March 25, 2025 • 10 mins
The British Invasion never looks so weird as the one found in these two stories.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
In nineteen sixty nine, the British rock band The Zombies
scored a chart topping hit with Time of the Season.
Hoping to capitalize on their fame, a US tour was
quickly booked and tickets sold. The only problem the Zombies
no longer existed, but that, of course wouldn't stop the
managers at Delta Promotions. All they had to do with
(00:56):
the cash in was raised The Zombies from the Dead.
The band that would become The Zombies, first met as
schoolboys at Saint Albans, a city on the outskirts of London.
They had a few modestly successful hits in nineteen sixty four,
but found it hard to get their songs on the
charts in the UK and especially difficult in America. Seeing
the writing on the wall, the band decided to call
(01:17):
it quits in December of nineteen sixty seven, the band's
American label, Date Records, released a few of the band's
singles post breakup, hoping to recoup some of the cost
of recording. These failed to chart as well until a
last ditch effort, A song called Time of the Season
was released in the US in nineteen sixty eight, and
(01:37):
suddenly the song was playing on every radio station and
the name the Zombies was on every DJ's lips. Somehow, someway,
the Zombies finally had a hit. Unfortunately, they were already
a ghost of a band. Most of the five members
had moved on to other music projects, and as this
was nineteen sixty nine, word of their American success didn't
(01:59):
reach me any of them for months. Back in the US, however,
venues and tour managers wanted to capitalize on the Zombie success,
so one company, Delta Promotions, decided to fill the gap.
They signed a four piece blues band from Texas, had
them learn a handful of Zombie songs, and sent them
on tour. You see, back in nineteen sixty nine, it
(02:20):
was surprisingly easy to fake a band like this. The
Zombies were an international band with a single hit, so
their pictures hadn't really appeared in Rolling Stone or other
music magazines. Not only that, but many ticket buyers had
no idea what the real Zombies looked like. They'd only
heard their music on the radio. But when these fans
arrived at the show, it became apparent that something was
(02:42):
very wrong with the Zombies On stage. They sounded different
from their recordings. They sometimes played completely different songs. Heck,
for a band that used piano on every track, they
didn't even have a keyboard player on the band's part.
Many of the musicians thought that this was perfectly on
the level. Delta told them that the zo Bombies wasn't
a real band. Their albums were created by studio musicians.
(03:04):
Delta claimed that they had the touring rights for the
Zombies in North America, so it was perfectly legal for
them to assemble a band to play the zombies music.
Delta Promotions ended up creating two different versions of the Zombies,
which toured at the same time. But they weren't the
only fake band that Delta had assembled. Delta created an
American lineup of The Animals, a British band which had
(03:25):
gone gold with their version of the folk song House
of the Rising Sun Heck. They also created a touring
band for the Archies. The Archies came from The Archie Show,
an animated series based on Archie, Betty, Veronica, Juughhead, and
the other characters from the Archie comics. The fictional band
scored a hit with the song Sugar Sugar, but it
was never an actual touring act, at least not until
(03:46):
Delta Promotions got their hands on it. The rain of
the Fake Bands lasted a good year before the walls
came crashing down pretty quickly. The suits at Archie Comics
pursued legal action. In December of nineteen sixty nine, a
member of the Real Zombies called the fake band out
in Rolling Stone magazine, and in May of nineteen seventy
a member of the Real Animals showed up at the
(04:09):
Copycats band's live show with a baseball bat. Delta Promotions
folded soon after, and the fraudulent bands called it quit.
The Zombie con was over. While they were musical impostors,
some of the members of the False Zombies were real talents.
Two of them decided to keep playing together as a
Texas blues act and quickly found a singer and even
(04:30):
as the Zombies were finally put to rest. Former members
Frank Beard and Dusty Hill resurrected their careers with their
new act, a Southern blues band called zz Top. Americans
(04:55):
are taught a lot about the Revolution, but history books
tend to move quickly past the War of eighteen twelve.
It's the disappointing sequel. Not because there weren't some exciting
and dramatic events, but because the Americans came across looking
much less impressive than they had in the previous war.
But one climatic event toward the end of the War
of eighteen twelve completely turned in the Americans favor and
(05:18):
seemed to shock them into improving their tactics. The War
of eighteen twelve began in June of that year. The
Americans declared war after months of British locking their trade
ships and even kidnapping their sailors and forcing them into service.
The Americans had almost no navy and so invading the
British Isles was off the table. But they could march
(05:39):
to Canada, which was fully under British control at this time.
But this just wasn't a great plan. Canada is vast
and the British had thousands of troops there, so, rather
than attack the main British garrison at Kingston, Ontario, the
Americans opted to attack a small fort in Toronto in
April of eighteen thirteen. Although it was an easy fight,
(06:00):
the British left a surprise for the Americans. They detonated
the gunpowder in the fort while they were retreating. This
killed American General Zebulon Pike and two hundred other American soldiers. Enraged,
the American army then burned the nearby town of York
to the ground. The invasion of Canada was already an
unsympathetic act, and the Americans only made things worse by
(06:21):
burning York. Yes, the British had played dirty with the
gunpowder explosion, but they were on the defense. The Americans
put them in that position, and so the British resolved
to get their revenge. There were various skirmishes in Canada
and the US throughout the following months, but it wasn't
until August of eighteen fourteen that the British were truly
(06:42):
ready to avenge York. On August twenty fourth, five thousand
British troops marched on Washington, DC. The Americans could only
muster an army of mostly volunteers, as their troops were
all engaged elsewhere. They hadn't expected a direct assault on
the capitol. President James Madison watched for the rear as
more experienced British soldiers completely routed the American volunteers. Madison
(07:05):
himself had to flee, nearly getting bowled over by his
own men. And so now Washington belonged to the British,
and they intended to treat it just as well as
the Americans had treated York. They marched through the streets,
setting fire to many of the buildings there. They then
helped themselves to a meal in the White House before
setting that building a flame as well. It would seem
(07:26):
their victory was complete. They had proven that their former
colony did not have what it takes to stand on
its own. But then the sky turned dark. A massive
wind kicked up throughout Washington, DC, and it only seemed
to get worse by the second. At first, some carts
and hay bales blew down the street. Then window shutters
flew open, beds and pillows were sucked out into the sky,
(07:49):
showering the city in down feathers. Before long shingles were
ripped off roofs. Some of the flimsier buildings even fell down.
It wasn't just a wind, it was a Tornados looked
on in shock as their heavy cannons were sucked into
the air and flung into the river. Officers who weren't
quick enough to get off their horses found themselves and
(08:09):
their mounts pushed over into the dirt. Soon every soldier
clung to the ground, holding onto whatever they could. Some
were sucked into the sky, some were crushed by flying debris.
And in case you were worried that this wind might
have caused the fires to spread, just as the tornado subsided,
a torrential rain blanketed Washington, extinguishing all the burning buildings.
(08:30):
It was hard for the Americans not to feel as
if some divine force had sent the perfect storm to
ravage the British army and save their city. A local
reporter overheard a British admiral talking to an American woman saying,
Great God, madam, is this the kind of storm to
which you are accustomed in this infernal country, to which
she replied, no, sir, this is a special interposition of
(08:53):
providence to drive our enemies from our city. The British
soon retreated, only to find that their ships had all
so been ravaged they practically limped back home. Divine intervention
or not, the American had been handed a free win.
They took this to heart and primarily focused on defending
their own shores. Over the next years, the British failed
(09:13):
to gain any traction, and by eighteen fifteen both sides
agreed to peace. Oh and curiously, in the two hundred
plus years since the war, there have only ever been
seven other tornadoes in Washington. If any foreign power tries
to invade again, they might just experience the aid. I
(09:34):
hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show
was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how
Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore,
which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and
(09:56):
you can learn all about it over at the World
of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. MHM.
Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of
the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all
of these amazing tales are right there on display, just
waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities.
(00:36):
In nineteen sixty nine, the British rock band The Zombies
scored a chart topping hit with Time of the Season.
Hoping to capitalize on their fame, a US tour was
quickly booked and tickets sold. The only problem the Zombies
no longer existed, but that, of course wouldn't stop the
managers at Delta Promotions. All they had to do with
(00:56):
the cash in was raised The Zombies from the Dead.
The band that would become The Zombies, first met as
schoolboys at Saint Albans, a city on the outskirts of London.
They had a few modestly successful hits in nineteen sixty four,
but found it hard to get their songs on the
charts in the UK and especially difficult in America. Seeing
the writing on the wall, the band decided to call
(01:17):
it quits in December of nineteen sixty seven, the band's
American label, Date Records, released a few of the band's
singles post breakup, hoping to recoup some of the cost
of recording. These failed to chart as well until a
last ditch effort, A song called Time of the Season
was released in the US in nineteen sixty eight, and
(01:37):
suddenly the song was playing on every radio station and
the name the Zombies was on every DJ's lips. Somehow, someway,
the Zombies finally had a hit. Unfortunately, they were already
a ghost of a band. Most of the five members
had moved on to other music projects, and as this
was nineteen sixty nine, word of their American success didn't
(01:59):
reach me any of them for months. Back in the US, however,
venues and tour managers wanted to capitalize on the Zombie success,
so one company, Delta Promotions, decided to fill the gap.
They signed a four piece blues band from Texas, had
them learn a handful of Zombie songs, and sent them
on tour. You see, back in nineteen sixty nine, it
(02:20):
was surprisingly easy to fake a band like this. The
Zombies were an international band with a single hit, so
their pictures hadn't really appeared in Rolling Stone or other
music magazines. Not only that, but many ticket buyers had
no idea what the real Zombies looked like. They'd only
heard their music on the radio. But when these fans
arrived at the show, it became apparent that something was
(02:42):
very wrong with the Zombies On stage. They sounded different
from their recordings. They sometimes played completely different songs. Heck,
for a band that used piano on every track, they
didn't even have a keyboard player on the band's part.
Many of the musicians thought that this was perfectly on
the level. Delta told them that the zo Bombies wasn't
a real band. Their albums were created by studio musicians.
(03:04):
Delta claimed that they had the touring rights for the
Zombies in North America, so it was perfectly legal for
them to assemble a band to play the zombies music.
Delta Promotions ended up creating two different versions of the Zombies,
which toured at the same time. But they weren't the
only fake band that Delta had assembled. Delta created an
American lineup of The Animals, a British band which had
(03:25):
gone gold with their version of the folk song House
of the Rising Sun Heck. They also created a touring
band for the Archies. The Archies came from The Archie Show,
an animated series based on Archie, Betty, Veronica, Juughhead, and
the other characters from the Archie comics. The fictional band
scored a hit with the song Sugar Sugar, but it
was never an actual touring act, at least not until
(03:46):
Delta Promotions got their hands on it. The rain of
the Fake Bands lasted a good year before the walls
came crashing down pretty quickly. The suits at Archie Comics
pursued legal action. In December of nineteen sixty nine, a
member of the Real Zombies called the fake band out
in Rolling Stone magazine, and in May of nineteen seventy
a member of the Real Animals showed up at the
(04:09):
Copycats band's live show with a baseball bat. Delta Promotions
folded soon after, and the fraudulent bands called it quit.
The Zombie con was over. While they were musical impostors,
some of the members of the False Zombies were real talents.
Two of them decided to keep playing together as a
Texas blues act and quickly found a singer and even
(04:30):
as the Zombies were finally put to rest. Former members
Frank Beard and Dusty Hill resurrected their careers with their
new act, a Southern blues band called zz Top. Americans
(04:55):
are taught a lot about the Revolution, but history books
tend to move quickly past the War of eighteen twelve.
It's the disappointing sequel. Not because there weren't some exciting
and dramatic events, but because the Americans came across looking
much less impressive than they had in the previous war.
But one climatic event toward the end of the War
of eighteen twelve completely turned in the Americans favor and
(05:18):
seemed to shock them into improving their tactics. The War
of eighteen twelve began in June of that year. The
Americans declared war after months of British locking their trade
ships and even kidnapping their sailors and forcing them into service.
The Americans had almost no navy and so invading the
British Isles was off the table. But they could march
(05:39):
to Canada, which was fully under British control at this time.
But this just wasn't a great plan. Canada is vast
and the British had thousands of troops there, so, rather
than attack the main British garrison at Kingston, Ontario, the
Americans opted to attack a small fort in Toronto in
April of eighteen thirteen. Although it was an easy fight,
(06:00):
the British left a surprise for the Americans. They detonated
the gunpowder in the fort while they were retreating. This
killed American General Zebulon Pike and two hundred other American soldiers. Enraged,
the American army then burned the nearby town of York
to the ground. The invasion of Canada was already an
unsympathetic act, and the Americans only made things worse by
(06:21):
burning York. Yes, the British had played dirty with the
gunpowder explosion, but they were on the defense. The Americans
put them in that position, and so the British resolved
to get their revenge. There were various skirmishes in Canada
and the US throughout the following months, but it wasn't
until August of eighteen fourteen that the British were truly
(06:42):
ready to avenge York. On August twenty fourth, five thousand
British troops marched on Washington, DC. The Americans could only
muster an army of mostly volunteers, as their troops were
all engaged elsewhere. They hadn't expected a direct assault on
the capitol. President James Madison watched for the rear as
more experienced British soldiers completely routed the American volunteers. Madison
(07:05):
himself had to flee, nearly getting bowled over by his
own men. And so now Washington belonged to the British,
and they intended to treat it just as well as
the Americans had treated York. They marched through the streets,
setting fire to many of the buildings there. They then
helped themselves to a meal in the White House before
setting that building a flame as well. It would seem
(07:26):
their victory was complete. They had proven that their former
colony did not have what it takes to stand on
its own. But then the sky turned dark. A massive
wind kicked up throughout Washington, DC, and it only seemed
to get worse by the second. At first, some carts
and hay bales blew down the street. Then window shutters
flew open, beds and pillows were sucked out into the sky,
(07:49):
showering the city in down feathers. Before long shingles were
ripped off roofs. Some of the flimsier buildings even fell down.
It wasn't just a wind, it was a Tornados looked
on in shock as their heavy cannons were sucked into
the air and flung into the river. Officers who weren't
quick enough to get off their horses found themselves and
(08:09):
their mounts pushed over into the dirt. Soon every soldier
clung to the ground, holding onto whatever they could. Some
were sucked into the sky, some were crushed by flying debris.
And in case you were worried that this wind might
have caused the fires to spread, just as the tornado subsided,
a torrential rain blanketed Washington, extinguishing all the burning buildings.
(08:30):
It was hard for the Americans not to feel as
if some divine force had sent the perfect storm to
ravage the British army and save their city. A local
reporter overheard a British admiral talking to an American woman saying,
Great God, madam, is this the kind of storm to
which you are accustomed in this infernal country, to which
she replied, no, sir, this is a special interposition of
(08:53):
providence to drive our enemies from our city. The British
soon retreated, only to find that their ships had all
so been ravaged they practically limped back home. Divine intervention
or not, the American had been handed a free win.
They took this to heart and primarily focused on defending
their own shores. Over the next years, the British failed
(09:13):
to gain any traction, and by eighteen fifteen both sides
agreed to peace. Oh and curiously, in the two hundred
plus years since the war, there have only ever been
seven other tornadoes in Washington. If any foreign power tries
to invade again, they might just experience the aid. I
(09:34):
hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities.
Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, or learn more about
the show by visiting Curiosities podcast dot com. The show
was created by me Aaron Mankey in partnership with how
Stuff Works. I make another award winning show called Lore,
which is a podcast, book series, and television show, and
(09:56):
you can learn all about it over at the World
of Lore dot com. And until next time, stay curious. MHM.
Aaron Mahnke's Cabinet of Curiosities News
Host
Aaron Mahnke
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