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Freakbeat

Freakbeat is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music originally coined by English music journalist Phil Smee in 1986 to refer to "hard-edged" British mod groups during the British Invasion and

Etymology#

In 1986, English music journalist Phil Smee would coin the term “freakbeat” when compiling the Rubble series of compilations. AllMusic writes that “freakbeat” is loosely defined, but generally describes the more obscure but hard-edged artists of the British Invasion era.

Compilations#

Much of the material collected on Rhino Records’s 2001 box-set compilation Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 can be classified as freakbeat. The English Freakbeat series is a group of five compilation albums, released in the late 1980s, that were issued by AIP Records. The LPs featured recordings that were released in the mid-1960s by English rock bands in R&B and beat genres. The series served as a follow-up to the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP, itself subtitled The Roots of Mod, which was the only album in the Pebbles series that was devoted to English music. When the English Freakbeat series was reissued as CDs in the 1990s, the Pebbles, Volume 6 LP was adapted into the English Freakbeat, Volume 6 CD.

See also#

  • Freak-out (slang)
  • Swinging Sixties
  • Peacock revolution
  • Mod (subculture)
  • Los Angeles freak scene
  • Freakbeat information
  • Essay about freakbeat
  • “Looking Back 80 Mod, Freakbeat & Swinging London Nuggets” compilation
  • Mini Documentary on Joe Meek The Freakbeat Singles (1964–67)
Genre family
Beat music, British styles of music, Psychedelic music, Rock music genres