Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes and soundscapes of the US-led grunge music and to the UK's own shoegaze music scene. The movement brought British alternative rock into the mainstream and formed the backbone of a larger British popular cultural movement, Cool Britannia, which evoked the Swinging Sixties and the British guitar pop of that decade.
Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent record labels, by the 1990s it became more widely associated with the music such bands produced.
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as the Rain, the group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums), with Liam's older brother Noel joining as a fifth member a few months after their formation. During the course of their existence, they had various lineup changes, with the Gallagher brothers remaining the only stable members.
Suede are an English rock band formed in London in 1989 by singer Brett Anderson, guitarist Justine Frischmann, and bass player Mat Osman. Drawing inspiration from glam rock and post-punk, Suede were dubbed "The Best New Band in Britain" by Melody Maker in 1992, and attracted much attention from the British music press. The following year their debut album Suede went to the top of the UK Albums Chart, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in almost ten years. It won the Mercury Music Prize and helped foster 'Britpop' as a musical movement, though the band distanced themselves from the term.
Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994 on Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a Century", "Parklife" and "To the End".
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from 1983 until 1992. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group are best known for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1983 and Mavers joined the next year, although for most of the group's history, the frequently changing line-up revolved around the core duo of Lee Mavers and John Power along with numerous other guitarists and drummers including Paul Hemmings, John "Timmo" Timson, Peter "Cammy" Cammell, Iain Templeton, John "Boo" Byrne, Chris Sharrock, Barry Sutton and Neil Mavers.
The Masterplan is a compilation album by English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 November 1998 by Creation Records, the band's final release through the label. It comprises B-sides which never made it onto an album up to that point. Originally intended for release only in areas such as the United States and Japan, where the tracks were previously only available on expensive European-import singles, The Masterplan reached number 2 in the UK, where it initially went platinum, and number 51 in the United States. However, it did reach the Top 20 in various charts around the world, going on to sell 3 million copies. It has since been certified triple platinum in the UK. Four songs from the album appear on the 2006 compilation album Stop the Clocks.
Different Class is the fifth studio album by English rock band Pulp, released on 30 October 1995 by Island Records.
The Great Escape is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Blur. It was released on 11 September 1995 on Food and Virgin Records. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and charted in the top 10 in more than ten countries around the world. Less than a year after the album was released, it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album received near-universal acclaim on release.
Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.
Fuzzy Logic is the debut album by the Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals. Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, and released on the Creation label in May 1996, it was positively received by critics, who felt it was an eclectic if inconsistent mix of psychedelic music and glam rock, and was included in Q Magazine's list of recordings of the year. It has retained a modest respect among some critics; it was listed in Q's "Best British Albums Ever" in July 2004, and is included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It contains two top 20 hits in "If You Don't Want Me to Destroy You" and "Something 4 the Weekend"; it also contains the singles "God! Show Me Magic" and "Hometown Unicorn". It reached number 23 in the UK Albums Chart on release. In 2013, NME ranked it at number 245 in its list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Suede is the debut album by English alternative rock band Suede, released in March 1993 on Nude Records. It was recorded in London at Master Rock studios late 1992 and early 1993 and was produced by Ed Buller. At the time the fastest-selling debut album in British history in almost a decade, Suede debuted at the top of the UK Albums Chart, won the 1993 Mercury Music Prize, and is often cited as one of the first Britpop records. Displaying a sound of Britishness and glam rock, its music and lyrical content has been compared to The Smiths and early David Bowie.
Menswear were a Britpop band formed in October 1994 from Camden in London. They released a number of singles and an album, Nuisance, on the short-lived London Records subsidiary Laurel. A second album followed, which was released only in Japan; the group broke up in 1998. Menswear, made up of a new line-up in addition to frontman Johnny Dean, played their first show in 15 years in August 2013.
Sci-Fi Lullabies is a two-disc compilation album by English alternative rock band Suede released by Nude Records on 6 October 1997, consisting of B-sides from the singles that were released from the group's first three albums. It reached no. 9 on the UK Albums Chart, and received universal acclaim on release. In subsequent years, the record has been hailed as one of the finest B-side compilations in popular music.
Radiator is the second studio album by Welsh alternative rock band Super Furry Animals. It was released in August 1997 by Creation Records, and later the same year in the United States under Flydaddy Records. It peaked at number eight on the UK Albums Chart. In 2005, it was reissued with a bonus disc of other tracks from the time.
Casanova is the fourth studio album by Northern Irish chamber pop band the Divine Comedy. It was released in 1996 by Setanta Records, and it happened to be the band's commercial breakthrough. It was certified Gold in the UK in July 1997, aided by the release of the album's first single, "Something for the Weekend", which reached No. 13 on the charts. Two other singles released from the album, "Becoming More Like Alfie" and "The Frog Princess", charted at No. 27 and No. 15, respectively.
Nuisance is the debut studio album by British rock band Menswear, released on 24 October 1995 by Laurel. The album was preceded by "I'll Manage Somehow", "Daydreamer" and "Stardust"; the former charted in the top 40 while the latter two charted in the top 20. The album peaked at number 11 on the UK album chart.
Revelations is the third studio album by English rock band Gene. It was released on 1 March 1999 through Polydor Records. When they released their second studio album Drawn to the Deep End in 1997, it was a commercial success, but did not meet the label's expectations. Polydor was hesitant about letting them record another; sessions were mainly held at Rockfield Studios in Rockfield, Wales with producer Hugh Jones. The band produced one song at Maison Rogue in London. Revelations was compared to the band's debut studio album Olympian (1995), though lacked the Smiths influence found there. A few of the songs criticize British politicians, such as Tony Blair.
