Britpop

Britpop
Stylistic origins	Alternative Rock, Indie Rock, Madchester
Cultural origins	early 1990s, United Kingdom
Typical instruments	Guitar - Bass - Drums - Keyboards
Subgenres
New wave of new wave, Lion Pop (complete list)
Regional scenes
England - Scotland - Wales - Northern Ireland
Other topics
Bands - Cool Britannia - Timeline of alternative rock

Britpop was a mid-1990s British alternative rock genre and movement. The movement emerged from the indie scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s. The movement developed as a reaction against various musical and cultural trends in the late 1980s and early 1990s, particularly the grunge phenomenon from the United States. In the wake of the musical invasion into the United Kingdom of American grunge bands such as Nirvana, many bands positioned themselves as opposing musical forces, referencing British guitar music of the past and writing about uniquely British topics and concerns.

Although Britpop bands did not have a single unifying sound, the media grouped them together first as a 'scene' and later as a national cultural movement. Oasis, Blur and Pulp are often considered the scene's most prominent acts, but other major bands associated with Britpop at various stages included Suede, Elastica, The Boo Radleys, Kula Shaker, The Charlatans, Supergrass, and The Verve. These bands brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British cultural movement called "Cool Britannia". Although its more popular bands were able to spread their commercial success overseas, especially to America, the movement largely fell apart by the end of the decade.

Style, roots and influences

Britpop bands were strongly influenced by the British guitar music of the 1960s and 1970s, particularly British Invasion groups The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, and The Small Faces; glam rock artists such as David Bowie and T. Rex; and punk rock bands like the The Jam, the Buzzcocks and Wire. Specific influences varied: Blur and Oasis drew from the Kinks and the Beatles, respectively, while Elastica had a fondness for arty punk rock. But they all projected a sense of reverence for the sounds of the past.

Alternative rock acts from the 1980s and early 1990s indie scene were the direct ancestors of the Britpop movement. The influence of The Smiths was common to the majority of Britpop artists. The Madchester scene, fronted by The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, and Inspiral Carpets (for whom Oasis' Noel Gallagher had worked as a roadie during the Madchester years), was the immediate root of Britpop since its emphasis on good times and catchy songs provided an alternative to shoegazing.

Stylistically, Britpop bands relied on catchy hooks and wrote lyrics that were meant to be relevant to British young people of their own generation. Britpop bands conversely denounced shoegazing and grunge as irrelevant and having nothing to say about their lives. Damon Albarn of Blur summed up the attitude in 1993 when after being asked if Blur was an "anti-grunge band" he said, "Well, that's good. If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I'm getting rid of grunge." In spite of the professed disdain for the genres, some elements of both crept into the more enduring facets of Britpop. Noel Gallagher has since championed Ride (to the point of including Andy Bell in Oasis), and Martin Carr of the Boo Radleys has pointed out Dinosaur Jr's influence on their work. Noel Gallagher stated in a 1996 interview that Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was the only songwriter he had respect for in the last ten years, and that he felt their music was similar enough that Cobain could have written "Wonderwall".

The imagery associated with Britpop was equally British and working class. Music critic Jon Savage asserted that Britpop was "an outer-suburban, middle-class fantasy of central London streetlife, with exclusively metropolitan models." Suede's lyrics and videos dealt with the seedier side of suburban and sink estate life. In their early career, Blur introduced another critical element of the Britpop movement - a mod-influenced 1960s view of English life, portrayed through a clear lyrical narrative, in stark contrast to the previous shoegazing and Madchester scenes. Blur's promotion of Modern Life Is Rubbish also prefigured the rise in male working class values within the media, with the band in press photos straining to control a pitbull terrier, and the words "British image no 1" graffittied on a wall behind them. This rise of unabashed maleness, exemplified by Loaded magazine and lad culture in general, would be very much part of the Britpop era. The Union Flag also became a prominent symbol of the movement, and its use as a symbol of pride and nationalism contrasted deeply with the controversy that erupted just a few short years before when former Smiths singer Morrissey performed draped in it.

History

Origins and first years (1990-1993)

Though Britpop came to prominence around 1993-1994, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly where and when the movement actually began. Journalist John Harris has suggested that Britpop began when Blur's single "Popscene" and Suede's "The Drowners" were released around the same time in the spring of 1992. He stated "...if Britpop started anywhere, it was the deluge of acclaim that greeted Suede's first records: all of them audacious, successful and very, very British". The dominant musical force of the period was the grunge invasion from the United States, which filled the void left in the indie scene by the Stone Roses' inactivity.

The origins of Britpop lie primarily in the indie scene of the early 1990s, and in particular around a group of bands feted by the music press and involved in a vibrant social scene focused in the Camden Town area of London. This scene was dubbed "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" by Melody Maker. Some of the most notable members of this scene (Blur, Lush, Suede) would go on to play a leading part in Britpop. Others such as Kingmaker, Slowdive, Spitfire and Ride would not.

In contrast, some bands showed a discernible shift to adopting an overtly British and primarily working-class aesthetic. Suede (known in America as "The London Suede" due to successful legal action taken by the singer known as "Suede") was the first of the new crop of guitar-oriented bands to be completely embraced by the UK music media as Britain's answer to Seattle's grunge sound. Their self-titled first album became the fastest-selling debut album in the history of the UK. In April 1993, Select magazine helped spark the upswing in British pride by featuring Suede's lead singer Brett Anderson on the cover with a Union Flag in the background and the phrase "Yanks go home!" on the cover. The issue included features on Suede, The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne and Pulp.

Blur, a group that formerly mixed elements of shoegazing and baggy, released its second album Modern Life is Rubbish in 1993. Blur, like Suede, took pointedly British influences (The Kinks for Blur, David Bowie for Suede, and The Smiths for both) for the album. Blur's new approach was inspired by their tour of the United States, which led Damon Albarn to resent American culture and found the need to comment on that culture's influence seeping into Britain. Journalist John Harris wrote in an NME article just prior to the album's release that "Their timing has been fortuitously perfect. Why? Because, as with baggies and shoegazers, loud, long-haired Americans have just found themselves condemned to the ignominious corner labeled 'yesterday's thing'". The music press also fixated on what the NME had dubbed the New Wave of New Wave (or 'NWONW'), a term applied to the more punk-derivative acts such as Elastica, S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men. Other bands in similar veins began to emerge, such as Oasis, Sleeper, and Shed Seven.

Britpop and Cool Britannia (1994-1996)

While Modern Life is Rubbish was a moderate success, it was Blur's third album Parklife that made them arguably the most popular band in the UK in 1994. Parklife continued the fiercely British nature of its predecessor, and coupled with the death of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain in April of that year it seemed that British alternative rock had finally turned back the tide of grunge dominance. Parklife was joined by Oasis' debut album Definitely Maybe (which broke Suede's record for fastest-selling debut album) that year in representing the spirit of the time, as well as His 'n' Hers by Pulp, who would not achieve true mainstream success until 1995's Different Class.

The movement was soon dubbed Britpop. The term "Britpop" had been used in the late 1980s (in Sounds magazine by journalist, Goldblade frontman and TV pundit John Robb referring to bands such as The La's, Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets and The Bridewell Taxis). "Britpop" arose around the same time as the term "Britart" (which referred to the work of British modern artists such as Damien Hirst). However, it would not be until 1994 when the term entered the popular consciousness, being used extensively by the music press and radio DJs. Its influence was recognised by an article in The Guardian in which the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary declared "Britpop" as the new word which best exemplified 1995.

In addition to Oasis, Blur, Suede, and Pulp, other Britpop acts dominated the music weeklies for the next few years, including Elastica, Echobelly, Sleeper, Supergrass, Menswear, The Auteurs, The Boo Radleys, Cast (a band formed by John Power, former bassist for The La's), The Bluetones, Black Grape, Space and Gene. Some of them were new while others, such as the Boo Radleys and Dodgy, were already-established acts who benefited from association with the movement. The scene around Camden Town was now seen as a musical centre; frequented by Britpop groups like Blur, Elastica, and Menswear, Melody Maker declared "Camden is to 1995 what Seattle was to 1992, what Manchester was to 1989, and what Mr Blobby was to 1993."

Cover of the 12 August 1996 issue of NME advertising the chart battle between Oasis and Blur

The major Britpop event of 1995 was "The Battle of Britpop" between Blur and Oasis. The bands had initially praised each other but over the course of the year antagonisms between the two increased. Spurred on by the media, the groups became prime contenders in what the NME dubbed on the cover of its 12 August issue the "British Heavyweight Championship" with the pending release of Oasis' single "Roll with It" and Blur's "Country House" on the same day.

The battle pitted the two bands against each other, with the conflict as much about British class and regional divisions as much as it was about music. Oasis (particularly Noel and Liam Gallagher) were taken as representing the North of England, while Blur (especially Damon Albarn and Alex James) represented the South. The event caught the public's imagination and gained mass media attention in national newspapers, tabloids, and even the BBC News. The NME wrote about the phenomeon, "Yes, in a week where news leaked that Saddam Hussein was preparing nuclear weapons, everyday folks were still getting slaughtered in Bosnia and Mike Tyson was making his comeback, tabloids and broadsheets alike went Britpop crazy."

In the end, Blur won the battle of the bands, selling 274,000 copies to Oasis' 216,000 - the songs charting at number one and number two respectively. However, in the long-run, Oasis' album (What's the Story) Morning Glory? won the popular vote over Blur’s The Great Escape, outselling it by a factor of 4 or more. In the UK, (What's the Story) Morning Glory? spent a total of three years on the charts, selling over eighteen million copies and becoming the second best selling British album of all time.

During this time the new electioneering saw the emergence of the young leader of the Labour Party - Tony Blair. Blair represented the new face of the dreams and wishes of the British counterculture and many acts like Oasis and Blur admired him. Noel Gallagher also appeared on several official meetings - even being invited to Downing Street on one occasion, along with Alan McGee from Creation Records - and expressed his support for Blair.

The British media went so far as the brand the movement the "Third British Invasion", because of its massive popularity at the time and because acts represented particular musical influence or movement in their music, which led to more or less media-generated conflicts between the bands, as was the case with previous bands and movements.

The optimism of 1995 continued well into the summer of 1996, thanks in part to new releases from the likes of Kula Shaker (K), Ocean Colour Scene (Moseley Shoals), Suede (Coming Up) and Dodgy (Free Peace Sweet), as well as a legendary, record breaking two-night show at Knebworth Park from Oasis. The 1996 BRIT Awards were a celebration of Britpop, with many of the nominees acknowledged as "britpop bands".

The ceremony was also fuelled by the rivalry between Blur and Oasis. When Oasis defeated Blur to win the "Best British Album" Award, the Gallagher brothers taunted Blur by singing a drunken rendition of Blur's biggest hit "Parklife", with Liam Gallagher changing the lyrics to "Shite-Life". Oasis also won the "Best British Album" award for (What's the Story) Morning Glory and the "Best Video Award" for "Wonderwall". All three awards had been won by Blur the previous year. Meanwhile, Paul Weller won the "Best Male Artist" award (for the second year running) and Supergrass were acknowledged the "Best Breakthrough Act", an award that Oasis had won the year before. The ceremony was packed with Britpop artists, but it was Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker who stole the show by invading the stage during a performance by Michael Jackson and flashing his rear. Cocker was arrested but released without charge.

Although the majority of the bands associated with Britpop (willingly or otherwise) were English, there were exceptions: Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics were Welsh; The Gyres and The Supernaturals were Scottish, and Ash were Northern Irish. This even led native media to call the rise of Welsh Bands "Cool Cymru" and "Cool Caledonia" - a pun to "Cool Britannia". In spite of accusations of Southeast bias (typified by Blur, and Menswear), the movement and Britpop hysteria engulfed not just one province or city; it encompassed the entire region and established itself as a hegemonic and definitive British movement, both musically and spiritually.

The movement also exercised a brief period of cultural hegemony, with the 1996 film Trainspotting and its Britpop-centric soundtrack (featuring Blur, Elastica, Pulp and Sleeper), through to Ocean Colour Scene's music being used on Chris Evans' TFI Friday and the film Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Some considered Chris Evans' Friday night variety show TFI Friday to be part of the televisual arm of Britpop - other examples are Shooting Stars (which utilised large "Mod" logos as part of the set and featured many prominent Britpop musicians as guests), The Girly Show, The Word, The Fast Show and Father Ted.

Decline (1997-1999)

By late 1996, the hysteria around Britpop started to subside, due perhaps to both high expectations not being met and artistic burnout, caused in part by the drug-fuelled lifestyles of some of the bands. Bands like Blur, Oasis and Suede gained much media attention for their use of alcohol and/or drugs. In 1997, many releases were considered disappointing, lacking the overall spirit and sound of earlier records.

The 1997 releases of core initiators and leaders Oasis and Blur were key factors in the downturn in Britpop's fortunes. Oasis' third album Be Here Now, despite attracting much hype and selling strongly, soon attracted strong criticism from critics, record-buyers and Noel Gallagher himself for its overproduced and bloated sound. Conversely, while Blur's self-titled fifth album was well-received by critics - partly because it showcased a stylistic evolution for the band - their new sound was not immediately appreciated by fans. The band moved away from their Parklife-era sound, and their music began to assimilate American lo-fi influences, particularly that of Pavement, with frontman Damon Albarn telling the NME that the album was "English slacker". It would take the release of Blur's second single, the anthemic "Song 2", to win the record true commercial success.

As the movement began to slow down, many acts began to falter. Though some acts found success with more challenging records - such as Pulp's This Is Hardcore, Supergrass' In It for the Money and Cornershop's When I Was Born for the 7th Time - many acts found the pressure too great and split, or simply faded from the limelight. Elastica fell victim to drug abuse and did not follow up 1995's self titled debut until 1999. Menswear also failed to follow up their debut, Nuisance, and split. Other bands such as Cast, Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatans, Ash, The Bluetones and Shed Seven continued to release records well into the new millennium, but with rapidly diminishing commercial success. Similarly, many of the newer acts the record industry rushed to sign during the heyday of Britpop sank without trace.

While established acts struggled, attention began to turn to the likes of Radiohead and The Verve, who had been previously overlooked by the British media. These two bands - in particular Radiohead - showed considerably more esoteric influences from the 1960s and 1970s, influences that were uncommon among earlier Britpop acts. While Radiohead had found commercial success their 1993 single "Creep" and commercial and critical success with 1995s The Bends, they had attracted little positive attention from the likes of the NME. Conversely, the Verve had enjoyed positive reviews, but little success. In 1997, Radiohead and The Verve released their respective efforts OK Computer and Urban Hymns, both of which were and remain widely acclaimed.

The period was adequately summed up by the 1999 demise of Creation Records, arguably the driving force for much of the hype and hyperbole of the era, in 1999 . Following the bubble created by Oasis which kept the label afloat, it entered a period which saw the commercially and critically unsuccessful signings of white Rastafarian Mishka and an aging Kevin Rowland to the label. Founder Alan McGee eventually wound up the label, and has since established a new label entitled Poptones.

Aftermath (2000-present)

Blur continued to move away from the movement with their subsequent releases, parting company first with long-time producer Stephen Street in 1997 and eventually with guitarist Graham Coxon in 2002 during sessions to record their latest album, 2003's Think Tank. Coxon later reunited with Street to record his most successful solo albums. Damon Albarn found enormous worldwide success in the 2000s with his electronica/hip hop-influenced project Gorillaz and super group The Good, the Bad and the Queen which also features Simon Tong (formerly of The Verve.) In April 2007, Alex James said that Coxon had reunited with the band and that they will return in the studio in November.

Oasis remained popular, but entered a period of inactivity following Be Here Now. While recording the follow-up in 1999, they suffered after parting company with founding members Bonehead and Guigsy, replaced respectively by Gem Archer (Heavy Stereo) and Andy Bell (Ride). In 2004 longtime drummer and member Alan White left and was replaced by Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr's son), leaving only the Gallagher brothers as original members from the Britpop era. Regardless of line-up changes, Oasis along with Supergrass are the only bands who continue to release notable records on any regular basis, of the many bands who helped propel Britpop in the mid-90s. Both bands released critically and commercially successful albums in 2005 with Oasis' Don't Believe the Truth reaching #1 and Supergrass' Road to Rouen peaking at #9 in the UK charts. Radiohead also continue to release records with acclaim and commercial success, though they are quick to distance themselves from the idea that they were ever a "Britpop band". The band are notable for radically changing their sound on each album.

Suede released two more albums in 1999 (Head Music) and 2002 (A New Morning), before eventually breaking up in 2003 . Brett Anderson reunited briefly with Bernard Butler in 2004 in the formation The Tears, who released an album Here Come the Tears the following year. Anderson has since released his first solo self-titled album. Pulp followed up 1998's This is Hardcore in 2001 with the Scott Walker-produced We Love Life. After which they entered an extended hiatus from which they have yet to emerge. Jarvis Cocker reemerged in late 2006 with a well-received solo self-titled album Jarvis that featured other ex-members of Pulp. When interviewed, Cocker said that he see no reason in reuniting with the band at the moment.

The Verve split one final time after losing key guitarist Nick McCabe - singer Richard Ashcroft has subsequently forged a successful solo career. Simon Tong joined Damon Albarn in many of his projects as The Good Bad And the Queen and Gorillaz. The band announced they have reunited in June 2007 with a new album in the summer and upcoming tour in November.

Musical legacy

Aside from the movement's contribution to culture in general during and after the period, early line-ups of current bands in the ascendant such as The Libertines, Kaiser Chiefs (as Parva) and HARD-Fi (as Contempo), all formed during the late 1990s and early 2000s. This can be seen as a continuation of the evolution of new bands and scenes from old, and the rapid turnover of 'genres', in the British music scene, as the Third Wave Of Britpop. Other acts like Keane, Coldplay, Travis, Doves, Embrace, The Fratellis, Athlete and Kasabian have shown considerable Britpop influences in their work.

The Gallagher brothers have drawn comparisons between the Britpop movement and the current wave of bands successful in the United Kingdom. Liam Gallagher compared the Kaiser Chiefs to Blur, albeit in a derogatory sense, regarding them as a "bad [version of] Blur" (coincidently, the band's producer is Stephen Street, longtime producer of Blur). Noel Gallagher has compared The Libertines - who kickstarted the movement with a great deal of promise before succumbing to drugs and in-fighting - to Suede and the Arctic Monkeys - a northern younger band by high-school friends who "gatecrashed" the movement somewhat - to Gallagher's own band Oasis.

Since September 2005, students studying Music at GCSE level in British schools have had the opportunity to study Britpop as part of their course, through the exam board Edexcel . This move was condemed by cellist Julian Lloyd Webber who remarked, "Children are missing out on a classical music education." However the board argued that teaching Britpop engages students and they can relate to the music.

Bands

Main article - List of Britpop musicians

See also

• The Britpop Story

References

• Cavanagh, David. The Creation Records Story: My Magpie Eyes Are Hungry for the Prize, 2001.
• Harris, John. Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81367-X
• Harris, John. "Modern Life is Brilliant!" NME. January 7, 1995.
• Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop. Passion Pictures, 2004.

External links

• All Music Guide entry for Britpop
• BBC News article on Britpop's 10th anniversary