Top Ten British Icons
She’s hot, she’s cool and she oozes style. Combine that with our favourite high street shopping haunt and you’re onto a winner (the queues outside London’s flagship store, were testament to the coupling that is Ms Moss and Topshop).
She single handedly put tight waistcoats and cut off denim shorts onto the fashion radar and we can only try and copy her inimitable look. Give the girl a badge, we heart Kate!
Britain's not without its faults - we're a country known for bad weather, bad teeth and bad food - but it's responsible for some of the most iconic fashion, music and pop culture in the world. Check out our run-down of the best of British - love them or hate them, you'll remember them forever!
Kate Moss (at Topshop)
She’s hot, she’s cool and she oozes style. Combine that with our favourite high street shopping haunt and you’re onto a winner (the queues outside London’s flagship store, were testament to the coupling that is Ms Moss and Topshop).
She single handedly put tight waistcoats and cut off denim shorts onto the fashion radar and we can only try and copy her inimitable look. Give the girl a badge, we heart Kate!
The Spice Girls
The band that coined the phrase girl power, there wasn’t a teenager in the land who didn’t want to be a posh, baby, scary, sporty or ginger spice. Breaking the American market as well as the UK, The Spice Girls were one of our best exports. Despite being responsible for some very dodgy highlights in hair styles across the land, they came, they saw, they conquered, and we walked in platform boots right alongside them.
The Carry On films
In the politically correct times of today, many of the Carry On scripts would not have passed the initial read through. Thanks to the less correct times of the 50s, 60s and 70s we got to see Babs Windsor’s boobs, Charles Hawtrey’s comic genius and listen to the dirtiest cackle of them all, Sid James. Amongst gems such as Carry On Camping, Up The Khyber and Cleo, we all have a fave!
Monty Python
Quoted by students (and subsequently middle managers) far and wide, Monty Python’s unique (and once again un-PC) humour managed to insult nearly every religious group and people the world over. And still we trust Michael Palin to tell us where to go on holiday. It was a world of silly walks, dead parrots, cross-dressing lumberjacks and Spam with everything, and we just loved it.
HP Sauce
It’s just a brown liquid made up of spices and vinegar, yet we Brits cannot get enough. It’s a staple on most tables in homes and greasy spoons from Manchester to Malaga, and the iconic illustration of Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament makes it instantly recognisable. More than 100 years old, HP goes hand in hand with two other iconic food stuffs, The full English breakfast and fish and chips.
Marmite
Love it or hate it, it can’t be denied that the dark little pot with the distinctive yellow lid, sits proud in the list of British icons. Like HP, it too is over 100 years old and is commonly enjoyed on cheese sandwiches and toast, throughout the land. Made from the yeast cells left over from beer making, its popularity is so that we now have Marmite flavoured crisps, crackers and even tapenade!!
London - Red telephone box/London black cab/The underground/London bus
All four are instantly recognisable the world over as a signature for the bustling capital, London. We may bemoan the British transport system but the underground, the double decker and the black cab are all iconic symbols (if not always reliable at getting us to work on time). And despite being replaced by a more soulless silver construction, the red telephone box is still distinctly indicative of our fair isle (chances are if you’re a teenager, you’ve probably never used one)!
The mini (car and skirt)
Both enjoying popularity in the swinging 60s, the mini skirt and mini car were worn and driven by millions. All four members of The Beatles bought one, as did a string of movie stars, even the Queen owned a Mini (car, not skirt).
The mini skirt, hit the streets of London in 1966 and liberated women and their legs. Although Mary Quant is often credited, wrongly, with inventing the mini skirt, she did make it popular and it’s stood the test of time so that girls in towns across the snow-laden country can showcase their corned-beef legs!
The Beatles
Arguably the best British band ever, and certainly the best band to surface from Liverpool (move over Sonya), The Beatles and the ensuing Beatlemania, marked their brand of Pop Music, indelibly, across the globe. The mop haired foursome, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison make the list because they really are true British icons, the longevity of their appeal making their music as recognisable today as in their heyday.
The tabloid press
The UK’S red tops have got both breasts and big headlines and we Brits can’t get enough. Even holidaying in far off lands doesn’t stop holiday makers getting their fix. The Sun, The Sport, The Star, The News of The World, there’s a veritable buffet of sleaze to be consumed, and consume we do. A true icon or not, they’re certainly synonymous with Great Britain (if not all that’s great with Britain)!
