Wars happen not only in politics but also in the world of music. One of them took place during the heyday of Britpop in the 90s of the XX century. Only now, after a quarter of a century, we can say that the battle between the heavyweights of Britpop is finally over. At the same time, none of the participants can be called unconditionally the winner. It’s about Blur’s Country House album and Roll With It Oasis’ race to hit the charts in 1995 and in the hearts of fans across the UK.
The rock group Blur dates back to 1988 and was considered the most successful band of the 90s. Before that, the musicians’ experience was the post-punk direction. The Oasis group came into being three years later and quickly became one of Blur’s main British competitors. The Beatles and drug experiments have had a significant influence on creativity. Conflicts between the two British teams have arisen more than once and have been further intensified by the media. The main clash of interests took place precisely in the era of Britpop, although both groups are known in other musical directions.
And in August 1995, a confrontation between the Blur and Oasis groups could have led to a physical clash of fans in fights on the streets of the popular resort of Bournemouth, if the Gallaghers had not abandoned the concert under the influence of their security forces. The fact is that the performance of the two rivals was scheduled there on the same evening.
Moreover, the conflict went far beyond the musical world and was mentioned more than once in the evening news. The pop charts highlighted the mood of society in Britain that could be called a state of class war. It was a game and a manipulation of talented managers in which hit lists became just a tool.
The provocateur of the conflict was the English music publication New Musical Express, which drew the attention of music lovers to the simultaneous release of albums of two cult bands. Only one could win in the national singles chart, despite the fact that the total number of listeners for both bands is approximately the same. The listeners did not even pay attention to the fact that both songs were not the best creations of their authors.
The public was fueled by the magazine’s advertising cover, stylized as a boxing sparring poster. True, the skinny frontmen did not look like dangerous opponents, and only Liam Gallagher’s eyebrows seemed really heavy in the picture.
Oasis took the excitement of the competition and released their album Roll With It just a week before Blur’s Country House. So they hoped to take first place and not concede the championship to their opponents. And it really made the musicians from London nervous. Damon Albarn, going on vacation, said that someone would suffer if they do not take first place on his return. Now we no longer know if it was a joke or if he blamed the hit parade on someone in particular.
Later, the head of the record company Andy Ross said that it was possible to publish the Blur album at another time, to shift the schedule by a couple of weeks in any direction. But this was not done for two reasons: First, the fans would have thought that the musicians had given up. And secondly, the whole system of agreements with partners in advertising, concerts, and so on would have to be changed. The organization of such an event is complex and comparable to a well-oiled mechanism. Therefore, they decided to leave the situation as it is, and were not mistaken.
As a result, on August 20, the main composition of “Country House” topped the charts, leaving “Roll With It” in second place. In addition, Blur overtook Oasis in the number of copies sold per week by 58,000 copies. During its first days, Country House sold 274,000 copies. A significant role in this was played by the marketing ploy of managers who decided to sell records on cassettes, and not on more expensive CDs or vinyl, as all modern artists did. This opened up access to the product for a younger audience with less cash. The £ 1 price difference proved to be significant for both fans and overall sales. The courage of the decision was that audio cassettes were already a thing of the past, while CDs were a relevant and promising recording format.
The release of Top Of The Pops, a British television music program in which bassist Alex James deliberately performed in a rival t-shirt, was dedicated to the winner.
Despite the fact that Blur and Oasis were at the origins of the same musical movement, there are many differences between them. Blur hails from Colchester, London and is considered a middle-class, intelligent nerd. Oasis are known as brawlers from Manchester, representing the common working people. Blur’s music is rather lyrical and mellow compared to the energy and punch of Oasis. Representatives of Oasis know how to be rude without hesitation in expressions, and Blur are able to coldly ignore not only insults but also public apologies. Paradoxically, it was Blur lead singer Damon Albarn who threatened to fly over the stage of his competitors during the aforementioned double concert in Bournemouth and make a light projection of his logo from the air. And it was Oasis who backed down, claiming that the health of the fans was more important than the show.
On this in the history of the struggle for the title of Britpop leader, one could put an end to it, since the confrontation ended in an unconditional victory for intelligent Blur and a failure for ambitious rude Oasis. But it was just one battle from a whole war. The second Oasis album was selling at an astonishing rate, comparable only to the sales of Michael Jackson’s Bad album. Sometime later, in the birthplace of Britpop, Oasis’ music was in much greater demand than Blur records. This does not mean at all that Blur is forgotten. Their work is popular both in their native Britain and abroad. Their third album, Parklife, is one of the greatest albums of record history and is recognized as a Britpop classic.
Despite the fact that Blur and Oasis have always been carriers of the same musical idea, they never managed to become like-minded people. However, both of these groups are symbols of an entire era and can be an illustration for the study of a number of musical trends of the late 20th century. Their best albums were distributed worldwide with a circulation of over 5 million copies and are still relevant today.
