Modern British music has been popular and successful since the UK headed the Rock’n'Roll revolution in the 1950s and 1960s. Since then it has enjoyed a fantastic half-century, providing some of the greatest artists the music world has ever seen.

Like every other country, styles and tastes in music have changed in the UK massively over the last 50 years and the Brits have managed to change with the trends of the day. Consequently, this little island has musicians and artists providing all sorts of genres.

But which genre of music do Brits excel at? Thankfully, the readers of Brit Music Scene have had a good crack at answering that conundrum. Variety isn’t lacking in this country but we do definitely focus on certain types of music.

The question we asked and the results of the poll are revealed below.

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The UK has produced an inordinate number of talented songwriters over the past 50 years, especially when you consider the small size of the population. But who are the best of the best? Who are the people whose songs have shaped and defined Britain through music?

Artists come and go all the time, one bad album and that can be it. But the ones that endure, either staying together for years (Oasis, Rolling Stones) or whose music lives on for generations (The Beatles) are the ones who are capable of pumping out magical song after magical song.

Songwriting is a special talent that generally cannot be taught. Which is why those manufactured stars from reality shows such as The X Factor have to rely on dedicated word smiths and musicians to write their songs for them.

According to Digital Spy, OnePoll recently carried out a survey to find people’s opinion as to Britain’s greatest songwriter. The results stand up as a testament to the incredible range of talented songwriters the UK possesses, but the winner may be a surprise to some.

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Noel Gallagher has never been short of a thing or two to say, some of which are intelligent, well-meaning things, and others which aren’t quite as sensible. On this occasion, what he’s said in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine has to be filed in the latter section.

As part of an interview discussing topics as diverse as Ryan Adams, the Toronto attack, and drugs, Gallagher claimed that Oasis are now as big as The Rolling Stones, a British band known and respected the world over, and who can still sell out massive stadiums, despite all being over the age of 60.

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Chris Martin has either just announced that Coldplay will split in 2009 or has a zany sense of humor.

I’m personally hoping it’s the latter and that the Coldplay singer is having us all on. Maybe he got his dates mixed up and thought it was April. 1.

Coldplay are one of my favorite bands in the world, not just of now but of all time. Each album they have produced is different than the others, but all are almost perfect in their execution.

So the idea of a split leaves me with mouth agape and hands up in the air.

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There were strange rumors circulating in the summer that old-school rock group, The Faces, were about to reunite. I say strange because it seems a slightly pointless reunion to me. However, Rod Stewart has now confirmed the reunion is happening, and rehearsals are starting next week.

The Faces formed from the ashes of The Small Faces in 1969. The band existed until 1975 when Ronnie Wood left to join The Rolling Stones. Rod Stewart, meanwhile, had started a successful solo career. The rest of the group went on to have careers in music, some more successful than others.

And now, over 30 years after they split, The Faces are set to make a comeback, with a tour and new material expected. The four surviving members, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Wood, Ian McLagan, and Kenney Jones are aiming for Summer 2009 to launch their collective careers once again.

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Robbie Williams was once the cream of British Pop talent. Adored by millions of teenage girls while in Take That, he found incredible success when he decided to go solo, and at one time, was the best thing since sliced bread.

And then he moved to L.A., lost touch with reality, lost songwriter Guy Chambers, and then released Rudebox, one the most ill-conceived and overblown albums I’ve ever heard.

Not much has been seen of Williams over the past year. There have been the odd dalliances with the press, including the latest rumour that the singer is obsessed by UFOs and aliens. Other than that, he’s thought to have become a bit of a recluse and put weight on… again.

The biggest news from the Robbie camp came in January when it was reported that the singer had gone on strike against his record label EMI. This was after the label was bought by finance company, Terra Firma, and Guy Hands took over the running of it.

The Terra Firma takeover hasn’t exactly been popular with the label’s artists. Radiohead left the label and released In Rainbows on the Web and independently, while Paul McCartney also left EMI and signed up with Starbucks instead. The Rolling Stones then left to join Universal. And there are also rumours that Coldplay aren’t happy at the label, and are considering leaving after their next rushed release.

But it seems Robbie isn’t going anywhere, and his strike has come to an end.

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The new Oasis album, Dig Out Your Soul, is as good as The Beatles classic album, Revolver, often cited as the Fab Four’s best long player.

At least that’s the opinion on Alan McGee, the former boss of Creation records who signed Oasis to his record label after seeing them play live in Glasgow in 1993.

In a Guardian newspaper article titled ‘Why the music world needs Oasis’, McGee recounts meeting the Gallagher brothers last year, a meeting that ended with typical Oasis debauchery.

Then he waxes lyrical about the new album and explains why he thinks it’s as good as What’s The Story (Morning Glory), seen by many as the highlight of the band’s career.

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I made the last part of the title up but Noel might as well have called his list that. It’s a brilliant top list of bands, but there are some glaring omissions, which makes me wonder how Noel can describe it as “THE DEFINITIVE Top 10″. In your opinion Noel, in your opinion.

Noel and his brother Liam Gallagher have been very vocal of late about their dismissal of current bands. Liam criticised the fans of Coldplay and Radiohead as boring and ugly, and went on to claim not to like modern bands at all. Noel went on a drunken rant about a whole host of artists, with Amy Winehouse, Mark Ronson, and the Kaiser Chiefs getting it with both barrels.

But it’s good to know that Noel DOES like some good bands, as his top ten list, detailed on the Oasis Diary blog, includes some top bands, but omits just as many essential artists.

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Biffy Clyro are a band who have been around for an absolute age, but apart from a very dedicated set of fans, have failed to really cross over to the mainstream or have huge success. That looks all set to change with their new release, Mountains, which went straight in to the top ten of the British charts at the weekend.

Biffy Clyro are a Sottish rock group who have been in existence since 1995. Their sound covers a wide spectrum of genres, with metal, punk, hardcore, and alternative all featuring quite heavily as influences.

Their latest album, Puzzles, was released last year to much critical acclaim, and the band’s career has gone from strength to strength over the past 12 months. As well as supporting huge groups such as Muse, The Who, and The Rolling Stones, Biffy Clyro are known for their explosive festival sets, usually performed topless.

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The new Coldplay album, Viva La Vida, has only been out for around two months, but already there is talk of the next Coldplay album. The band reportedly have most of the album already in the bag and could release it next year as a surprise rush-release.

The Sun are reporting that most of the songs for the next album have already been recorded due to the highly-productive studio sessions with uber-producer Brian Eno for Viva La Vida.

Coldplay are one of the few massive British acts remaining at the EMI record label, with Paul McCartney, Radiohead, and the Rolling Stones having left since the company was taken over by finance firm Terra Firma.

There is a possibility that Coldplay could rush-release their next album and then quickly follow it up with a greatest hits compilation in order to complete their commitments to the label and enable them to leave for another label.

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