Remember the ninteties? Of course you do. Cool Britannia, New Labour, Blur vs Oasis, Geri Halliwell’s Union Flag dress, TFI Friday, “wasssssuuuuuuppppppp”, Opal Fruits turning into Starburst without anyone asking your permission...crazy times. This book doesn’t have anything to say about Geri’s dress or Opal Fruits but it has lots to say about Britpop. But this isn’t a book about the Britpop you think you know about, this is the story of a truly remarkable period of creativity in British guitar music told through the experiences of someone who was there from the first note of “Popscene” through to the run out groove of “This is Hardcore”. This is the story of the Britpop that didn’t make it onto the evening news or the cover of The Face. This is the story of the bands nobody remembers but that everybody should. This is the story of what it was like to be an outsider in 1991 and be too cool for school by 1994. This is the story of a magnesium flash in British popular music that has, for good or ill, defined British guitar music ever since. Here are Flamingoes and Pimlico, Strangelove and David Devant and His Spirit Wife, The Weekenders and Thurman...and Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Sleeper and Elastica too. These are Britpop memories from someone who was actually there. The definitive story of Britpop...

Remember the ninteties? Of course you do. Cool Britannia, New Labour, Blur vs Oasis, Geri Halliwell’s Union Flag dress, TFI Friday, “wasssssuuuuuuppppppp”, Opal Fruits turning into Starburst without anyone asking your permission...crazy times. This book doesn’t have anything to say about Geri’s dress or Opal Fruits but it has lots to say about Britpop. But this isn’t a book about the Britpop you think you know about, this is the story of a truly remarkable period of creativity in British guitar music told through the experiences of someone who was there from the first note of “Popscene” through to the run out groove of “This is Hardcore”. This is the story of the Britpop that didn’t make it onto the evening news or the cover of The Face. This is the story of the bands nobody remembers but that everybody should. This is the story of what it was like to be an outsider in 1991 and be too cool for school by 1994. This is the story of a magnesium flash in British popular music that has, for good or ill, defined British guitar music ever since. Here are Flamingoes and Pimlico, Strangelove and David Devant and His Spirit Wife, The Weekenders and Thurman...and Blur, Pulp, Oasis, Sleeper and Elastica too. These are Britpop memories from someone who was actually there. The definitive story of Britpop...

Britpop was more than just a musical movement; it was a cultural phenomenon that defined the 1990s in the UK. Emerging in the early 1990s and peaking around the middle of the decade, Britpop was characterized by a revival of British music, fashion, and identity. This period saw a resurgence of guitar-based rock music, a celebration of British culture, and a confident assertion of national identity. The term "Britpop" itself reflects the fusion of British culture and popular music, signaling a return to the sounds and sensibilities of classic British rock. The Britpop era was marked by a sense of optimism and a rejection of the grunge movement that had dominated the early 1990s. While grunge was introspective and often melancholic, Britpop was outward-looking, celebratory, and distinctly British. The music was often characterized by jangly guitars, catchy hooks, and lyrics that referenced British life and culture. Bands like Oasis, Blur, Pulp, and Suede became household names, and their music became the soundtrack to a generation. Britpop was also closely associated with the cultural and political climate of the time. The early 1990s were a period of economic recovery in the UK, following the recession of the late 1980s. There was a renewed sense of national pride, and Britpop became a symbol of this renewed confidence. The movement coincided with the rise of "Cool Britannia," a period of cultural renaissance in the UK, and the election of Tony Blair's Labour government in 1997, which promised a new era of prosperity and progress. However, Britpop was not without its critics. Some saw it as a superficial and commercially driven movement, lacking the depth and innovation of previous musical eras. Others criticized its focus on British identity, arguing that it was exclusionary and nationalistic. Despite these criticisms, there is no denying the impact of Britpop on British culture and its lasting legacy in the music industry. As we explore the origins, key figures, and cultural significance of Britpop, it is important to understand the broader context in which it emerged. Britpop was not just about the music; it was a reflection of the social, political, and cultural changes taking place in the UK at the time. It was a movement that captured the spirit of a generation and left an indelible mark on British culture.

Britpop and the English Music Tradition is the first study devoted exclusively to the Britpop phenomenon and its contexts. The genre of Britpop, with its assertion of Englishness, evolved at the same time that devolution was striking deep into the hegemonic claims of English culture to represent Britain. It is usually argued that Britpop, with its strident declarations of Englishness, was a response to the dominance of grunge. The contributors in this volume take a different point of view: that Britpop celebrated Englishness at a time when British culture, with its English hegemonic core, was being challenged and dismantled. It is now timely to look back on Britpop as a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s that can be set into the political context of its time, and into the cultural context of the last fifty years - a time of fundamental revision of what it means to be British and English. The book examines issues such as the historical antecedents of Britpop, the subjectivities governing the performative conventions of Britpop, the cultural context within which Britpop unfolded, and its influence on the post-Britpop music scene in the UK. While Britpop is central to the volume, discussion of this phenomenon is used as an opportunity to examine the particularities of English popular music since the turn of the twentieth century.

Britpop and the English Music Tradition is the first study devoted exclusively to the Britpop phenomenon and its contexts. The genre of Britpop, with its assertion of Englishness, evolved at the same time that devolution was striking deep into the hegemonic claims of English culture to represent Britain. It is usually argued that Britpop, with its strident declarations of Englishness, was a response to the dominance of grunge. The contributors in this volume take a different point of view: that Britpop celebrated Englishness at a time when British culture, with its English hegemonic core, was being challenged and dismantled. It is now timely to look back on Britpop as a cultural phenomenon of the 1990s that can be set into the political context of its time, and into the cultural context of the last fifty years - a time of fundamental revision of what it means to be British and English. The book examines issues such as the historical antecedents of Britpop, the subjectivities governing the performative conventions of Britpop, the cultural context within which Britpop unfolded, and its influence on the post-Britpop music scene in the UK. While Britpop is central to the volume, discussion of this phenomenon is used as an opportunity to examine the particularities of English popular music since the turn of the twentieth century.

The first truly comprehensive guide to the Britpop movement; for anyone who grew up in the nineties, and for some who didn't...