British Beat (My Music)

In February 1964, a young English rock’n’roll quartet called the Beatles arrived on U.S. shores, kicking off a musical explosion that took the country by storm — and reverberates to this day. PBS revisits the time when the nation’s airwaves grooved to the swinging sounds of London in British Beat. British Beat (My Music) airs Saturday, June 2 at 8 p.m. on Eight.  

Britain’s first lady of song, Petula Clark, hosts this all-star reunion of some of the best of the British Invasion and performs her #1 million-seller “Downtown.” Beloved duo Peter (Asher) and the late Gordon (Waller) reunite for the first time in nearly four decades to perform their hits “World Without Love” and “I Go to Pieces.” Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies bring back the British psychedelic pop sound with the Brit-rock anthems “Time of the Season” and “She’s Not There.”

The British Beat includes numerous #1 Billboard hits such as “To Sir With Love” by Lulu, “Mrs. Brown You’ve Got a Lovely Daughter” by Peter Noone of Herman’s Hermits and “Game of Love” by Wayne Fontana, original lead singer of Wayne Fontana and the Mindbenders, who also reprises the favorite “A Groovy Kind of Love.”  

Additional highlights include the earthy, feel-good declaration “Do Wah Diddy” from Paul Jones of Manfred Mann, the pulsating “Needles & Pins” by Mike Pender’s Searchers, “Yesterday’s Gone” by balladeers Chad & Jeremy and the R&B-flavored “Go Now” from Denny Laine, original singer for the Moody Blues. Eric Burdon of the Animals offers another Brit-rock anthem, “The House of the Rising Sun” — based on an American folk ballad.

An archival performance of her 1966 worldwide smash “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” pays tribute to the late Dusty Springfield, while vintage clips from “The Ed Sullivan Show” provide era-defining moments from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Media Contact:  Colleen O’Donnell Pierce
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