years ago. [Kelly Monteith - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly_Monteith) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/17 "2019-10-18T06:07:25Z")
the pet shop boys were originally more popular in the US than the UK until they redid their first singles after they signed with EMI > **[West End Girls](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_End_Girls)** > > "West End Girls" is a song by English synth-pop duo Pet Shop Boys. Written by Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe, the song was released twice as a single. The song's lyrics are concerned with class and the pressures of inner-city life which were inspired partly by T. S. Eliot's poem The Waste Land. It was generally well received by contemporary music critics and has been frequently cited as a highlight in the duo's career. > The first version of the song was produced by Bobby Orlando and was released... ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/18 "2019-10-18T08:16:22Z")
Sparks released two albums that got nowhere in their native US, then relocated to England and became hit makers, critic’s darlings and teen idols for several albums / years. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/19 "2019-10-18T10:33:05Z")
According to Wiki, > [@](#): > > It wasn’t until [the **Ramones**] made a brief tour of England that they began to see the fruits of their labor; a performance at the Roundhouse in London on July 4, 1976, second-billed to the Flamin’ Groovies, organized by Linda Stein, was a resounding success. T-Rex leader Marc Bolan was in attendance at the Roundhouse show and was invited on stage. Their Roundhouse appearance and a club date the following night—where the band met members of the Sex Pistols and the Clash—helped galvanize the burgeoning UK punk rock scene. ---
**Author:** ![RobDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f07891/32.png) [@RobDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobDog)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/20 "2019-10-18T10:39:37Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > [John Oliver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Oliver#Career) frequently jokes about how he is unknown in the UK… > [@Treppenwitz](#): > > Perfect example - I’ve never heard of him. Comedian, I assume? - checks link provided - so he is… > > j He did have at least one spot on Mock the Week… [https://youtu.be/eqo82G5zkVo](https://youtu.be/eqo82G5zkVo) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915.md?page=2)