Who are the ‘Big Four’ Britpop bands?
Many rock bands were probably looking around during the mid-1990s and wondering where all the fun went. The genre’s beginnings were all about making music that made people want to pump their fists in the air, and while the grunge movement was all well and good, there were still pieces that seemed too gloomy for anyone to care for too long. It was time for everyone to be reminded why rock and roll was so much fun, and Britpop helped usher in yet another British invasion for a new generation.
But when looking at the biggest names in the genre, how do we pair things down to the bare essentials? After all, the heavy hitters in thrash metal have been known as the ‘Big Four’ for years, so who’s to say that the leaders of Cool Britannia couldn’t have had the same impact out of their respective acts?
Let’s get one thing off the bat first, though: no inclusion of The La’s or The Stone Roses. Both of them were instrumental in birthing Britpop and had more than their fair share of fans listening to them in the early 1990s, but they seemed to be the genre’s forefathers in the same way that Iggy Pop is the forefather of punk. They both deserve an accolade, but it’s not exactly what we have in mind here.
These are the artists who were meant to give a voice to all the kids in England who were looking to make something a little bit more optimistic than what they had heard from America. And even though it’s hard to categorise everyone from a genre that lasted less than a decade, the anthems that came out of every band here are the reason why the mid-to-late-1990s sounded so hopeful.
The Big Four of Britpop
Oasis
We may as well start with the most recognisable face on the list. Much like a band like Metallica ushered in thrash metal for a generation of metalheads, so too did Oasis smash through the gloom of grunge to bring rock and roll back on the charts. Even if they weren’t the most original group in the world, anthems like ‘Live Forever’ and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Star’ said a lot more for the entire genre than most people could claim at the time, especially when sung through Liam Gallagher’s everyman voice.
While the band also holds the distinction of bringing the genre to an end the minute Be Here Now bit the dirt in the 2000s, they still hold a special place in every Britpop fan’s heart for a reason. You can say that they were far from the greatest musicians and even had some outright duds in their catalogue, but getting songs like ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ and ‘Champagne Supernova’ onto the charts can’t be an accident.
Blur
And what would a genre be without a bit of a dust-up? Without the Blur vs Oasis feud, there’s a good chance the entire movement wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting as it became when things got rolling. If we’re going on the basis of pure experimentation, though, Blur managed to latch themselves onto the movement after a few years as a group and take the whole thing even further with every record they put out.
While Parklife has been mandatory listening for everyone interested in the genre, albums like their self-titled and 13 were bold ways of innovating the genre, even forcing the Gallaghers to lay down their boxing gloves to say their later tracks like ‘Beetlebum’ were pretty good. And since Damon Albarn has turned into one of the undisputed winners of the modern age of British rock with Gorillaz, he has become one of the few voices of the genre that can still be in the conversation of the most relevant rockstars today.
Pulp
For all of the rock star posturing happening then, there was still room for people to make something more artsy. Everyone might have sung along when a song like ‘Whatever’ or ‘Girls and Boys’ came on the radio, but where was the kind of strange detours that all of Britpop’s inspirations did in the 1960s? It was about time for someone to wow the audience again, and Pulp proved that it was okay to make something a little more risque for the pop charts.
Although the band weren’t as outspokenly positive as Oasis, Jarvis Cocker channelled his inner David Bowie to give fans some of the best moments in the genre, whether that was the androgynous looks he pulled off or hearing him sing about the filthiest topics he could think of. But even for someone who was that eccentric during his time in the spotlight, no one could ever take ‘Common People’ away from them if they tried.
The Verve
Throughout every facet of Britpop, The Verve always seemed to be hanging in the background. Much like Soundgarden were in the age of grunge, they seemed to have all of the ingredients for a great rock and roll band, but whereas Soundgarden didn’t have as many universal singles, the main thing tampering Richard Ashcroft was the band not staying together for that long. As Oasis released Be Here Now, though, The Verve turned in the kind of record that took them to the top of the Britpop food chain.
As much as A Northern Soul went harder than anyone at the time, Urban Hymns solidified their place in rock history. From the minute that ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ starts to hearing tunes like ‘Lucky Man’ and ‘The Drugs Don’t Work,’ the band were on the cusp of something great, only for things to fall apart yet again. Despite not being the most stable outfit in the world, The Verve made music that was the stuff of dreams that wrapped a nice bow on the final glory years of Cool Britannia.
