In the mid
Nineties, the phrase Britpop in the UK became
synonymous with
indie,
Manchester,
Madchester,
Blur and
Oasis. We were suddenly presented with a surge of
fresh faced youngsters all ready to recycle the best that guitar pop had to offer from the last thirty years. The genre was principally championed by DJs such
Steve Lamacq and
Jo Whiley from the
Evening Session, Manchester's
Mark and Lard and indie
stalwart John Peel. To my mind (and off the top of it, at that), the quintessential bands from the Britpop of the Nineties are:
Which should be more than enough to acquaint you with the genre, should it have passed you by.
British bands (even and especially the indie ones) seem to have moved on a bit now, but bands like Coldplay and Travis might mean it hangs back where it was for a while longer. For earlier examples of where Britpop came from, try some Paul Weller, The Stone Roses or The Happy Mondays. For the angstier side of where the genre's got to, try Idlewild or A Hundred Reasons. The more mature, trendy Britpop fans have probably migrated to listening to material by Badly Drawn Boy or The Beta Band.
Aside from introducing the world to some of the more interesting Britpop acts, Radio One DJs Mark and Lard got their hands on (and ruined) most of the best of the genre with their two CD releases as The Shirehorses. No collection would be complete without them.
You could /msg me with more Britpop bands, or post long lists below... this could be a useful metanode