‘The Rise And Fall Of Britpop’ charts Pulp’s impact on the scene and Blur and Oasis’ rivalry
The second half of BBC 6 Music and BBC Sounds’ new podcast, The Rise And Fall Of Britpop, explores Pulp’s impact on the scene alongside the rivalry between Blur and Oasis.
Steve Lamacq and Jo Whiley developed and present the podcast, which released its first four episodes last week (July 10), charting how Britpop rose to domination and its lasting effect on the UK music industry and pop culture.
Episodes five to eight have now been made available to listen to on BBC Sounds, while the four new instalments will be broadcast on BBC 6 Music on July 19.
The fifth episode will turn the lens away from the heavyweights of Blur and Oasis, focusing instead on Sheffield’s Pulp. The episode will tell the Jarvis Cocker-led band’s story, from recording in a semi-detached house in their hometown to writing songs in a tent the night before headlining Glastonbury.
Episode six will return to catch up with Blur and Oasis who, at this point in time, were embroiled in a bitter chart battle in August 1995. Elsewhere, the new parts will examine the impact of money on Britpop and how the wave of ‘Cool Britannia’ also heralded a lot of excess before re-evaluating the importance of the scene on the musical landscape of the UK moving forward.
The Rise And Fall Of Britpop marks the 30th anniversary of the genre, sharing never-before-heard stories from key players in the movement. “It’s easy to forget the environment Britpop landed in; the passing of power from Thatcher to Major, Britain embroiled in war and the Union Jack derided as a symbol of the far right,” a press release read. “But in 1993 the UK started to turn Red, White, and Blue, as teenage bedrooms filled with posters of Suede, Statto and Sara Cox.”
Previous episodes explored the genesis of the scene, how the term ‘Britpop’ was coined and how the bands involved rapidly gathered momentum through the ‘90s.
Blur, one of the biggest acts to emerge from Britpop, played a triumphant two-night stint at Wembley Stadium earlier this month. In a five-star review, NME said: “This two-hour performance shows that Blur have soundtracked the audience’s lives with real emotional impact. James recently called the making of their new album an “utter joy”. It’s clear that fans would say the same about tonight.”
In a video posted to Instagram after the gigs, bassist Alex James shared footage of himself playing a bass version of the 1998 FIFA World Cup song ‘Vindaloo’ – which was released by Fat Les, comprised of James actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst – on the stage.
This week also saw Blur frontman Damon Albarn claiming that he sees that the “road is clear” for an Oasis reunion – adding, “Obviously I expect an excellent new record to accompany it”. Blur release their long-awaited new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘ this Friday (21 July).
Pulp also capped off their two Sheffield homecoming gigs – which saw them joined by support act and former live guitarist Richard Hawley – to perform unreleased track ‘Hymn Of The North’ live for the first time.
The Rise and Fall of Britpop, presented by Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq is available now on BBC Sounds. Steve Lamacq will be exploring the history of Britpop every Thursday in July on BBC Radio 6 Music, 4pm-7pm.”
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Rhian Daly
NME
