By Finlo Rohrer BBC News Online

In the 1960s, British pop stars were caught up in the highs and lows that helped build the towering edifice of American popular music.

The Beatles at Shea Stadium, the Rolling Stones at Altamont, Joe Cocker at Woodstock: the British invasion looked as though it would last a lifetime.

But now there is no British artist in the American Billboard top 100, and the papers are once again lamenting the morbidity of our most sparkling export.

If you don't get your record on the right radio stations you are not going to get a hit

Paul Williams Music Week

Music fans the world over cannot escape the feeling that whatever the US likes, they are going to hear on their radio.

But on 7 February 1964 it was the British cultural wave leaving its wash on US teenagers.

The Beatles' arrival on the tarmac in New York heralded an era of British dominance where American teenagers would listen to any band as long as they were either British or prepared to pretend.

The pinnacle was the Fab Four's recordbreaking date at Shea Stadium on 15 August 1965, where 55,000 watched them make history.

Bouffant-haired

And a second British invasion was spearheaded by Duran Duran in the 1980s.

The midlanders - as well as Police and other bouffant-haired rock bands - blazed a trail across America.

Their ethos of hedonism and ostentatious consumption was exported easily from Thatcher's Britain to Reagan's America, with only the subtly different types of haircuts distinguishing them.

Americans liked the look of Duran Duran

Even Flock of Seagulls were able to play the megadomes.

While there are no British representatives in the Billboard Hot 100 now, US acts are not shy about dominating the UK charts.

Six of the current top 10 singles feature North American artists.

But many of the problems encountered by British artists could be explained by the way charts are calculated on either side of the pond.

Paul Williams, news editor of British trade paper Music Week, explained: "The UK singles chart is entirely based on what is sold over the counter.

"Up to 80% of the Billboard Hot 100's data is based on airplay.

"If you don't get your record on the right radio stations you are not going to get a hit."

Albums success

British artists feature prominently on "modern rock" and "adult contemporary" stations, but not on the R&B, hip hop, and even country stations that really matter.

But there is hope, as Williams outlined: "It comes at a time when British artists have been doing slightly better but that tends to be the albums chart."

Craid David, Coldplay, and Gorillaz are all doing well and Dido is reaching new levels of ubiquity.

Craig David was born to do it in the US

But there may be no repeat of the British invasions.

Williams insisted: "If you look at the two so-called British invasions both had unique circumstances.

"The Beatles led the first British invasion - you had this one-off phenomenon.

"Forward two decades and you get the launch of MTV - British artists were ahead of American artists in terms of making videos."

British artists also face cracking a US market more obsessed with its own bands than ever before, while risking neglecting their own home front.

"Generally, if you look at the American chart, it is very domestic dominated - 90 odd percent of the entries are by American artists. Any non-American artist is struggling.

"Craig David for the past year or so has based himself in the states for most of the year, and he has had the top 20 hits.

"But if you have committed yourself to America something has to give."