Britpop was one of the UK’s main genres of music during the 90s, reaching its peak at around 1995-96. It could be said that Britpop was based around Manchester, and this is true in many cases but some important bands came from towns such as Sheffield and London. Camden played a very important role in the succession of Britpop, many of the bands performing in clubs around that area. It is said that Britpop was there to counteract the American Grunge Scene.
The music featured very little in the way of instruments, a step down from the keyboard-laden music of the 80s, mainly consisting of a rhythm guitar, a lead guitar, a bass guitar, a drummer and a singer. Occasionally Britpop music did feature keyboards, a good example of this being Pulp who relied quite heavily upon keyboards to create melodies.
The lyrical content of Britpop music is inspired mainly about real life, slightly echoing the ‘sex, drugs and rock n roll’ of rock bands of the 70s. Lyrics of Britpop songs often contained swear words, references to drugs and even past relationships.
Significant artists of the Britpop era were Oasis, Blur, Suede, The Charlatans, Pulp and The Verve, The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays forming the origins in the late 80s, early 90s. Britpop bands were often pitted together, the most famous example of this being Oasis vs. Blur.
Britpop music is very much inspired by bands of the 60s and 70s. Classic examples of these bands are The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Sex Pistols and even David Bowie. Certain Britpop bands can be associated with a single band from a previous era, Oasis drawing a lot of influence from The Beatles, and Suede drawing a lot of influence from David Bowie. Later influences of Britpop included the ‘Madchester’ scene of the late 80s, which consisted of bands like Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses. Subsequently, Britpop has gone on to influence such modern day bands as Arctic Monkeys and The Libertines.
One of the heaviest influences of Britpop music was the ‘Madchester’ scene. Fronting this scene were bands such as The Stone Roses, Happy Mondays and Inspiral Carpets (who’s roadie was Noel Gallagher). These formed the foundation for Britpop bands that were later to come.
Important albums from the Britpop era include ‘Definitely Maybe/What’s the Story Morning Glory’ by Oasis, ‘Parklife’ by Blur and The Stone Roses’ self titled debut album, the most important of these probably being The Stone Roses’ debut album as this was the origin of Britpop, and went on to influence bands of the same genre later on. Happy Mondays’ ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ could be said to be an important album as it was released before the influx of Britpop and can be said to be somewhat of an influence. Happy Mondays’ and The Stone Roses’ albums could be classed as Britpop but were more part of the ‘Madchester’ scene of the late 80s.
Singles from this era that are very important include Oasis’ ‘Live Forever’, Blur’s ‘Parklife’, Pulp’s ‘Common People’ and many others. A famous clash between Oasis and Blur happened when Oasis released ‘Roll With It’ on the same day as Blur released ‘Country House’, the end result being Noel Gallagher wishing Blur’s Damon Albarn and Alex James would catch AIDS and die. Noel later apologized for this statement, but it shows how fierce the rivalry became.
The image of Britpop was very, very patriotic, the clue being in the title. Britpop can often be associated with the Union Jack, the flag appearing all over magazines featuring Britpop artists, and to the extent of Noel Gallagher playing a guitar decorated with the Union Jack. The fashion of the Britpop era was derived heavily from the Mod scene, with parka coats being all the rage at the time.
The society and culture that surrounded Britpop was very British and very working class. A lot of working class people could associate with the lyrical content and style of the Britpop bands, and this was also reflected in the media through magazines such as NME and Melody Maker, who featured a Britpop band of some kind in every issue. The Oasis vs. Blur rivalry manifested itself heavily through magazines and newspapers such as NME and The Sun. Another part of the Britpop culture was the ‘lad’ culture, however Britpop was not exclusive to men, as bands such as Suede and Elastica contained female band members.
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