Britpop As A Driving Force Of Cool Britannia: A Study Of Alternative Music In Popular Culture.

by Vineet Kanabar. 113B, PGP1.

Britpop evolved in the early 90s as a response to the American grunge, new wave and punk revival movements. Britpop groups were primarily influenced by the music of the 60s and 70s, particularly British Invasion cornerstones like The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin. Classic Mod bands like The Who, The Kinks and The Small Faces were also cited as influences. Britpop last the better part of the last decade of the last century, but faded out approaching the millennium.

Another source were 70s' glam idols such as David Bowie, T. Rex, Roxy Music, and punk and new wave artists like The Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, The Clash, The Jam, Madness, XTC, and Elvis Costello. The Indie rock outfits of the 80s exemplified by The Smiths, Depeche Mode, U2, Duran Duran, The Cure and R.E.M. were cited too.

Britpop’s importance in modern British culture is exemplified by the fact that it was an independent movement, although not aimed or started as one. Its rise also coincided and hence, aided the concept of Cool Britannia, in the early and mid-90s.

Origins

Paul Weller, of the band The Jam is credited as the founding father of Britpop, christened “The Modfather” by indie music magazine, the New Music Express. His records Paul Weller (1991) and Wild Wood (1993) are considered seminal forces for the movements of the following years.

NME Cover,

17December 1994.

Dedicated to the rise

of Britpop, naming

the luminaries in the

alternative music

culture.

Britpop and Cool Britannia

The phrase "Cool Britannia" was first used in 1967 as a song title by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. The phrase "Cool Britannia" reappeared in the mid-1990s as a registered trade mark for one of Ben & Jerry's ice-creams (vanilla with strawberries and chocolate-covered shortbread). The ice cream name and recipe was coined in early 1996 by an American lawyer living in London, Sarah Moynihan-Williams, as a winning entry in a Ben and Jerry's ice cream competition. Her name for the ice cream as "Cool Britannia" was meant to presage the era of New Labour, which came about with their election win in May 1997. The phrase was quickly adopted in the media and in advertising, seeming to capture the "It" quality of London at the time. The election of Blair's government in 1997 on a platform of modernisation and with Blair as a relatively young Prime Minister gave the idea fresh currency. There is a strong parallel between this and the catch-phrase "Swinging London" during the early years of Harold Wilson's Labour government. Although "Britannia" refers to the whole of the United Kingdom, and not just England, similar terms for Wales and Scotland, "Cool Cymru" and "Cool Caledonia" respectively, were also coined, but never gained any real popular currency (Harris, 2004).

Quoting the famous American journalist, Stryker McGuire, who is credited to have brought the term Cool Britannia out in the public domain with his story in the 90s published in The Guardian, “But the moment was, to be fair, much richer than that. Blair didn't just represent the end of Tory dominance; he represented the beginning of something, too. The electorate, especially perhaps those middle Englanders who voted Labour for the first time, saw him as their skywalker, the man who would lead post-imperial Britain, post-Thatcher Britain, into the uncharted 21st century. It was, all in all, a good time.”

McGuire also said, “But remember: London in 1996 was a helluva town. The fashion world was fighting over McQueen and Galliano; their alma mater, St Martin's College of Art, was the epicentre of London-as-Style. Immigrants, whether from Goa or Wellington or Dijon, had transformed the food available at London restaurants. Even as Art was drawing an older crowd in the West End, young people from around the world were gravitating to the city's new club scene. Brit Art still packed a punch, Brit Pop was still a force, and a string of architectural projects was about to bring new life to the banks of the Thames. It helped that we had had a lovely summer and autumn. On the streets you could see and hear the diversity that was transforming London at deeper levels. A New Yorker could immediately identify with how fresh immigration and the newcomers' entrepreneurial abilities were rejuvenating and enriching London life and business.”

In the midst of this pseudo nationalistic movement, the arrival of Britpop in the form of Oasis’ first album, Definitely Maybe (1994) and Blur’s third album that landed them recognition, Parklife (1994) alongside other bands such as Suede, Pulp, etc. Blur won four awards at the 1995 BRIT Awards, including Best Band and Best Album for Parklife. Blur guitarist, Graham Coxon later pointed to Parklife as the moment when "[Blur] went from being regarded as an alternative, left field arty band to this amazing new pop sensation" (Live Forever, 2003).

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 (Richardson, 1995). 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. 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, although Blur's album received more critical acclaim (Harris, 2004).

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.

Although the majority of the bands associated with Britpop were English, there were exceptions. Super Furry Animals, Manic Street Preachers and Stereophonics were Welsh. Others like Travis and Belle and Sebastian were Scottish. There were also Irish acts 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 wrapped the entire region and was established as a definitive British movement in musical and spiritual way (Haines, 2009).

NME Cover, 12

August 1995.

Advertising the

heavyweight battle

for the top spot in

Britpop between

Blur and Oasis.

"Britpop" arose around the same time as the term "Britart" (which referred to the work of British modern artists such as Damien Hirst). Nevertheless, it was not until 1994 when the term entered the popular consciousness, being 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 in which the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary declared "Britpop" as the new word which best exemplified 1995. "Britpop" was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in 1997.

By featuring Suede's lead singer Brett Anderson on the cover with a Union Jack in the background and the phrase "Yanks go home!" on the cover, Select Magazine helped the upswing in British pride in April 1993. The issue included features on Suede, The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne and Pulp. Other Britpop acts dominated the music weeklies in the next three years (1993-1995) - Mansun, Elastica, Echobelly, Sleeper, Supergrass, Primal Scream, The Auteurs, The Boo Radleys, Pulp, Cast, The Bluetone, Black Grape, Torrindale, Space and The Divine Comedy. Some of them were new, others such as the Boo Radleys already established acts that benefited from association with the movement (Haines, 2009).

The first stirrings of recognition by the music press came in the form of what the NME had dubbed the New Wave of New Wave (or 'NWONW') after this, though this was originally applied to the more punk-derivative acts such as Elastica, S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men (Harris, 2003). The music press was initially hesitant to recognise what it regarded as lesser acts even though the latter two bands quickly disappeared from the limelight; in the first instance Oasis, Shed Seven and Whiteout, and continued to champion the more brash and punky groups. However, the release of new material by both The Charlatans and Inspiral Carpets that year saw the more melodic acts gain prominence. Other baggy acts to slip back into mainstream acceptance during this period included Ocean Colour Scene and Shaun Ryder's post-Happy Mondays outfit Black Grape.

British pride, media hype and imagery as it was about the particular style of music was the movement’s sole description. 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 was the Suede (known in America as “London Suede”). 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 (Savage, 1995).

Demise of Britpop

The movement and hysteria started to subside during the late 1996. The deceleration was due to high expectations not being met and artistic burnout caused by the drug-fuelled lifestyles of the bands. Bands like Blur, Oasis and Suede gained much media attention for their use of alcohol and/or drugs. Many releases would be ultimately disappointing, lacking the overall spirit and sound of the movement in the following year – 1997 (Haines, 2009). The releases

core initiators and leaders, Oasis and Blur, were key to the downturn in Britpop's fortunes. Oasis' third album Be Here Now, although attracting much hype and selling strongly, failed to stand the test of time and soon attracted strong criticism from critics, record-buyers and Noel Gallagher himself for its "overproduced" and "bloated" sound. Blur's self-titled fifth album was very well received by critics, partly because it showcased stylistic evolution for the band, unlike Oasis. However, their new sound was not immediately well received by fans. The band - under the guidance of guitarist Graham Coxon rather than vocalist Damon Albarn - moved away from their old sound and their music began to assimilate American lo-fi influences, particularly that of Pavement, with frontman Damon Albarn telling the NME that the album was "English slacker". It would take the release of Blur's second single, "Song 2", to win the record true commercial success and it soon shot back up the British charts (Mulvey, 1997).

Notwithstanding the established acts struggle, attention began to turn to the likes of Radiohead and The Verve, who had previously overlooked by media attention, which had previously centered on Pulp, Suede, Blur and Oasis, though Radiohead had found commercial success their 1993 single "Creep" and commercial and critical success with 1995s The Bends (Harris, 2004). These two bands - in particular Radiohead - showed considerably more esoteric influences from the 1960s and 1970s, not as common amongst the earlier Britpop acts. When the movement showed signs of fading, Radiohead and the Verve released their respective 1997 landmark efforts OK Computer and Urban Hymns, both of which were and remain widely acclaimed.

The movement gradually fell apart as the decade drew to a close. Blur continued to move away from the movement with their subsequent releases, parting company with long-time producer Stephen Street and guitarist Graham Coxon in the process. A couple of years after Coxon left he realigned with Street to record his most successful solo records. Even though Oasis remained popular amongst their fan base, they entered a period of inactivity following Be Here Now. They suffered the loss of founding members Bonehead and Guigsy in 1999 and drummer Alan White in 2004 while recording the follow-up in 1999, leaving only the Gallagher brothers as original members from the Britpop era. Suede released two more albums in 1999 and 2002, before eventually calling it quits in 2003. Pulp failed to follow up 1998's This Is Hardcore until 2001 with We Love Life after which they entered an extended hiatus from which they have yet to emerge. Radiohead, never the band most strongly associated with the movement, radically changed their sound with subsequent records and abandoned all semblance of the Britpop style. The Verve, after losing key guitarist Nick McCabe, also split, although their frontman Richard Ashcroft subsequently forged a successful solo career. Despite the "fall" of Britpop a few established acts like Oasis, Radiohead, Blur and Supergrass continued to make music and still are enjoying relative popularity among fans and critics.

The demise of Creation Records adequately summed up the period, arguably the driving force for much of the hype and hyperbole of the era, in 1999. Following the bubble created by Oasis which kept the label afloat, it entered a hubristic period which saw the commercially and critically unsuccessful signings of white Rastafarian Mishka and an ageing Kevin Rowland to the label (Harris, 2004).

The Legacy and Takeaways from Britpop

Blur hit new heights with Girls and Boys and Parklife, social commentary dressed as pop hits as Oasis enjoyed hits with rousing anthems Live Forever and Cigarettes and Alcohol. That set the scene for their chart showdown the following summer - and for a new crop of acts like Supergrass, Menswear, Sleeper and Dodgy to take the stage.

While others merely happened to come along at the same time, some of those bands were inspired by the confidence and success of the Britpop pioneers. But they all became part of Britpop and helped the UK's alternative rock regain its voice, and in the process rouse nationalistic sentiment that was echoed in fashion, art and in a general sense of being British.

Business-wise, the era of Britpop and Cool Britannia was a resurgent period in British album sales as well as related magazines. The New Music Express and Melody Maker are examples of magazines that were byproducts of Britpop. Britpop icons, the Gallagher brothers, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon became major marketing tools. Noel Gallagher was also instrumental in Tony Blair’s election as Prime Minister of Britain, and the cultural movement in place was used well by the Labour Party to stay in power. (Harris, 2004)

Noel Gallagher performed at many of the Labour Party organized shows, and also was present at the official reception of Tony Blair as Prime Minister at 10, Downing Street. Inadvertently, Oasis had become part of the establishment that they had initially stood up against, in a way, by being one of the pioneering Britpop bands. Some publications go far enough to claim that Blair owes his entire political career to Gallagher (Rolling Stone, 2009). This was one of the defining moments in the fall and demise of Britpop, and the subsequent end of Cool Britannia as a phenomenon. Although a resurgence in Britpop has been seen in recent years with new bands on the scene, the mass hysteria of Britpop during the Cool Britannia years is far from replicated.

Tony Blair shares a

joke with Noel

Gallagher of Oasis at

his official reception

at 10, Downing

Street. July, 1997.

Britpop Timeline

Conclusion

Britpop was an integral part of the revolutionization of Britain in the early to mid-90s. The cultural revolution engulfed fashion, music, art and society at large, and soon from an independent alternative culture transformed into popular mainstream lifestyle, wherein it lost most of its relevance, thus losing steam and direction. With bands gaining mainstream popularity and changing musical direction, all that remained left over from the Britpop era were lessons in marketing a sub-culture to the extent that it replaces existent mainstream culture. Cool Britannia is now a thing of the past, but from experience on the visit to London, one can easily acknowledge that the marketing of the sentiment that it once aroused is still continuing.

References

Websites:

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/mar/29/cool-britannia-g20-blair-brown/2. http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/stryker-mcguire-london-was-a-

helluva-town-so-whats-gone-wrong-683933.html3. http://www.anglobilia.com/culture/britpop.html/4. http://ivythesis.typepad.com/term_paper_topics/britpop/

5. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/02/08/noel-gallagher-blasts-bono-taylor-hicks-set-to-infiltrate-austins-underground-and-more/

Articles

6. Dee, John. "Blur – Parklife". NME. April 1994.7. Collins, Andrew. "Blur: Keeping It Simple". Q. March 1997.8. Richardson, Andy. "The Battle of Britpop." NME. 12 August 1995.9. Savage, Jon. "Letere From London: Britpop." Artforum. October 1995.10. Mulvey, John. "We created a movement...there'll always be a place for us". NME. 11

January 1997.

Videos

11. Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop. Passion Pictures, 2004.

Books

12. Harris, John. Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock. Da Capo Press, 2004. Pg. 94, 202, 193, 296, 298, 347-348.

13. Harris, John. The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock. London: Fourth Estate, 2003. Pg 56, 176, 245.

14. Haines, Luke. Bad Vibes: Britpop and My Part in Its Downfall, 2009. William Heinemann Ltd, 2009.