Why is Motown so big in the UK?

[MIKEW-UK]

Whilst The Shadows were big in the UK both with without Cliff Richard, their success was primarily tied to the UK and Europe. I would say groups such as Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and The Moody Blues were much, much bigger globally. [[ Here's a quirky fact: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and the Shadows shared the same manager. Hank Marvin, lead guitar of The Shadows, continues to release an album every year or so).

As for the majority of bands launched in the UK and spearheading the so called invasion, they were primarily influenced by pure blues / delta blues artists and rhythms and blues artists. For example, the early discographies of The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds [[including Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page), and The Animals are full of copies of music written by Afro-American blues / rhythm and blues artists. Bo Diddley, Arthur Alexander, Johnny Lee Hooker, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters are heavily represented and whilst The Rolling Stones did release a very few copies of Motown songs, The Beatles and Dusty where responsible not only for recording some Motown tunes but, much more significantly, heavily promoting awareness and acceptance of Motown.

Ultimately, it was the sophistication of Motown's lyrics, melodies, arrangements, musicianship, studio technology and creativity which set the sound apart from the sparser British music of the time. Motown had that signature sound where all the above elements were fused together and that is why Motown endures in the UK.