The 1940's & 1950's pre-rock & roll era, in which the youth market had not yet separated from the mainstream, was dominated by solo singers such as Dickie Valentine, Max Bygraves and Frankie Vaughan, whose style was a leftover from Big Band era, or derivative of musical theatre, as epitomised by Tommy Steele.

In the 1960's, despite the coming of rock & roll and the beat group craze started by The Beatles, an updated version of vocal pop persisted. Female vocalists such as a teenage Helen Shapiro, Cilla Black, Petula Clark, Sandie Shaw and Lulu all achieved huge success, as did Englebert Humperdinck and Tom Jones, the latter remaining a much-loved and popular soloist right into the 21st century. Another singer who came to promince in this era, Dusty Springfield, is now widely regarded as one of popular music's greatest solo artists.

During the 1970's vocal pop began to fade away under the barrage of rock. Solo singers like Leo Sayer and Gilbert O'Sullivan felt the need to dress up in costume to maintain the interest of the audience, which was also served up with a fare of gimmicky novelty songs sung by children, actors and men dressed as furry animals.

The late 1980's through to the modern day has seen a revival of vocal pop, both solo and harmony, in the form of prefabricated boy & girl bands, the "pop princess" and the rise of the TV talent show, geared shamelessly at the lucretive teen and even pre-teen market. Take That, The Spice Girls, Westlife, Kylie Minogue and Will Young are examples of such acts.

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