A number of young and amateur American bands inspired by the invasion created a raw version of the British Invasion sound that has since become known as garage rock. A handful of garage bands had chart success.
The British Invasion influence continued on subsequent groups such as Todd Rundgrenamongst others. British Invasion acts influenced fashion, haircuts and manners of the 1960s of what was to be known as The Counterculture.
In the early 1980s music from the United Kingdom was informed by the after effects of the “Punk/New Wave” revolution. Music videos, having been a staple of British music television programs for half a decade, had evolved into image conscious short films. At the same time, pop and rock music in the United States was undergoing a creative slump due to several factors, including audience fragmentation and the effects of the anti-disco backlash. Videos did not exist for most hits by American acts, and those that did were usually taped concert performances.When the cable music channel MTV launched on August 1, 1981, it had little choice but to play a large number of music videos from British New Wave acts. Also in 1981, Los Angeles radio station KROQ began the Rock of the ’80’s format which would make it the most popular station in that city.
At first MTV was only available in small towns and suburbs. To the surprise of the music industry when MTV became available in a local market, record sales by acts played solely on the channel increased immediately and listeners phoned radio stations requesting to hear them. The September 1982 arrival of MTV in the media capitals of New York City and Los Angeles, led to widespread positive publicity for the new “video era”. By the fall, “I Ran” by A Flock of Seagulls, the first successful song that owed almost everything to video, had entered the Billboard Top Ten. Duran Duran’s glossy videos would come to symbolize the power of MTV.
Warning or barriers are absolutely necessary in areas with overhead cables, according to HSE inspector Lynne Boulton, while talking about an incident that took place in September 2008. Deaths due to accidental contact with electric cables account for nearly sixty percent of deaths caused by electricity, and hence it is absolutely essential that due precaution is taken while working on such sites, she added.
The incident relates to one Andrew Perry, who was working on the Staffordshire waste site and tipping waste when the arm of his truck accidentally came in contact with 33,000 volts overhead cables. Electricity coursed through the body of the vehicle and threw the victim out, causing burns to his feet and arms.
Speaking on the incident, Boulton stated that direct contact with cables is not necessary for such accidents to occur and it is common knowledge that electricity can jump gaps and reach machinery. In the present case, she added, there were no barriers or warnings to stop employees from tipping waste under cables, and it was obvious that such an accident would happen. She further added that Perry was very lucky to have gotten off with simple burns, as many such accidental contacts with cables result in death of workers.
Preventive safety measures are very simple and easy to put up, as could be seen from the fact that John Rowland Fallows, the owner of the site, constructed such barriers immediately after the accident to prevent a recurrence of the incident. Fallows pleaded guilty before the Newcastle-under-Lynne Magistrate Court, which imposed a fine of £1600 and costs of £2214 on him.
It is necessary for employers to keep up-to-date with health and safety regulations that can save employees from serious injury and avoid court procedures that can cost companies many thousands of pounds. Visit the Workplace Law website for all the information on accredited NEBOSH and IOSH training , including iosh e-learning, which can help companies to avoid falling foul of health and safety legalities.