Not only did many of the British groups listen to black music which was widely played over there at the time, quite a few of their songs were covers of the songs originally done by black artists.
(Some would argue Led Zep's ranking) Followed in the 80's by:6) Duran Duran7) Pet Shop Boys
1) Beatles/Monkeys.....undeniable marketingsorry C
No need to apologize for your (lack of) musical taste, G. I would never hold that against you.
Not to worry, C. I'll hold it against him for you....
The Beatles songs are something new? Splain dat one.
U ain't bin Payin tension.
I think what they meant was that this was something entirely new and that bands like the Beach Boys and The Everly Brothers were marginalized that night when the rest of America was introduced to something they've never seen before. This was the face of music to come.
For your viewing pleasure from when they were new. http://youtu.be/qXxAfZK01oo