Britpop – yesterday’s coke

The air was out. The party tilted towards the end. Hosts and guests had spent. Now signs of fatigue are used. The Gallagher brothers, who have always been the most impossible, did not want to admit this. They let cocaine round. But the short -term excitement and ecstasy that was accompanied by it felt wrong.

“Be here Now”, the fateful third album from Oasis, collapsed like a soufflé after repeated hearing. When the day dawned, someone put the newly published single “Help the Aged” from Pulp in the CD player. The classic thriller. The party called Britpop was finally over that November morning in 1997.

It was a celebration that had not been heard from outside the island. The British pop of the 60s (The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The WHO) enthusiastically enthusiastically, that of the early 80s (ABC, Human League, Dexys Midnight Runners) at least Europe. However, as early as 1989/90, the English had no longer managed to convince the mainland of its version of pop-in this case danceable indie rock. The “Madchester” hype about bands like Happy Mondays and The Stone Roses verbbeted between Dover and Calais. The later German “Rolling Stone” editor-in-chief Sebastian Zabel called out the “Rave-O-Lution” in the “Spex”, but only a few readers wanted to follow him.

The musical center was somewhere else in the early 90s. For the first time since the weddings of The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and Steely Dan, the exciting rock and pop music came back from the USA. Thanks to Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, suddenly knew all of Europe, where Seattle is located. And if you knew nothing to do with the dark guitar scrubbing of the grunge, hip-hop, house, techno and Eurodance remained. Music that was largely created on the mixer and no longer needed traditional instruments. The classic English band concept – four boys team up and bring out their songs – was no longer the order of the day.

Now it is the case that there are always people who are not interested in what is the order of the day. Especially boys who dream of being as successful as The Beatles or at least The Jam, and then found a classic band with guitar, bass and drums. For example Suede, who stormed to the top of the charts with their debut album in 1993. But only in Great Britain.

Suede are considered the first band of the Britpop. The reason for this was provided by the magazine “Select”. A long -lost magazine that formed the ideological superstructure for the Britpop with a single cover picture. The cover of April 1993 showed the singer of Suede, Brett Anderson. In the background of the photo, the “Select” makers had subsequently installed the Union Jack. And so that every term that this is about a matter of national interest, the heading was: »Yanks Go Home! Suede, Saint Etienne, Denim, Pulp, the Auteur and the Battle for Britain «. Historically, a lot was thrown here – it was the “Yanks” (ie the Americans) that helped the British at the “Battle for Britain” (the air battle for England) against Germans – but that should have been warm to the common English music fan. The message arrived: Great Britain finally had to grow up again.

And that seemed bitter: whether football, film or government – the United Kingdom sank to mediocre in the early 90s. The country was ruled by John Major, the paleest prime minister of the 20th century. In 1992 the English footballers failed as the bottom of the table in the preliminary round of the European Championship. The exciting New British Cinema of the 80s had not survived the change of decades. And the fact that even in music towards the United States was the ultimate humiliation.

Suede came just right. Without further ado, they were given responsibility for the salvation of the English nation. As a result, other bands sensed the chance that the “Buy British!” Opened. In 1994 the year was to be the year in which three groups under this flag achieved the breakthrough. It started in April Pulp with “his ‘n’ Hers” and Blur with “Parklife”. In August, “Definitly Maybe” from Oasis followed. Musically, the works did not combine much. The singles “Girls & Boys” (Blur) and “Live Forever” (Oasis) illustrate this: Brang indie disco, there with grill stadium hymn. And Pulp were out of the outside anyway.

This did not stop the English press from describing the bands plus the verve mentioned as “The Big Four”. Only these groups were no longer so big beyond the island. Pulp came in this country – unfortunately! -Never beyond criticism. Blur and The Verve, in turn, only achieved significant sales success in Central Europe when Britpop himself had become a word in England. Only Oasis also cleared out on the mainland, although the interest in the duel they kept themselves at home with Blur was limited.

Understandable from today’s perspective. It was less about music than promoting sales. The duel should not be missing in any marketing manual as a teaching example of win-win situation. The simultaneous publication of the new singles of Oasis and Blur was planned for August 14, 1995. The media were only interested in one thing: which band would climb the tip of the charts? The summer hole can also be filled.

The “New Musical Express” raised the competition “Blur vs. Oasis” to the “British Heavyweight Championship”, that is, to the heavyweight championship. Other spoke of the “Battle of Britpop”. And nobody seemed to disturb that this battle fought with unfair means. Because while “Roll With It” (Oasis) for £ 2.99 over the counter, “County House” (Blur) was dismissed for £ 1.99. No wonder that Blur ended up with 274,000 CDs sold as the winner. But the runner -up Oasis did not have to grieve. 216,000 sold CDs meant gross income of almost £ 650,000 (according to today’s purchasing power, a good 1.3 million euros). Such numbers can only dream of making music in the Spotify age.

What hardly anyone noticed: No. 1 “Country House” is one of the most sleepy songs that Blur has ever released. But who interested music, when it was much more exciting to follow the verbal skirmishes between the bands? Especially Oasis boss Noel Gallagher was in top form. So he wished his competitor of Blur, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon on his neck, combined with the desire that the two may die from it. The British music press, which had to fill pages every week, thanked it.

Yesterday’s coke. In the meantime, Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn understand themselves so splendidly that the former even in a song from the latter (at “We Got the Power” as part of Albarn’s Gorillaz project). Why shouldn’t you get along! Both benefited from the Britpop hype.

If you hear the albums from back then, you still grab you melancholy. Since then there has been no hype like Britpop. And will no longer exist – none of the English music magazines that pour oil into the fire every week has survived.

At least the heroes come up again and again to publish new records. That usually sounds rock solid and sometimes really good. “More” from Pulp is such an album that would also have inspired you in 1995. At that time when English boys still believed that they could be the new Beatles.