Britpop Basics: A Beginner's Guide with Essential Insights and Song Recommendations for Newcomers
What is Britpop?
Britpop was more than just a music genre. It was a movement demonstrated by British bands in response to the dominance and popularity of American grunge and the UK’s shoegaze in the music industry in Britain in the 90s. As a reaction against this, British bands appeared to bring out a distinctive style and emphasize British identity in their music, which later became the Britpop movement.
The Origins
Britpop began in the spring of 1992, with songs like Popscene by Blur and The Drowners by Suede believed to be the very first Britpop songs. Both songs had distinctive music styles different from the US grunge and the UK’s shoegaze. The fourth single of Blur Popscene was even said to be a critique of the music trends in Britain at that time, making it clear enough that the Britpop scene might have emerged from here.
The early to mid-90s was a moment of antithesis of British bands, which started with the success of Suede with their self-titled debut album and the appearance of their lead singer, Brett Anderson, on the Select magazine cover with a Union Flag as background, indicating that the Britpop movement was ready to compete in the music industry. Other names, such as Blur with their albums Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife, as well as Oasis and Pulp with their respective albums Definitely Maybe and Different Class, successfully followed the step, becoming prominent bands in the UK.
The term “Britpop” itself started to become known by the public and used by the media in the UK in 1994. It was, at first, used for the success of British designers and films at that time, and finally arose afterward with bands like Sleeper, Supergrass, and Menswear started to take part and even produced pop hits. In fact, the band Elastica got their self-titled debut album to break the record for first-week sales, which was previously held by Oasis with their album Definitely Maybe.
The Influences
Britpop had an essential influence on the British music industry. In a time when British music needed to be revived, as a result of the dominance of American music, Britpop emerged to bring new life into the music scene. Its distinctive musical styles with British elements successfully brought by bands like Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and Suede inspired new bands to take part in the movement. There came names like Sleeper, Supergrass, Menswear, and Elastica in the scene, with the same music elements in their work, showing that Britpop had successfully expanded and marked the rise of British music.
As mentioned before, the Britpop movement emerged as a response to the popularity of the US grunge. The Americanization of the music scene in Britain stimulated musicians to feature British identity in their work. As a result, British bands such as Blur and Pulp used the movement to show pride in their nationalism, making Britpop very influential for the UK as an icon.
In the fashion industry, Britpop influenced fashion choices for men in Britain. It was a style borrowed from 60s' mod and 80s' casual, which inspired the outfits worn by the Britpop bands in the 90s. Parka's and Harrington jackets were the elements of the British mods style that became popular during the Britpop era. Other clothing items like football shirts, denim jeans, and Fred Perry polos were also the fashion styles that were popular at that time, showing the influence of Britpop beyond music.
Songs to Explore
Start your Britpop journey with our song recommendations below and let us know your favorites in the comments!
That was a quick introduction to Britpop for you. Now you have understood the Britpop basics– definition, the origins, and influences on music and culture in the UK. You also have figured out some of their best work with the song recommendations.
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