Britpop

Britpop is a British alternative rock movement from the mid 1990s, characterised with the appearance of bands who borrowed many influences from 1960s and 1970s while creating big and catchy hooks, as well as the glamour of earlier pop stardom and the sense that they were creating the soundtrack to the lives of a new generation of British youth. Although incredibly popular from about 1994-1996, it has been criticised for its lack of innovation.

History

The Modfather and Modern Life is Rubbish (1991 – 1993)

Weller in particular is praised as the founder and initiator of the movement. His solo records Paul Weller (1991) and Wild Wood (1993) are considered seminal forces for the movement. His influence over the Britpop, coupled with his love of Mod music, had earned him the nickname "The Modfather". As well as guiding Blur, Oasis and Ocean Colour Scene through his recordings, Weller has also performed with the bands, including playing guitar on Oasis' "Champagne Supernova".

Related Topics:
1991 - 1993 - Blur - Oasis - Ocean Colour Scene

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Whereas Weller brought the key ingredient of "Mod" to what would become Britpop, Blur brought several other factors to the table. Without the media attention and chart success that would later follow, Blur's 1993 album Modern Life Is Rubbish slowly shifted the British sound away from shoegazing dance music, to a quirky pop sound. In hindsight, the writing and sound of Modern Life Is Rubbish contained many of the lyrical themes, chord changes, harmonies, and decidedly British singing which would later become iconically recognised as "Britpop".

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Britpop and Cool Britannia (1994 – middle-1996)

The term "Britpop" had been used as early as 1987 (in "Sounds" magazine by journalist and TV pundit

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John Robb referring to bands such as The La's, Stone Roses and the Inspiral Carpets). "Britpop" arose around the same time as the term "Britart" (which referred to the work of British modern artists such as Damien Hirst). But it wouldn't be until 1995 when the term exploded and was used extensively by NME, Melody Maker, Select, and Q Magazine. The word subsequently entered the mainstream media. Its influence was recognised by an article in The Guardian by the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary declaring "Britpop" as the new word which best exemplified 1995. "Britpop" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1997.

Related Topics:
The La's - Stone Roses - Inspiral Carpets - NME - Melody Maker - The Guardian

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Fans of Britpop are divided over which album kick-started the movement. Oasis' breakthrough debut Definitely Maybe (1994), Blur's bombastic third album Parklife (1994) and Suede's self-titled debut (1993) are all contenders. These albums defined the movement and paved the way for many other acts. The Britpop hysteria rapidly gained huge media and fan attention in Britain, Western Europe and some parts of the U.S.

Related Topics:
Definitely Maybe - Parklife - Suede - Self-titled

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The movement was as much about British pride, media hype and imagery as it was about the particular style of music. Suede (known in America as "London 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 was released in March 1993, and became the fastest-selling debut album in the history of the UK. This title was later claimed by Oasis with Definitely Maybe.

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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 Jack in the background and the words 'Yanks go home!' on the cover, accompanied by features on Suede, The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne and Pulp. In 1994 and 1995 other Britpop and similar style acts started to appear - Mansun, Elastica, Radiohead, The Verve, P.J. Harvey, Echobelly, Sleeper, Supergrass, Primal Scream, The Auteurs, The Boo Radleys, Pulp, Cast, The Bluetones, Black Grape, Space and The Divine Comedy. Some of them were new, others already established acts who benefited from association with the movement.

Related Topics:
Brett Anderson - Suede - The Auteurs - Denim - Saint Etienne - Pulp - 1994 - 1995 - Mansun - Elastica - Radiohead - The Verve - P.J. Harvey - Echobelly - Sleeper - Supergrass - Primal Scream - The Boo Radleys - Cast - The Bluetones - Black Grape - Space - The Divine Comedy

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In 1995 the Britpop movement reached its zenith. The famous "Battle Of The Bands" found Blur and Oasis as prime contenders for the title "Kings of Britpop". Spurred on by the media, the "Battle" was headed by two groups - Oasis' brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher representing the North of England, and from Blur, Damon Albarn and Alex James representing the South. This "Battle" was epitomised when, after some back-handed marketing, Oasis' Single "Roll With It" and Blur's "Country House" were released in the same week. The event caught the public's imagination and gained mass media attention - even featuring on the BBC News.

Related Topics:
Battle Of The Bands - Noel - Liam Gallagher - Damon Albarn - Alex James - Roll With It - Country House

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In the end, Blur won, selling 274,000 copies to Oasis' 216,000 - the songs charting at number 1 and number 2 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 spent over three times as long on the charts (a total of three years) and outsold Blur's album over four to one, selling over eighteen million copies. Oasis' second album is widely considered to be the definitive Britpop album capturing the essence of the attitude and the Cool Britannia movement. (In Britain and Ireland it became popular for a time when asked "What's the story?" (lit. "How are you?"), to answer with "Morning glory".)

Related Topics:
(What's the Story) Morning Glory - The Great Escape

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The Britpop movement was also symbolised in 1994-1995 by the outwardly happy, poppy sing-along summer anthems of such bands as Dodgy's "Staying Out for the Summer", Supergrass' "Alright", Sleeper's "Inbetweener", The Boo Radleys' "Wake Up Boo" and Echobelly's "Great Things". Although the majority of the bands associated with Britpop were English, there were exceptions. Super Furry Animals, Catatonia, Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics were Welsh. This even led native media to call the rise of Welsh Bands "Cool Cymru" an answer to "Cool Britannia". Others like The Gyres, Travis and Belle and Sebastian were Scottish. There were also Irish acts such as - the Cranberries and Ash (from Northern Ireland) - and not to mention the infamous Gallagher brothers, who were Irish descendants. Thus the movement and Britpop hysteria engulfed not just one province or city; it encompassed the entire region and established itself as a definitive British movement, both musically and spiritually.

Related Topics:
Dodgy - Sleeper - Echobelly - Super Furry Animals - Catatonia - Gorky's Zygotic Mynci - Manic Street Preachers - Stereophonics - Welsh - Travis - Belle and Sebastian - The Cranberries - Ash - Region

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Britpop weakens (late-1996 – 1998)

In late 1996, the movement and hysteria started to subside due to high expectations, burnout and drug fuelled lives among the bands. Bands as Blur, Oasis and Suede among the hype and media attention to their music were also publisized with their regular alcohol, cocaine and crack usage. While Suede's poppy 1996 album Coming Up was a needed tonic and other acts such as Pulp, Supergrass and Cornershop made some challenging records, many of the other band's albums would be ultimately disappointing or would be far from the overall spirit and sound of the movement, hinting that it was on the way out.

Related Topics:
1996 - Coming Up - Cornershop

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Notably, the core initiators and leaders like Oasis and Blur turned their backs on the movement scene. Oasis' third album Be Here Now although selling strongly to a still loyal fanbase, attracted strong criticism from critics and record-buyers for its overproduced cocaine sound, characterised with endless guitar riffs and lack of originality in making the songs.

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Blur's self-titled fifth effort was very well received like their previous two, partly because it showcased stylistic evolution for the band, unlike Oasis. The band by Graham Coxon's urgence was moving and developping and marked a considerable departure from the familiar Britpop style of Parklife and The Great Escape. Their music was lurching towards the American style of bands such as Pavement.

Related Topics:
Self-titled - Pavement

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At the time of the movement fell out, it received some impetus from Radiohead and The Verve, who weren't previously considered to be Britpop acts with their respective 1997 powerful progressive rock albums OK Computer and Urban Hymns, both of which were widely acclaimed. While these albums were Britpop in the sense of being British and popular, neither wore that Britishness or accessability with that particular pride.

Related Topics:
1997 - Progressive rock - OK Computer - Urban Hymns

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Fall of the Britpop (1998 – 1999) and Second Wave of similar acts (2000 – present)

Eventually, by the late 1990s, the movement was considered to be a spent force musically. The transitional figure here was ex-Take That, Robbie Williams who had his first number 1 hit in 1998. Williams owed much to Britpop (many of his most famous songs being co-written with Guy Chambers ex of Britpop band "The Lemon Trees"), but he represented a move away from rock and towards pop in the music buying public's taste. By the new millenium, girl and boy bands - Backstreet Boys, Sugababes, All Saints, Hanson, S Club 7 and Westlife, as well as solo pop stars like Britney Spears, Robbie Williams, Kylie Minogue and Justin Timberlake dominated the charts, and thus Britpop was over.

Related Topics:
Take That - Robbie Williams - 1998 - Guy Chambers - Pop - Girl - Boy band - Backstreet Boys - Sugababes - All Saints - Hanson - S Club 7 - Westlife - Britney Spears - Kylie Minogue - Justin Timberlake

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Many of these acts didn't survived the momentum of the movement and disbanded, some stylistically evolved and moved to other different musical territories. Despite the fall of Britpop those few established acts like Oasis, Radiohead, Blur and Supergrass continued to make music and still are enjoying relative popularity among fans and critics. Blur continued to move away from the movement with their subsequent releases, parting company with longtime producer Stephen Street and guitarist Graham Coxon in the process. Ironically a couple of years after Coxon left, he realigned with Street to record his most successful solo records. Oasis remained popular amongst their loyal fanbase, but later albums failed to achieve the heights previously set, and they also suffered the loss of longterm members Bonehead and Guigs in 1999 and longtime serving sticksman Alan White in 2004.

Related Topics:
Stephen Street - Graham Coxon - Bonehead - Guigs - 1999 - Alan White - 2004

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Suede soldiered on, releasing more albums, but none managed to show the brilliance that they displayed during their first three albums. This was mainly due to the departure of main songwriter/guitarist Bernard Butler during the recording of Dog Man Star. Suede eventually called it quits in 2003. But not so long after that in 2004 Butler and Anderson reconvened with a new formation called The Tears. Pulp entered in a big hiatus and The Verve, after losing key guitarist Nick McCabe, also split, although their frontman Richard Ashcroft subsequently forged a successful solo career. Radiohead, never the most strongly associated band with the movement, radically changed their sound with subsequent records and abandoned all pretence of being a Britpop style band.

Related Topics:
Bernard Butler - Dog Man Star - 2003 - 2004 - The Tears - Nick McCabe - Richard Ashcroft

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Not so long after the initial wave died, new groups started to appear in early 2000s. Bands like Muse, Travis and Coldplay drew inspiration from the earlier sound. Albums such as Showbiz and Absolution (Muse), Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head (Coldplay), and The Man Who and The Invisible Band (Travis) showed lesser or greater Britpop influences. In 2003 and 2004 bigger influx happened of more new acts. Bands such as Athlete, Doves, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes,

Related Topics:
2000s - Muse - Travis - Coldplay - Showbiz - Absolution - Parachutes - A Rush of Blood to the Head - The Man Who - The Invisible Band - 2003 - 2004 - Athlete - Doves - Franz Ferdinand - The Strokes

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Kaiser Chiefs, The Futureheads, Bloc Party, Kasabian, and Maximo Park showed Britpop influences in their work. Other acts like Elbow, The Libertines, and Keane have also come to the fore, with music, influenced by Oasis and Radiohead.

Related Topics:
Kaiser Chiefs - The Futureheads - Bloc Party - Kasabian - Maximo Park - Elbow - The Libertines - Keane

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In a similar style these new acts follow their inspirational bands' attitude of attacking each other on the press, sometimes hitting "old-timers", even resulting in division between old fans and new ones. And while the "new guard" unwillingly acknowledges the Britpop influence, behaviour in the press and relationship between old and new acts is rarely kind. The Britpop legacy have remained in Britain and while new acts are not as innovative or instantly smashing as their predecessors, most of them borrow much of the musical roots and stay on the scene for the long run with on-going fan and media attention, assuming that while first movement lasted for a couple of years, the Second wave of Britpop has established for more than a half decade. As it seems Britpop is still alive and considering the on-going success of past and new acts – it's unlikely to subdue in the next couple of years. Moreover, it's most probably that more new acts will start to appear, proving that the Second Wave of Britpop has developed as a stand-alone and equally strong movement.

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