Britpop was a great time for British Rock bands. It developed in the early 1990’s, but was at it's height around the mid 90’s. It used bright catchy tunes, but commented on current issues. It used the melodic influences from the 60’s, in particular those of The Beatles, The Kinks and other British bands, rather than the more grungy American groups. There was a strong regional sense with Manchester, Liverpool, London, Wales, Scotland and major town and cities.
The vinyl record market was driven by independent labels such as Creation Records rather than the multi-nationals and most titles were released mainly on CD, which was the dominant format at the time. However, most titles were released on vinyl in limited editions are now highly collectable.
A lot of the Britpop bands are still active today and produce some great records mostly on vinyl. This is due to the recent resurgence of vinyl records. These are very collectable and often issued in limited edition runs, coloured vinyl and if you’re lucky some artists and groups offer signed copies. The limited edition pressings are sometimes hand-numbered. Britpop, indie and alternative rock records released in low numbers are highly collectable and can become very valuable. Some of these records will gain value over time, but some become immediately collectable due to the small numbers that have been pressed or the demand for the vinyl or artist of a particular record.
The rivalry between Oasis and Blur was a main driver for Britpop in the mid 90’s with each band inspiring the other to do better to hit the top of the charts. It became one of the most iconic chart battles to date. This played out in the media as 'Blur vs Oasis: The Battle Of The Bands'. The whole saga being most commonly known as 'The Battle Of Britpop'. This culminated in some of the most recognizable songs ever.
The creative songwriting of Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Damon Albarn of Blur was a catalyst for a wealth of brilliant songs from bands such as Stereophonics, Pulp, Elastica, Cast, Ocean Colour Scene, Catatonia, Cast, Lightning Seeds, Echobelly, Dodgy, Bluetones and Toploader to mention just a few.
Some fantastic albums were released during the Britpop era, still remain in the charts and relevant today. 'What’s the Story Morning Glory' and 'Definitely Maybe' are essential for Oasis collectors and 'Parklife' for Blur aficiondos. One of the major successes was 'OK Computer' by Radiohead and 'Moseley Shoals' by Ocean Colour Scene with its constantly played Riverboat Song.
Nowadays, a lot of Britpop bands have reformed or are experiencing a resurgence in popularity and are touring regularly. Shed Seven, The Bluetones, Cast, Toploader, Travis, Echobelly, Texas and Cast can be seen at festivals and venues and are still producing great music.
Meanwhile, Liam and Noel from Oasis are regularly performing with their new bands, are still producing number one singles and albums. They are constantly the source of rumours about whether or not Oasis will reform?
The sign of good songs is they don’t date. Songs like Oasis' 'Wonderwall' and 'Don’t Look Back in Anger' and Blur's 'Parklife' sound as fresh today as when they were written.
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