Best Of British: Where Were The Classics? (2012 London Olympics Opening Ceremony Feature)
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
Written by Heather McDaid
Though the Olympics did a relatively good job in soundtracking the history and evolution of British music, it's unsurprising that some of the classics had to be left out. As more of a rock 'n' roller, the real big names that spring to mind are of an alternative nature, but there are some longstanding names in British music who weren't recognised in the list. And, since I'm sure Morrissey is crying in a corner somewhere, this is for you guys...
Because of that quip, The Smiths seem a good place to start. Take them as a band or take Morrissey as an icon, either way it feels one of the two careers were worthy of being noted. Despite only being together for five years back in the eighties, The Smiths and their back catalogue have been rendered iconic since. They have a real staying power in the UK, yet their sombre nature may have excluded them from the celebratory affair. Classic 'Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now' is a belting song, but perhaps it just didn't fit the puzzle...
Heavy metal wasn't really celebrated in the ceremony, and that's understandable. But, then again, one of the world's biggest heavy metal bands hails from London - so why wouldn't they be there?! Formed in 1975, Iron Maiden are currently just shy of a 40 year career - that's something exceptional by all accounts. There has been one or two... or three or... well, many line-up shuffles over the years but they've still continued strongly. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson seems like he's going nowhere this time around, considering he's 13 years into his second stint, so they're more than worthy of inclusion in a 'Best of British' list. I'm sure there was a perfect time in the ceremony to slot in 'Two Minutes To Midnight'...
A year later than Iron Maiden's inception, Barnsley had its own metal storm brewing. With nineteen studio albums released and a twentieth speculated for next year, heavy metal's own Saxon certainly have the credentials to be listed amongst the best of British. They've been a steady band throughout the years, consistently releasing records without waiting too long between them. They're still monsters in a live capacity, as many who have seen them live can vouch for. They killed it at Download Festival earlier this year too, so don't worry Saxon, you're on our list.
It's a little weird to be heading down the heavy metal road without two massive words: BLACK - SABBATH. Between watching the ceremony itself and reading the playlist afterwards, I might have missed something - but how can BLACK - SABBATH not be included? They only pretty much created heavy metal, paved the way for generations of metal bands to follow in their footsteps and are one of the most iconic bands in the world! Sure, heavy metal isn't to everyone's taste but you couldn't even slot the guitar intro to 'Paranoid' in there somewhere? Tut to you all. TUT.
This is more spiralling into a ramble about how much quality rock and metal music has been skimmed over, but so be it. Another English metal export, Motorhead have a career that's worthy of being noted. Despite being some line-up changes, Lemmy has been a sole constant in the band, Phil has been there since 1983 and Mikkey Dee has been back at the drums since 1992. That's 20 years of this suit. You don't need to be a metal enthusiast to enjoy 'Ace of Spades', some of my most pop-loving teachers back in school loved this song! Maybe this could just be the alternative Olympic playlist...
If we're going by career spans, consider Status Quo. They've been around since 1967 - that's 35 years. Three and a half decades and a number of hits, wouldn't 'Rockin' All Over The World' have been somewhat suitable for the Olympics? Celebrating musical history as well as a mass of nations? No?
Moving on...
Despite growing up in America, Stoke-on-Trent is birthplace to one of the world's most iconic guitarist. Saul Hudson might not be a name that means much to everyone, but when he took on his nickname as his general name, Slash became a household icon. His highs and lows with Guns N' Roses were well documented, as is the work that followed with the likes of Slash's Snakepit and Velvet Revolver. This is more picking at straws, but he does have his own solo career. And you're talking about music... And the world's most famous guitarist is from here.
Not everyone included in the list has decades of careers behind them, and in turn there are some newer British bands who are mammoth. Muse made the cut, so why not Biffy Clyro? They've been deemed big enough to headline the likes of Sonisphere Festival, which they nailed despite it being out of the band's comfort zone. Furthermore, they were considered good enough song writers for the X Factor to give one of their songs to winner Matt Cardle to cover. With the band running for the best part of 20 years, though just over a decade since their first release, they've achieved so much and proved to be one of Scotland's greatest musical exports of the last few years.
There's a long list of bands both classic and bordering classic who feel worthy of inclusion on a list that depicts Britain's musical history. All is not lost, though, as the closing ceremony is said to be much more focussed on music, considering it's called "A Symphony of British Music". Whether this symphony will include heavy metal or not, or The Smiths, or Biffy Clyro is yet to be seen.
It's a herculean task to succinctly pack meaning and history into a playlist and naturally some names weren't going to be included. Just like Morrissey in the corner, if Ozzy Osbourne's moping around somewhere - don't worry, buddy, we thought you should've been there too.
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