The bands that built Britain
Quiet it's not. With one of the world's best live music and dance scenes, Britain's one fantastic place to party. Unsurprisingly, music's most wanted hail from these shores: here's how you can get a piece of the action following your favourites.
The Beatles
No band is so intrinsically linked with a British city quite like the Beatles and Liverpool, and none so rewards a visit. Beatles diehards will love real-life Magical Mystery Tours and visits to John and Paul's childhood homes. The rest of us can enjoy the Beatles Story at Albert Dock, then explore the city's galleries, hit the RopeWalks bars and take in a football match.
Led Zeppelin
The Zep are unquestionably one of the great British bands of all time, and they're on the rise again. Best known for Tolkien-loving lyrics, long guitar solos and over-the-top stage shows, Led Zeppelin's original line-up, minus deceased drummer John Bonham, recently reunited at London's O2. The band's home town of Birmingham now rocks to an Asian-influenced Bhangra beat or to booming basslines at clubs like Godskitchen, rather than rock.
The Rolling Stones
Indestructible rockers the Rolling Stones burst out of London's Rhythm & Blues scene in the early 1960s, though their home base in Richmond, the Station Hotel, is now a trendy bar. In 1969 the Stones played before an estimated 250,000 people in Hyde Park, still one of the largest concerts ever held in London. These days they're most likely to play at Wembley or Twickenham Stadiums sounding - if not looking - as fresh as ever.
The Sex Pistols
When the Pistols brought punk to the world in the late 1970s, the sound burst out of west London's Chelsea and Notting Hill. Both are high-rent areas today, though a stroll along the iconic Kings Road is an essential pilgrimage for anyone wanting to follow in Sid and Johnny's footsteps. Towering Mohicans remain much in evidence at Camden's famous market.
Massive Attack
Bristol-based trio Massive Attack remain one of the biggest names in the British dance music scene, which continues to evolve through rave, techno, trip-hop, jungle, house and grime. Unusually for a dance act, their popularity has endured for almost 20 years, from 1991's classic single 'Unfinished Sympathy' to sold-out concerts in 2007. Their home town is one of Britain's best partying cities - where else can you dance til dawn on a floating nightclub?
The Specials
Proving Warwickshire in the Midlands has more to offer in the way of culture than just Shakespeare, the Specials rode their scooters out of Coventry in the late 1970s with a unique sound and multicultural outlook that paved the way for today's varied British pop sound. Coventry, derided by the band in the chart-topping 'Ghost Town', is an underrated city with some fine museums and a rich history.
Spice Girls
You can't keep the girls down. Icons of Girl Power and Cool Britannia, the Spice Girls have been far from quiet since their late-90s heyday - solo careers, front-page affairs and, of course, producing one half of the Posh and Becks 'royal wedding'. Also planning a comeback is St Pancras Station Hotel, where the video to 'Wannabe' was filmed. It's due to reopen in 2009 as a luxury hotel and apartment building.
The Smiths
Morrissey's melancholy lyrics of working-class Mancunian life are as beautiful today as they ever were, and bring increasing numbers of gladioli-clutching devotees to the northwest of England. Mischievous fans have even been known to make off with road signs pointing the way to Strangeways Prison, but most make do with re-enacting the Queen is Dead photo shoot outside Salford Lad's Club, home to a small Smiths museum.
Coldplay
Coldplay's evolution from playing back rooms of Camden pubs to headlining slots at Glastonbury continues to inspire new British acts. Wherever you are in Britain you'll find venues touting what might just be the next big thing - making for a great night out for a few pounds.
The Proclaimers
Singing with famously strong accents, Craig and Charlie Reid have come to symbolise modern Scotland's sense of fun and resurgent national pride. The Proclaimers songs celebrate life, and classics like 'Letter from America', '(I'm Gonna Be) 500 Miles' and 'I'm On My Way' - also heard on the Shrek movie soundtrack - are part of the Scottish national psyche. The ultimate Proclaimers moment comes when fans of the Reid's beloved Hibernian Football Club burst into the anthemic 'Sunshine on Leith'. Leith, in Edinburgh rejuvenated docklands, is home to both the band and football team.