Britpop, its peaks and its spiritual godfather: a Golden Age rebooted by Miranda Sawyer

17-10-2024 • 41 mins

You’ll know Miranda Sawyer from the Observer and the radio and, possibly, from her days at Smash Hits and Select magazines that form the foundation of her new book, Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs, a time spent watching, interviewing and hanging out with the collection of misfits and outsiders fast becoming the last great musical movement this country ever saw. This pans in on the period between April 1993, Select’s ‘Yanks Go Home’ cover, and August 1997 when Oasis released Be Here Now. A ton of highlights, among them …

… why bands hated the term Britpop – and who invented it.

… when your life in your 20s becomes history and period drama.

… are Oasis conservative or just “classically Northern”?

… why Britpop was the last hurrah of the traditional media.

… the long slow burn of Jarvis Cocker and the rise of the Beta Male.

… the impact of Select’s famous Union Jack ‘Yanks Go Home’ cover.

… why Edwyn Collins was the Godfather of Indie (and Britpop) and the song that never stopped selling.

… Ric Blaxill at Top of the Pops, Matthew Bannister at Radio One and other unsung architects of Britpop.

… lava lamps, swirly rugs, space hoppers and the charity shop tat that replaced the matt black shiny ‘80s.

… Jarvis v Jackson, Blur v Oasis and other great engines of the tabloid press.

… “Manchester had the bands and the mythmakers (Tony Wilson, Paul Morley) …”

… why the weekly music press was the Twitter of its time.