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How The Brits Rocked America: Go West is a three-part music documentary series celebrating the 50-year narrative of British music in America. This series tells the story of the inter-continental exchange of musical ideas, of how the two nations have, and continue to, influence each other's unique sound. It features choice archive footage from The Beatles’ iconic arrival in the US, through Cream, The Who and Led Zeppelin live on the road, and to the Sex Pistols’ last US gig in San Francisco and Elvis Costello and the Attractions’ career-boosting appearance on Saturday Night Live. It also includes first-hand testimonies from artists across the decades talking about their experiences, from the pilgrim fathers of British rock, including Sir Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page and Jack Bruce, to the latter-day contenders to their throne, the likes of John Lydon, Robert Smith, Simon Le Bon and Adam Ant, who recall how they coped with the challenge of cracking the behemoth that is the US. Part 1: How the West Was Won British bands' attempts to find success in the USA, beginning in the 1960s, the decade in which acts including the Beatles, the Hollies, Herman's Hermits and the Animals found fame on both sides of the Atlantic. The documentary examines how British musicians and American audiences became fascinated by each other's cultures, and features contributions by Paul McCartney, Graham Nash, Peter Noone, Eric Burdon, Donovan and Mickey Dolenz. Part 2: Stairway to Heaven How British bands thrived amid the culture of excess that began to dominate rock music in the 1970s. The programme examines how Cream broke into the American market during the late 1960s, before Led Zeppelin achieved even greater success at the start of the 1970s, fundamentally altering the sound of rock as a result. The programme also recalls the 1974 California Jam, where acts including Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer played to an estimated crowd of one million people, and charts the rise of arena rock concerts during the decade. With contributions by Jimmy Page, Jack Bruce, Paul McCartney, Tony Iommi, John Lord, Bill Bruford, Rick Wakeman and Jeff Lynne. Part 3: We re the Kids in America The Sex Pistols' American tour of 1978 might not have been a commercial success but it would set the tone and attitude for a new wave of British rock in the USA, while Duran Duran would lead a new pop invasion in the 80s. With contributions from John Lydon and Robert Smith.

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