41.2m all-time streams (11 Feb '26)

One of the U.K.'s most distinctive instrumental bands in the early-to-mid 1960s, the Tornados scored a worldwide hit with 1962's soaring space age ode "Telstar." The first song by a U.K. group to top the U.S. charts, its uniquely driven, clavioline-led sound was the perfect combination of the band's musicianship and Joe Meek's innovative production and recording techniques.

As one of the house bands at Meek's studio and as the backing group for Billy Fury, the Tornados juggled those obligations with releasing their own music, earning Top Five EPs in the U.K. with 1962's The Sounds of the Tornados and Telstar and Top 20 U.K. singles in 1963's "Globetrotter," "Robot," and "Ice Cream Man." By that time, shifting pop music trends and multiple lineup changes -- more than two dozen members played in the group overall -- contributed to the Tornados ' waning popularity.