What’s the story?
Britpop: The Music That Changed Britain.
Sigh. More of your ramblings about ye olde days?
How very dare you. I haven’t done that for at least a fortnight. Actually, I’m talking about a new four-part series set to air on Channel 5.
Tell me more.
Billed as “charting the birth, boom and bust” of Britpop, this opening episode centres on how the rivalries of Blur, Oasis, Suede and Elastica captivated music fans in the mid-1990s and helped sell a shedload of records.
Alex James and Dave Rowntree from Blur discuss how a disastrous debut US tour sparked a much-needed overhaul for their image.
The programme features never-before-seen footage from behind the scenes of the band’s memorable Parklife video – complete with ice cream van, a shell-suit wearing jogger, twirling umbrellas and Phil Daniels as a smarmy double-glazing salesman.
Creation Records boss Alan McGee recounts the story of how he discovered Oasis, alongside swagger-laden early archive interviews with Liam and Noel Gallagher.
Anything else?
A love triangle, of sorts. Suede producer Ed Buller recalls how the band’s lead singer Brett Anderson was, in part, driven to succeed by his desire for revenge in the charts, after girlfriend Justine Frischmann of Elastica left him for Blur’s Damon Albarn.
Juicy. When can I watch?
Britpop: The Music That Changed Britain begins on Channel 5, tomorrow, 9pm.
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