The
1990’s brought with it the phenomenon of “Britpop”.
Largely of the indie genre, this music provided the
soundtrack to British youth of this era. Crucial to
Britpop were the melodies and catchy choruses, all
having a distinctly “British” taste. There
were many British bands that emerged under this title.
“Mad fer it”
Oasis
occupied the grittier side of the scene, whereas bands
such as
Blur
and
Pulp
were more art-rock and middle-class.
With
Oasis and Blur came a well-documented rivalry. This
culminated in the race for number 1 between Blur’s
“Country House” (the winner) and Oasis’
“Roll With It”.
The city of Manchester contributed
greatly to the Britpop scene with The
Charlatans, Stone
Roses,
Happy
Mondays, James,
Inspiral
Carpets and, of course, Oasis, earning
the term “Madchester” for the city.
In stark contrast to the Britpop
style came the success in this era of British boy
bands. Take That were the most successful boy band
of the 1990’s, having eight No. 1’s. East
17 were another boy band who, whilst being in the
shadow of Take That, had ten top ten hits between
1992 and 1998. Girl bands had their moments too, such
as All Saints and The Spice Girls. The latter were
a national phenomenon and became massive export, with
people all over the world watching with intent at
the antics, styles and charisma of Baby, Sporty, Posh,
Ginger and Scary Spice.
Dance
music also became hugely popular throughout this decade.
This brought about the growth of clubs and the birth
of Superclubs, such as Cream, Gatecrasher
and Ministry of Sound, and the international
successes of DJs including Carl
Cox and Pete
Tong. Clubbing entered the mainstream
and incorporated a number of distinct genres, ranging
from garage to drum and bass to commercial dance/house
to hardcore trance. In the early-90’s, rave
culture was massive and heavily influenced by the
widespread use of drugs – thought to add to
the spiritual rave experience.
Other successful British bands from this decade
include:
Supergrass
Suede
Elastica
Simply Red
George Michael
The Prodigy
