# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/21 "2019-10-18T10:52:54Z")
P. J. Proby! A bunch of hits in the mid-60s in the UK, until his infamous [split trousers scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._J._Proby#Success_in_Britain) and a single minor hit in the US. Reading that Wiki article, I see he recorded an album in 1968 called Three Week Hero using all four of the (then) New Yardbirds as some of his studio musicians! ---
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/22 "2019-10-18T13:26:54Z")
A US/Japan one is Cheap Trick. Their concert at Budokan in Japan led to their success in the US. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/23 "2019-10-18T14:50:41Z")
The Beatles were big(\*) in Germany first. Does that count? šŸ˜‰ (\*) Not really ---
**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 18, 2019, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/24 "2019-10-18T15:01:05Z")
> [@LLCoolL](#): > > The Beatles were big(\*) in Germany first. Does that count? šŸ˜‰ > > (\*) Not really Doesnā€™t the story go that it was in Germany that they learned their job - and then they had to come back to the UK to make it? šŸ˜‰ j ETA: and I meant to say, **Zipper** , that the Muppets is an excellent call. Obvious, but I would never have thought of it - the whole story is hidden in plain view. ---
**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, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/25 "2019-10-18T15:08:00Z")
> [@RobDog](#): > > He did have at least one spot on Mock the Weekā€¦ > > [https://youtu.be/eqo82G5zkVo](https://youtu.be/eqo82G5zkVo) I believe he was on the first episode in 2005. [He knew David Mitchell and Richard Ayoade.](https://i.imgur.com/dWxRj7h.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/26 "2019-10-18T15:43:47Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > Chrissie Hynde moved tp England to start her band. I donā€™t believe that the Pretenders were big in England before the US. Their first charting song was Brass in Pocket, which charted at #1 in the UK and #14 in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/27 "2019-10-18T15:56:32Z")
There are a couple of comedians active in the UK who havenā€™t had much (or any) success at home but are staples of the UK circuit and television panel show crew: Reginald D Hunter (US), Katherine Ryan (Canada) and Henning Wehn (Germany) come to mind. Not quite the same thing but following their broadcast run Monty Python were destined for has-been-hood\* and tape deletion until they suddenly found a new audience in the US. The films and renewed popularity followed. \*Which is to say theyā€™d all moved on to other projects. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/28 "2019-10-18T17:57:45Z")
Paul Simon found the folk scene in the US was hard going, came to London in 1965 and found a receptive audience. A lot of US black soul artists found an audience in the UK under the Northern Soul genre, quite a few of these had left the music scene in the 1960ā€™s but were invited back to places such as Manchester and Wigan during the early 1970ā€™s where they revived their careers. > **[Northern soul](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_soul)** > > Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and the English Midlands in the late 1960s from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music, especially from the mid-1960s, with a heavy beat and fast tempo (100 bpm and above) or American soul music from northern cities such as Detroit, Chicago and others. > The northern soul movement generally eschews Motown or Motown-influenced music that has had significant mainstream commercial ... [http://www.northernsoultrain.co.uk/](http://www.northernsoultrain.co.uk/) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/29 "2019-10-18T19:03:43Z")
The Walker Brothers were far more successful here than in the US. ---
**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 18, 2019, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/30 "2019-10-18T19:08:43Z")
> [@casdave](#): > > Paul Simon found the folk scene in the US was hard going, came to London in 1965 and found a receptive audience. Not sure if going to England caused him to make it big, though. He went there after Simon and Garfunkel broke up after the failure of their debut album. While he was away his producer remixed ā€œThe Sound of Silenceā€ with additional instrumentation (and without Simonā€™s knowledge) and it became a hit in the US. Simon returned to the US late if 1965 in time to see the song hit #1 in early 1966. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/31 "2019-10-18T19:36:07Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > I donā€™t believe that the Pretenders were big in England before the US. Their first charting song was Brass in Pocket, which charted at #1 in the UK and #14 in the US. Let me split a tiny hair because I remember the sequence. _Brass in Pocket_ was released in the UK in November of 1979 and reached #1 in January 1980. The song was then released in February 1980 in the US and peaked at #14 in late May. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Colossus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.colossus/32/9423_2.png) [@Dr.Colossus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Colossus)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2019, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/32 "2019-10-18T19:44:40Z")
Rich Hall is an American comedian I never heard of until I saw him on various British TV shows. Heā€™s notable as the alleged inspiration for [Moe on The Simpsons](https://www.neatorama.com/2007/09/26/the-real-moe/). ---
**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, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/33 "2019-10-18T21:48:03Z")
^ Thatā€™s because youā€™re just a kid šŸ˜‰ --Rich Hall was a big deal in the early '80s; he created ā€œSniglets,ā€ and published several books of them. I admit, havenā€™t thought of him in years, but watched him fervently back in the day. So, a second career thanks to the Brits? Good for him. ---
**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, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/34 "2019-10-18T21:58:40Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > ^ Thatā€™s because youā€™re just a kid šŸ˜‰ --Rich Hall was a big deal in the early '80s; he created ā€œSniglets,ā€ and published several books of them. I admit, havenā€™t thought of him in years, but watched him fervently back in the day. So, a second career thanks to the Brits? Good for him. Well, a relatively big deal, anyway. He was never famous on the level of a Bill Murray or Eddie Murphy, but he was in the cast of three different U.S. sketch comedy TV series in the 1980s (one season on _Saturday Night Live_, plus several seasons of _Fridays_, and _Not Necessarily the News_), and Sniglets was a popular-enough bit to spawn that book series. He did pretty much drop off the radar in the US after the 1980s, however. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/35 "2019-10-20T19:35:08Z")
> [@Hatchie](#): > > Course you realize, Big in the UK is like Big in Delaware. America is a huge place and hard to crack overall. Yeah, right. :rolleyes: Delaware has a population of about 1M, the U.K. has 66M. [As for Gold certified sales:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_recording_certification#Certification_thresholds) Singles U.K. 400K U.S. 500K Albums U.K. 100K U.S. 500K So for an album to become a hit, the proportions are roughly equivalent, i.e. the U.S. population is about five times that of the U.K. However, scoring a hit single is much harder than in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2019, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/36 "2019-10-20T23:13:03Z")
A few years back on Top Gear the ā€œStar in a Reasonably Priced Carā€ was [Seasick Steve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasick_Steve) and the studio audience seemed familiar with him while I had no clue who he was. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/37 "2019-10-21T00:54:06Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > Yeah, right. :rolleyes: > > Delaware has a population of about 1M, the U.K. has 66M. > > [As for Gold certified sales:](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_recording_certification#Certification_thresholds) > > Singles > U.K. 400K > U.S. 500K > > Albums > U.K. 100K > U.S. 500K > > So for an album to become a hit, the proportions are roughly equivalent, i.e. the U.S. population is about five times that of the U.K. However, scoring a hit single is much harder than in the U.S. The comparison between the UK and Delaware is silly in a cultural sense anyway. Have you ever heard of a band from Delaware, or maybe a band from England? Who has sent waves of pop cultural influence across the globe for at least the last 60 years? Delaware or Britain? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/38 "2019-10-21T00:59:23Z")
How about New Zealand? Orlando Bloom hadnā€™t made a big name for himself, then he went to NZ to make a few movies with Peter Jackson, and they went over pretty well. ---
**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 21, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/39 "2019-10-21T02:07:42Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > The comparison between the UK and Delaware is silly in a cultural sense anyway. Have you ever heard of a band from Delaware, or maybe a band from England? Who has sent waves of pop cultural influence across the globe for at least the last 60 years? Delaware or Britain? [Homer weighs in](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xxj0GMgWOw) šŸ˜ƒ : ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2019, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915/40 "2019-10-21T11:51:14Z")
Speaking from memory and without any evidence to back myself up, didnā€™t the Scissor Sisters come to the UK and make it much bigger here than back home? Also, what is it with David Hasselhof and Germany? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-acts-that-made-it-first-in-the-uk-and-vice-versa/841915.md?page=3)