The theory is an absolute crock.  Going to 60 Hertz from 50 Hertz would imply a 20% increase in pitch. You wouldn't have to have perfect pitch to find this to be a painfully obvious change. In rough terms, middle C would become E-flat.  Not at all subtle.
While British record changers such as Garrard were prolific in North America, the frequency difference was accommodated by means of different pully sizes on the speed changing mechanism.
On the other hand, it is true that motion pictures ran slightly shorter on UK television because the frame rate was 25 versus 24 in North America. The pitch change would be 4%.

Last edited by Skywave (February 15, 2023 1:11 pm)

The main reason for playing songs a bit faster is the obvious one.
Being able to fit in at least one more commercial per hour.

paterson1 wrote:

British artists were popular because they produced and recorded great songs, not because their music sounded slightly faster. Their songs at the time were fresh, different and in many ways (but not all) seemed to be ahead of what was being released here.  Same with punk/new wave.

Especially new wave, the Brits were musically ahead of us and the fact that bands from Europe had been producing videos for years to promote a song.  This is why when The New Music debuted on City tv and later MTV and Muchmusic, so many artists from the UK and Europe were featured.  But even more important than the videos,  the music was different, quirky and very well produced.

I don't believe playing the songs slightly faster here (which I have my doubts about) made any difference at all.  

I liked my share of new wave bands from the UK but the 80's sound I liked best was mainly American guitar orientated stuff like the Power Pop of Lets Active or the neo-garage of The Fleshtones and Chesterfield Kings. The Paisley underground movement with bands such as the early Bangles,The Long Ryders and The Rain Parade were excellent.  Much Music was one of the few outlets that gave any of this music exposure in Canada. I still have the VHF tapes of that exposure.I would hear some of this on WUWU and WZIR FM from Buffalo. Although I still have a tape of Jim Reid playing the cowpunk band Rank and File on CFNY once but sadly most of this stuff did not end up on commercial radio in Toronto.
 

Last edited by Fitz (February 15, 2023 2:22 pm)

paterson1 wrote:

I think the author is mistaken by saying that radio stations were normally playing the UK pressings of songs.  Maybe for some of the large top 40 stations but for most this wasn't likely happening at all. 

What was released as a single in North America did not always jive with what had already been put out overseas.  And other songs could have been a hit months, sometimes a year earlier in Europe before North American labels released the song.

Many other hit songs from artists like Cliff Richard, Simple Minds, Madness, Robbie Williams, Paul Young, Alphaville, The Jam or The Kinks didn't get much airplay in North America at all but were huge hits in Britain. These artists in North America usually only had a few hit songs.   

Well the Kinks had a good run of success in the 60's from You Really Got me to Lola and more in the middle. In the 80's their new materiel was played regularly on AOR and Come Dancing was a good sized top 40 hit.

While I'm at it can't resist expanding on my point up thread that Much Music was a lone Canadian outpost for American guitar rock/folk etc. Here is a segment that I taped from Much Music. Daniel Richler interviewing the Washington Squares ( they could play fast and slow) and the mother of the MP3 format Suzanne Vega pre-Tom's Diner: