As the decade coined “Cool Britannia '' swooped in and spread across the world, everyone wanted to be in the UK. The ‘90s in the UK was full to the brim of Union Jack printed clothing, topical sit-coms, and Britpop. It was not a decade to miss. Thus, my childhood was spent watching football highlights from when David Beckham was running around the pitch scoring goals, rewatching the television shows that defined the decade, and listening to the bands my parents saw play live in dingy Manchester pubs. At the heart of “Cool Britannia” was undoubtedly my favorite genre of music, as well as an ode to my homeland, Britpop.

Both a musical revolution and a societal one, Britpop, at its core, was a rebellion against the alternative rock and grunge music scene that had been happening across the Atlantic in America. Britpop roared onto the scene as a catchy, cheeky counterpoint to grunge, with witty lyrics and anthems about British working-class life. While the term "Britpop'' wasn't coined until the late '80s, Mancunian bands such as The Stone Roses, The Charlatans, Happy Mondays, and The La's laid the groundwork. They mined British musical heritage, blending 60s rock, 80s indie, and a touch of punk.

These bands gave birth to the "Madchester" sound, a precursor to Britpop. By the early '90s, bands like Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Elastica, and Suede emerged, each with their own brand of Britishness offering an array of introspective takes on British life.The band that wrote the world-famous Song 2, a parody mocking the early ‘90s American grunge scene, Blur formed in London in 1988. The band quickly rose to the spotlight in Britain, as their unique sound embodied an ironic, playful take on Britpop, and paid tribute to the ’60s, a defining decade in music history, with the emergence of pop music coming straight out of Britain, the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Kinks.

Tabitha Williams in the KSUA 91.5 Studio (photograph taken by: Simeon Ramirez)

The two geniuses behind everyone’s favorite karaoke song three drinks in are not only known for “Wonderwall” but also for being the driving force behind the revolutionizing music scene that was Britpop. Oasis consists of brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher, who formed their band Oasis in Manchester in 1991. Like Blur, Oasis was one of the bands that ran the scene. The band was the epitome of working-class Britain. Their music was loud, anthemic, and rooted in classic rock influences, capturing the spirit of a generation. In the summer of 1995, dubbed “The Battle of Britpop”, the two biggest acts in the UK in the mid-'90s, Oasis and Blur fought to be the most popular band by seeing which artist could land the best-selling single, Blur’s “Country House” or Oasis‘s“Roll With It”.

The UK, (and the world) took notice, and Oasis and Blur were on the front page of just about every magazine, tabloid, and newspaper. As these singles flew off the shelves at record shops across the country, Britpop as a genre was gaining an audience. Despite the rivalry, both bands left an undeniable mark on British music. They helped define Britpop by celebrating British identity, humor, and working-class roots. As the once cult fanbase of the early heydays of Britpop had expanded, Britpop was ready to live out its glory days.

My fascination for Britpop and the ‘90s in the UK in general is all thanks to my parents who experienced it firsthand and passed their nostalgia on to me. Of course, my parents still listen to all of the music they saw live as students, recounting the concerts to me in detail as the sound of ‘90s Britain on vinyl radiates throughout our house. They will always be willing to sit down over a cup of tea, or in an even more British fashion, a pint of Stella Artois, and tell me about the concerts, the clubs, and the parties they went to in the ‘90s. They will forever be digging through their Sony Walkman tapes to find ones they think I would like, and wistfully hoping Oasis will reunite and make a comeback tour.

I am so grateful that I have been exposed to the music, films, books, art, and culture that arose from a youth culture so ingrained in new ideas, creative expressions, and a sense of freedom that had not been experienced in that way before. I have them to thank for my love for music and in turn, my radio show, The Vinyl Frontier. My show is a corner of 91.5 KSUA radio where I can recount the history behind my favorite British artists, pass on songs that were the soundtrack to my childhood, and share a part of my country's pop culture with Alaska, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Tune in at 7:00pm AKST to hear the best of Britain, and beyond.

written by Tabitha Williams (The Vinyl Frontier)

A Brief History of Britpop