Speak the culture britain be fluent in b 188

Fishy stories The saga of British rock music is strewn with (mostly) apocryphal stories involving groupies, hotel rooms, drugs and the like Have you heard the one about Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull and a Mars Bar; or Led Zeppelin, a young groupie…and a mud shark? Perhaps it’s best not to ask Other tall tales include Keith Richards’ claim that he had his blood replaced in a Swiss clinic, the one about Mama Cass choking to death on a ham sandwich in her London flat (she actually died from a heart attack, although it was in the same room where, four years later, The Who drummer Keith Moon would die after taking too many prescription pills) and the story of how The Beatles enjoyed a sly spliff in the Buckingham Palace toilets before collecting their MBEs Elton, Freddie and friends: the other types of 1970s rock While glam rock was camping its way up the singles chart, its less effeminate cousins were selling albums by the bucket load Hard rock bands like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin played heavy, bluesinfluenced rock music and introduced the world to the now obligatory long guitar solo, tight jeans and screaming lead vocal The Led Zep albums Led Zeppelin IV (1971) and Physical Graffiti (1975) were monumentally successful; the former featured Stairway to Heaven (1971) – frequently cited as a ‘best rock song ever’ contender Progressive (prog) rock was perhaps more intricate, inventive and conscious of its own artistic depth, with keyboards a major feature of bands like Yes, Genesis, and Pink Floyd They showed off their musical talents in epic songs strewn with time and key changes Genesis’ The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway (1974) moved many, while Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) is one of the most successful records of all time, having sold 40 million copies worldwide Another hugely popular group of the mid 1970s, Queen, were a mixture of heavy, glam and prog rock A Night at the Opera (1975) is considered their finest album, and not just because it featured Britain’s third best-selling single of all time, Bohemian Rhapsody The band maintained their commercial success until singer Freddie Mercury’s death from AIDS in 1991 Finally, Reginald Kenneth Dwight (or Sir Elton Hercules John as he’s also known… or the Winner from Pinner (take your pick)) found his form in the 1970s with expertly crafted piano rock So far, he’s sold over 200 million records; the best of which has to be the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) 178 Identity: the foundations of British culture Literature and philosophy Art, architecture and design Performing arts Cinema, photography and fashion Media and communications Food and drink Living culture: the state of modern Britain