The imperial phase is the period in which a musical artist is regarded to be at their commercial and creative peak simultaneously. The phrase was coined by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys to describe the group's feelings on their career circa "Domino Dancing" (1988).
"Imperial phase" has since been applied by pop music critics and fans to the creative output of artists. For example, Uncut journalist Michael Bonner identified 1973âÂÂ1979 as Pink Floyd's imperial phase. While its original usage implied that an imperial phase was a one-time occurrence for a single artist, artists have been referred to as having multiple imperial phases. The term may also be applied to non-musical entities, such as film studios.
Pitchfork critic Tom Ewing described three criteria for defining an artist's imperial phase: "command, permission, and self-definition". He defined "command" as an artist's ability to push the boundaries of their medium in a way that produces lasting change. "Permission" is the public's goodwill toward and interest in the artist's work. Finally, "self-definition" is the concept that the imperial phase defines the rest of the artist's career; future works will be compared to those from the imperial phase.