subject: Bristol Beats: Top Five Bristol Artists [print this page] Bristol Beats: Top Five Bristol Artists Bristol Beats: Top Five Bristol Artists
While it may be overshadowed by bigger cities such as London and Manchester when it comes to a distinctive music scene, the south-western city of Bristol has produced a fine legacy of musical talent over the decades, spanning the genres from traditional folk to hard rock. This eclectic selection makes it difficult to define a trademark 'Bristol Sound', as local musical talent veers off in increasingly creative and trend-setting directions.
A survey by PRS for Music identified Bristol as a major city for music in the UK, due to the high number of notable bands it had produced compared to its modest size. While not all of Bristol's premier music acts may be household names (yet), even dedicated music fans could be surprised to learn that the records poking out of their album collection or the tracks shuffling on their MP3 players originated in the historic city.
Bristol's well-kept parks and traditional tourist attractions mean the city might not spring instantly to mind when considering the hard rock capitals of the UK, but Bristol has certainly earned its stripes when it comes to the loudest bands. From the distinctly 80s hair metal of Jaguar to the aggressive thrash metal of Onslaught - a band perhaps most famous for its dwarf guitarists - critics could never say that Bristol bands don't make a lasting impression on their audiences.
The quirky local spirit is even more evident in Bristol's folk-based output, with celebrated 'scrumpy & western' act The Wurzels enjoying chart success in the 70s thanks to novelty hits such as their 1976 number one 'The Combine Harvester.' While the band's most lasting influence may have been to give more life to the unfortunate stereotype of West Country life, they certainly put Bristol on the pop map.
A band that ironically enjoyed less chart fame was the subversively-named The Pop Group, though the influence of their distinctive post-punk and jazz fusion styles was influential outside of the mainstream - proving, if needed, that Bristol was good for more than just joke bands after all.
More recent years have seen groups such as Massive Attack and trip-hoppers Portishead keeping Bristol a significant name in the music world, as well as serving to inspire further generations of talented musicians to do their city proud. Those who are looking to discover Bristol's music scene can find well-located Bristol hotels near to major venues and catch the next up-and-coming acts from the eclectic and always entertaining Bristol school of rock.
