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416 articles

Pulp: Sweet or Sour

Profile and Interview by Jon Wilde, Sounds, 8 March 1986

Meet the "new hard centre" in indie pop's choc box. JONH WILDE finds that PULP have grown on him. ...

Pulp: Canine Revenge

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 31 May 1986

Pulp are from Sheffield and make rather outrageous records. Paul Mathur talks to them of dogs, wheelchairs, Nazis and baked beans. ...

Pulp: Rock Garden, London

Live Review by Jon Wilde, Sounds, 31 May 1986

THE INCREDIBLE PULP ...

Colenso Parade, Pulp: Pulp/Colenso Parade: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 13 December 1986

COURAGE IS the key word. Pulp throw out sudden drum rumbles and savage violin wails, lazy guitar twiddles and keyboard stabs, all wrapped around vocals ...

Jarvis Cocker, Pulp: Pulp's Jarvis Cocker (1987)

Interview by Martin Aston, Rock's Backpages audio, April 1987

The Pulp frontman on why he started the Sheffield group; his urge from an early age to make music; why he writes the songs he writes; refusing to be a judgmental spectator; what makes Pulp different; the attractions of Jacques Brel, Scott Walker and Burt Bacharach; and truth and beauty...

File format: mp3; file size: 29.6mb, interview length: 30' 51" sound quality: ***

Pulp: Falcon, Camden, London

Live Review by Neil Perry, Sounds, 5 March 1988

IN AN ideal world Pulp would already be serenading kings and queens, taking up residencies on Broadway and returning their OBEs; world domination takes time, ...

Pulp: Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 18 February 1989

PULP HAVE splashed this strangely since 1979. That's 10 years of comic tension, a decade of bizarre normality. Pulp wear wing-collar shirts borrowed from Man ...

Blur: Pop Club, London

Live Review by Push, Melody Maker, 26 May 1990

BLUR are precisely that. The antics of their vocalist have to be seen to be believed. ...

Blur: Pink Toothbrush, Rayleigh, Essex

Live Review by Roy Wilkinson, Sounds, 27 October 1990

Opportunity knocks ...

Ocean Colour Scene: Ladbroke Grove Subterania

Live Review by Paul Moody, Sounds, 24 November 1990

AT TIMES tonight, Ocean Colour Scene really do make sense. When Stephen Craddock's guitar bursts into 'Yesterday Today' and singer Simon matches it with a ...

Blur: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 12 January 1991

THE HYPE and shoddy promotional tactics surrounding Blur would surely stifle a lesser group. ...

Charlatans, The (UK): Tim... from the Charlatans

Interview by Siân Pattenden, Smash Hits, 20 March 1991

★ He kips every night in a green sleeping bag ★ He thinks he can't sing to save himself ★ And he can't keep his ...

Blur: The Astoria, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 4 May 1991

RED ALERT ...

Pulp: March of the Modules

Interview by Stuart Maconie, New Musical Express, 21 September 1991

PULP have waited a very long time to become overnight sensations with their space age disco anthem 'Count Down', but in a world of footwear-fixated ...

Pulp: Interview With Jarvis Cocker

Interview by Paul Mathur, Volume, November 1991

IN THE EARLY '80s, a deeply disturbed Sheffield pop group called Pulp crafted a brace of lovably awkward pop classics, most notably the "controversial" 'Little ...

Suede: Underworld, Camden, London

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 11 January 1992

OH MY WORD. Proud survivors of a transformation, Suede stalk the Underworld stage like a snarling, growling rock beast. Now one guitarist lighter, they've compensated ...

Blur: Blast Of The Famous International Game Boys

Report and Interview by Stuart Maconie, New Musical Express, 28 March 1992

It's not all Calpis Walter, Pocari Sweat and smoking Keiths while on a rock 'n' roll jaunt in Japan, y'know. Sometimes you rediscover BLUR, completely ...

The Verve: The Road To Wigan Fear

Profile and Interview by John Robb, Siren, May 1992

BOUNCING ONSTAGE in slow mo'...loose limbed lanky frame in shabby oxfam chic....v-necked black 'T'...shaggy barnet and flapping lips...the man is pure Jagger, Richard Ashcroft...the front ...

Suede: Afrika Centre, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 9 May 1992

THOSE OF you by now wearied of the periodic meanders up the garden path you have made at this paper's behest will read this, as ...

Suede: Roll Over, Jimmy Dean

Interview by Simon Reynolds, The Observer, 9 June 1992

"WHEN WE STARTED the group, we felt that people were starved for music which allowed them to let themselves go," says Brett Anderson, Suede's 24-year-old ...

Suede: Camden Underworld, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 June 1992

PRETENTIOUS? CHAMOIS? ...

Suede: What's a Nice Band Like You Doing in a Field Like This?

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 29 August 1992

Since we scooped the lot and put SUEDE on the cover of MM back in April, the world has started falling at their feet. SIMON ...

Suede: Stroking Suede's ego

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 3 October 1992

Caitlin Moran discovers it's hard to be humble when you're the coolest Best Band in Britain ...

Suede: SW1 Club, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 22 October 1992

BARELY six months old, Suede are attracting extravagant hyperbole. The London foursome have been deemed the best British guitar band since the Smiths, and their ...

The Verve: Verve: Mill At The Pier, Wigan

Live Review by Stuart Maconie, New Musical Express, 24 October 1992

IT'S USUALLY Sunday supplement journalists who go to Wigan to hang around the notorious King Street area, sneer at the pier, observe the fights in ...

Pulp: Lower Refectory, Sheffield University, Yorkshire

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 19 December 1992

IT HASN'T BEEN a great year for the pop iconoclast. For most of '92, prime movers from Ashcroft to Robinson have defined themselves by the ...

Blur: Mother’s Litter Helpers: Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish

Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 1993

AND THE FOOLS laugh loudest. Blur’s rise and fall has all the comic nuances of Reginald Perrin’s. Two years ago they were pop’s champagne Charlies: ...

The Auteurs: Auteur Magic For The People

Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 20 February 1993

Fed up of noisy, brutish Brit bands ripping off tired ideas from the Yanks? Nothing to excite you in the modern, cutting-edge of music? Then ...

The Auteurs: New Wave (Hut Hut)

Review by David Sinclair, Q, March 1993

A NAME that the nation's tastemakers have been looking up in their dictionaries and dropping in the right circles for, oh, weeks. ...

Pulp, Saint Etienne: Saint Etienne, Pulp: Mayfair, Glasgow

Live Review by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 6 March 1993

WHAM BAM, THANK YOU, GLAM! ...

Suede: Suede (Nude)

Review by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 27 March 1993

A VERY BRETTISH COUP ...

Morrissey, Suede: Brett Anderson & Morrissey: Suedegate

Comment by Sheryl Garratt, The Face, May 1993

Does this magazine print deliberate lies? Well actually no, we don't ...

Suede: Suede (Nude)

Review by Stuart Maconie, Q, May 1993

BEFORE ALL this took off, Brett Anderson, Suede's 25-year-old singer, would gloomily tick off each passing birthday as another year gone without his appearing on ...

Suede: Who Loves A Lad In Suede?

Report and Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1993

Suede were touted 'the best new band in Britain' before they even left the blocks, now, as they release their debut album, VOX delves behind ...

Blur: Modern Life Is Rubbish (Food)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

CONTEMPORARY FAULT – ADJUST YOUR MIND-SET ...

The Verve: A Lad In Spain

Interview by Andrew Smith, Melody Maker, 15 May 1993

Verve were last year's second most likely contenders for world domination after You Know Who. At which point they threw several spanners in the works ...

Suede: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 22 May 1993

THIS IS happening with our permission. We wanted it to happen. We virtually willed it to happen. Suede are this season's singing saviours because we ...

Suede: All That Glitters

Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 27 May 1993

England's new Band of the Century hits a glam slam ...

The Verve: Verve: Manchester University

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 29 May 1993

TUNE IN, TURN ON, WIGAN OUT ...

Blur: Modern Life Is Rubbish (Food)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, June 1993

Wasting Their Time ...

Suede in the U.S.A.

Report and Interview by Simon Reynolds, Spin, June 1993

Britain’s new white-hot hope brings its liberated sexual stance to the States. Are you ready to get Suede? ...

Suede: Paradise, Boston MA

Live Review by Jim Sullivan, The Boston Globe, 5 June 1993

Hip, retro Suede: the no-grunge alternative ...

The Auteurs: San Francisco Bay Blues

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, July 1993

They came, they saw, they left. The Auteurs' maiden voyage to the Americas left more than a little to be desired. "Next time," they warn ...

Chrissie Hynde, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Suede: Suede: The Grand, Clapham, London

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 24 July 1993

THERE'S A JARMAN... WAITING IN THE WINGS ...

The Verve: Touched I'm Sure

Interview by Stuart Maconie, Q, September 1993

"ER, A PINT of lager, did you say?" The barmaid is distracted. She has every right to be. Her current customer cuts rather a visual ...

The Auteurs, Morrissey, Suede: British Rockers Trot Out the Flag

Report by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, 5 September 1993

LONDON — In rock-and-roll just as in politics, the United States and England have a special relationship. Together, they have dominated global pop. Over the decades, ...

Shed Seven, Sleeper: Sleeper, Shed Seven: Smashed!, London

Live Review by John Harris, New Musical Express, 18 September 1993

HOW WE laughed. There is something delightfully absurd about York band Shed Seven's guitarist carrying on like a 15-year-old square trying to impersonate Bernard Butler, ...

Collapsed Lung, Credit to the Nation, Elastica, Tiny Monroe: NME On-Stage featuring Credit To The Nation, Elastica, Collapsed Lung, Tiny Monroe: Canal Cafe Bar, Manchester

Live Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 25 September 1993

HOW THE NORTH-WEST WAS ON ...

Shed Seven: Marquee, London

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 23 October 1993

SOME LIKE IT HUT ...

Suede: Fan Fare for the Common Room

Report and Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 6 November 1993

Recently returned from their second American tour, SUEDE have decided the US is their sort of place and they want out of cynical, self-consuming Britain. ...

Pulp: Jarvis Cocker Remembers

Interview by Stuart Maconie, Select, December 1993

Pulp are the world's most patient overnight sensation... The punk rock roots in Sheffield. The naive first album. The naive second album. Moz envy. The wheelchair. Art ...

Pulp: Astoria 2, London

Live Review by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 11 December 1993

JARVIS COCKER stands on a little raised section of the stage, one finger pointing a la Travolta to the heavens, the other holding the mic ...

Oasis, Saint Etienne: St Etienne, Oasis: Birmingham Institute

Live Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 11 December 1993

HIP POP... HOORAY! ...

Suede (1993)

Interview by Steven Daly, Rock's Backpages audio, Spring 1993

Brett Anderson and Mat Osman talk about being out of place and initially dismissed as a joke; about Suede's breakthrough; their non-nostalgic Englishness; the effect of Melody Maker's "greatest band" headline; being provincial; the importance of the Smiths; lyrical concerns; their relationship with the UK's Nude label while being signed to Columbia in America; how they reach their fans; the US resistance to British pop and the nature of "taking America" (or not).

File format: mp3; file size: 56.1mb; Interview length: 58' 29"; sound quality: ****

Elastica's Justine Frischmann (1994)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, January 1994

The Full Frischmann: Starting Suede! Leaving Suede! Not much liking Suede these days! And then the excitement of being in Elastica at the height of Britpop, anticipating recording the first album...

File format: mp3 File size: 34.9mb Interview length: 38 minutes 10 seconds Sound quality: ***

Elasticagate!

Interview by Pete Paphides, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

PETER PAPHIDES thought he was on a simple assignment to secure an exclusive ELASTICA interview. Little did he bank on the whole of Essex wanting ...

Suede: Kentish Town Forum, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 8 January 1994

Figgy Star Lust ...

The Verve: Verve: Wulfrun Hall, Wolverhampton

Live Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 8 January 1994

VERVE ARE stoned immaculate. Yeah, we have to talk drugs here. It's stupid not to; as stupid as people who've never taken E chucking in ...

Fool Britannia

Essay by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 15 January 1994

Is the current wave of Little Englandism just a mask for the fact that Brit rock is becoming increasingly irrelevant? STEVEN WELLS looks at the ...

The Cranberries, Elastica: Astoria 2, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 17 January 1994

AS LIMERICK pop quartet the Cranberries might warn London pop quartet Elastica, beware the tag Next Big Thing. The Irish band basked in that title ...

Elastica: Esquires, Bedford

Live Review by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 22 January 1994

HALFWAY THROUGH this supposedly low-key warm up for Elastica's appearance on The Word, Justine apologises for the amount of coverage the band have been getting. ...

Elastica: Pulling Power

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, February 1994

Elastica may look rough, but their impoverished image is all part of the game. Inspired by such bands as The Buzzcocks and Wire, and pursuing ...

S*M*A*S*H: Family Club, Welwyn Garden City

Live Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, February 1994

WELWYN GARDEN CITY. Always sounded horrible. Not as horrible sounding as Bletchley, Goole or Grimethorpe, admittedly, but more representative of the respectable blandist terrorism that ...

Blur: We Can Be Eros… Just For One Day

Interview by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 5 March 1994

Breaking out of the Camden bootboy mould that brought more bovver than they’d bargained for, BLUR are back with more songs about penile dementia, lager ...

Jarvis Cocker, Pulp: Boy's talk: Jarvis Cocker

Interview by Siân Pattenden, Just 17, 23 March 1994

The lead singer from Pulp mutters on to Siân about eating worms, falling out of windows and, er, subtle hair colouring... ...

Charlatans, The (UK), Pulp, Tindersticks: Brash trash — The Charlatans, Pulp, Tindersticks: Sound City, The Tramway, Glasgow

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 6 April 1994

The Charlatans and Pulp play the opening night concert at Sound City in Glasgow ...

Oasis: The Bruise Brothers

Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 23 April 1994

The Kinks did it. The Who did it. But no-one does it like OASIS, five lads who won't waste words when a punch will do, ...

Blur: Park Psychosis — Blur: Parklife (Food /EMI F00D10)

Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 23 April 1994

Strike a light, guvnah. For thair fird al-bum, BLUR, the bin lids' faverits, 'ave gorn awl Lahn-dun on us, and no mistake. SIMON PRICE gave ...

Pulp: Metropolitan University, Leeds

Live Review by Simon Warner, The Guardian, 29 April 1994

IN A MORE just world it would now be time to set aside the macho posturings of the rock burn-out and the dead-ends of the ...

Blur: The Blur of the moment

Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 29 April 1994

After several false starts, Blur have got it right with their album Parklife, which is set to leap into the charts at number one. ...

Blur: Parklife

Review by David Cavanagh, The Independent, 30 April 1994

BLURRY SHADES OF SGT PEPPER AT ABOUT seven o'clock this evening, if the midweek sales pointers are correct, Blur's third album Parklife will enter the chart ...

Pulp

Profile and Interview by Andy Gill, Q, May 1994

POISED ON the brink of widespread success after nearly 14 years as linchpin of Sheffield glum-rock combo Pulp, Jarvis Cocker muses upon the long and ...

Pulp: His'n'Hers

Review by Ben Thompson, MOJO, May 1994

FORGET EVERYTHING you know about what great music is – Bessie Smith, The Beatles, Neil Young, Al Green, all gone (not forever, just for 40 ...

Blur: This Is The Modern World?

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 7 May 1994

BLUR believe themselves to be the most modern of bands, a four-man amalgamation of Nineties Britain. DAVID BENNUN reckons they're clever throwbacks, feeding on a ...

Pulp: Riverside, Newcastle

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 7 May 1994

GESTURE GIGOLO ...

Blur: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

BLUR's Parklife is selling by the truck load, has loads of fabulous tunes on it and is really very good. TOM DOYLE talks to producer ...

Pulp: The Octagon, Sheffield

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

SPRING BONK HOLIDAY ...

Sleeper: Sheer Tart Attack

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 14 May 1994

PC is shite! The The NWONW bands just need a good shag! Meat-eating is cool! Meet LOUISE WENER of fizzy power-poppers SLEEPER, who tells DAVE ...

Blur: Civic Hall Wolverhampton

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 21 May 1994

THE (CL)ASS OF '94 ...

Sleeper: Kipping Against The Pricks

Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 21 May 1994

Tired of being safe? Fed up with worrying about the ozone layer? Bored with modern life? Then you need SLEEPER. The last of the dirty, ...

Blur: Parklife

Review by Stuart Maconie, Q, June 1994

TO USE the vernacular of our friends in the American therapy industry, today's music business is not "a nurturing environment". One might use the expression ...

Pulp: Non Stop Erotique Cabaret

Report and Interview by Chris Roberts, Melody Maker, 4 June 1994

"I WAS WONDERING", says Jarvis Cocker. "There was a baboon in the top floor of a flat behind where we played in Paris last night." ...

The Boo Radleys, Oasis, Ride: Creation Records: Rehabsolutely Fabulous

Interview by John Harris, Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 9 June 1994

A decade on from its inception, Creation rules the British rock underground. The 'Undrugged' party at the Royal Albert Hall, and the random singing of ...

Bernard Butler, Suede: Bernard Butler: Gentleman And Player

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, July 1994

When his father died last year, Bernard Butler used his guitar to assuage his grief. Now Britain's most important guitar hero since Johnny Marr has ...

Suede: While My Guitarist Swiftly Leaves

Report by John Harris, New Musical Express, 30 July 1994

What a guffing idiot, eh readers? You're the genius guitarist in SUEDE, you've just finished your second album and then... you bugger off amid rumours ...

Oasis: Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Beatles...

Interview by Cliff Jones, The Face, August 1994

The next Pistols, the next Beatles, or just this month's Next Big Thing? Oasis are good enough to fight the hype – but the battling ...

Oasis: Shake'n'vac

Report and Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, August 1994

They rant against rock'n'rollers in leather keks, yet their hotel-trashing, drug-snorting lifestyle is becoming legendary. Are Oasis hypocrites or Britain's most sussed rock band? ...

Oasis: The Boys Are Back In Town

Profile and Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 12 August 1994

Trashed hotels, fist fights, easy sex — Oasis have rediscovered rock's roots. They've also found the time to knock out a great tune ...

Gene: The Paradise Club, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 13 August 1994

CHROMOSOME IS WHERE THE ART IS ...

Oasis: Certainly Probably: Oasis: Definitely Maybe (Creation)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 August 1994

OASIS — Don't Believe The Hype? Well, that depends on whether you've been waiting for a Nineties dream hybrid of The Beatles and The Stones, ...

Fun-Da-Mental, Ice Cube, Kitchens of Distinction, Manic Street Preachers, Primal Scream, Pulp, Radiohead, Reverend Horton Heat, Senseless Things, Terrorvision: Primal Scream, Radiohead, Pulp, Manic Street Preachers et al: Reading Festival, Berkshire — Saturday

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

ON A REMARKABLE autumn's day on which Chelsea go from to two down to three up at Leeds, Everett True gets hospitalised because he's too ...

Shed Seven: Taking The Peseta? Shed Seven: Change Giver (Polydor 5236152/4/1 11 tks/47 mins/FP)

Review by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 3 September 1994

So, are Shed Seven just four loud-mouthed lads with a terminal Mozzer fixation, a bunch of chancers from York hellbent on giving Oasis a run ...

Blubber, Elastica, Shed Seven: Elastica, Shed Seven, Blubber: Zap Club, Brighton

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 17 September 1994

ALL RICH kids should be in bands. Consider it a duty. ...

Suede: "Nothing Can Stop Us Now"

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

When Bernard Butler left SUEDE, many assumed it was all over. Far from it. On the eve of the release of the long-awaited Dog Man ...

The Auteurs, Gene, Sleeper: The Auteurs, Sleeper, Gene: Zap Club, Brighton

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 24 September 1994

LUKE OF NATURE ...

Oasis: Diary of an LP

Retrospective and Interview by Cliff Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1994

Seven different studios played host to OASIS as they attempted to record their debut album, each witnessing its own catalogue of disasters. CLIFF JONES traces ...

Suede: Dog Man Star (Nude/All formats)

Review by John Harris, New Musical Express, 1 October 1994

DIAMOND 'DOG'! ...

Elastica: From Hype To Eternity

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 8 October 1994

ELASTICA were voted Best New Band in our Readers' Poll almost before the band had released a note. Why? Because you could tell just by ...

Blur, Pulp: Bedsitters' night out — Blur, Pulp: Alexandra Palace, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 10 October 1994

Minimalist pop has its day as Blur and Pulp share the bill at London's Alexandra Palace ...

Elastica: Bring on the stretch limos

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 14 October 1994

Elastica, dating agency to the stars, are about to hit paydirt themselves ...

Echobelly: Get Yer Sonya Ya's Out!

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 15 October 1994

You may have read about ECHOBELLY before, but you won't have — seen them clambering on a roof in Manchester! Watched them in a courtroom ...

Suede: Raw, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 22 October 1994

TEENAGE FANCLUB ...

Suede: Effete of Clay — Suede: City Hall, Hull

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 31 October 1994

Brett Anderson forsakes camp as Suede struggle to impress in Hull ...

Suede: Bark Psychosis: Suede: Dog Man Star (Nude) ****

Review by Stuart Maconie, Select, November 1994

Introducing the ban… Oh, too late! But rejoice! Brett and co have made high drama out of their crisis. ...

Blur: Who needs a used Merc, anyway?

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, November 1994

Mr Cholmondley-Warner may not have rated Blur good enough for the Mercury Music Prize, but Damon Albarn isn't losing sleep over it — hit singles, ...

Oasis: Man City Slickers: Oasis: The Haçienda, Manchester

Live Review by John Robb, Vox, November 1994

Having stormed into the album chart at Number One, Oasis return to Manchester's Haçienda — giving their hometown its greatest night since the height of The ...

Oasis: Nine Months That Shook The World

Overview by Stuart Maconie, Q, November 1994

IT'S A terrible name. Terrible. It immediately and unjustly tags them as one of those risibly mediocre makeweights of the so-called 'baggy" explosion. It is ...

Suede: Dog Man Star (Nude)

Review by David Sinclair, Q, November 1994

SUEDE'S FANS have always been utterly unwavering in their belief in the band. But out there, in the big bad world, the group still suffers ...

Blur: Britain's Class Act

Profile and Interview by Steven Daly, Rolling Stone, 3 November 1994

BLUR stand up for their mod-rock roots on Parklife ...

Blur, Elastica: Blur: Blurred Vision

Report by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 10 November 1994

They are the names on everyone's lips, the pop heroes from Essex. Blur are being mentioned in the same breath as The Beatles, and yesterday ...

Menswear: The New Squad Of New Mod

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 19 November 1994

IT HAS BEEN DECIDED, already, that Menswear are going to be famous. All the stars (well, Shampoo and Pulp) turned up for their debut gig ...

Echobelly, Elastica, Gene, Oasis, Shed Seven: Oasis/Shed Seven/Elastica/Echobelly/Gene: EC Raiders

Report and Interview by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 19 November 1994

Sacre bleurgh! Parisian hoteliers flee through the boulevards as la creme de Brit indie culture — i.e., OASIS, SHED SEVEN, ELASTICA, ECHOBELLY and GENE — ...

Suede: The London Suede: Dog Man Star

Review by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, 27 November 1994

A SUPERGROUP IN Britain, Suede failed to sway America last year with its heady blend of raunch guitar and flamboyant androgyny. ...

Blur: Have a Go if You're Hard Enough

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, December 1994

London lads on the pull or just taking the piss? Blur are this year's Brit pop sensations, defining a bold New Englishness out of smart ...

Elastica: Things that make you go URGGHHH!

Interview by Andrew Mueller, Vox, December 1994

JUSTINE FRISCHMANN sings and plays guitar with Elastica, a band whose cool balance of ingenuousness and ingenuity should shortly eclipse her other claims to fame as ...

The Flying Medallions, Stereolab, Suede, Take That, Tiny Monroe, Voodoo Queens: Take That and Indie?

Report and Interview by Siân Pattenden, Select, December 1994

What happens when a quintet of indie deities meet the locus of teen-lust that is Take That? Will they cop off? Will they agree to ...

Gene, Salad: Astoria 2, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 December 1994

AT LEAST one man at this long-sold-out gig was there because he believed Gene's frontman, Martin Rossiter, to be the late actor Leonard's son. He ...

Oasis: Maxwells, Hoboken, N.J.

Live Review by Jason Cohen, Rolling Stone, 15 December 1994

FOR A YOUNG but already massive British band, there's nothing quite so incongruous as the first American tour. Goodbye to blind worship, magazine covers and ...

Blur: Lads and asses

Essay by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 16 December 1994

The media's love affair with football has spawned a huge culture industry. But is it to blame for the return of loutishness? ...

Blur: Darklife

Book Excerpt by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 24 December 1994

Blur had a brilliant 1994 — their album, Parklife, entered the charts at Number One and spent the rest of the year blaring from every ...

Nick Heyward, Terry Hall: Godfathers of Britpop? Terry Hall and Nick Heyward

Report and Interview by Paul Gorman, Music Week, 1995

FOR ARTISTS WHO came to prominence during the early '80s boom in British music, the dramatic rise in popularity of the clutch of homegrown acts ...

Oasis: The Making of Definitely Maybe

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, January 1995

From fourth on the bill at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut to the fastest-selling independent debut album in the UK, it's been a staggering year ...

Blur, Elastica, Oasis, Pulp, Sleeper, Suede, Supergrass: Britpop: Modern Life Is... Brilliant!

Overview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 7 January 1995

It was the year grunge died, the year of jungle... arses. It was the year that BRITISH POP found its feet again, and what's more, ...

Sleeper: Wener Takes All

Interview by Ian Gittins, Melody Maker, 14 January 1995

1995 is set to be SLEEPER's year. The latest leading lights in the ongoing resurgence of Britpop brightened up last year with a string of ...

Suede: Horse and Hounded

Report and Interview by John Harris, New Musical Express, 14 January 1995

Has it all gone wrong for SUEDE? Dog Man Star not accorded the status they wished for, doubt over Richard Oakes' ability to better Bernard, ...

Oasis: Definitely Maybe (Epic; CD and cassette)

Review by Amy Linden, The New York Times, 15 January 1995

THE BRITISH band Oasis is the latest in what often seems like an endless string of next big things. It arrives in America with three ...

Sleeper: And so to Sleeper, perchance to dream

Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 20 January 1995

When you have just seen your new single go in at No 16, and the world is your prairie oyster, it's nice to get together ...

Gene

Interview by Elaine Cusack, Guitar, February 1995

JUST WHO do Gene think they are? Appearing out of nowhere last spring, the London-based quartet produced three highly contagious singles, had journalists fawning all ...

Gene, Supergrass: Astoria, London

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

THE NINE O'CLOCK SNOOZE ...

Menswear: Mod-U-Like

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 4 February 1995

"THE THING IS, we won't let anyone down." ...

Sleeper: PJ and Bunkum

Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 4 February 1995

The meteoric rise of SLEEPER is matched only by the meteoric speed of singer LOUISE WENER's gob. Anti-feminism, anti-PC, anti-voting but pro shagging, drinking and ...

Supergrass: More Cock Than Doodle-Do

Interview by David Bennun, Everett True, Melody Maker, 11 February 1995

Oxford's SUPERGRASS put the POP! into apoplexy and inject hyper-charged glam into the Nineties Brit guitar thrill. Plus! Their second single — and first hit ...

Sleeper: The Duchess, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 20 February 1995

A GREAT song and a video are no guarantee of credible pop success. It helps to have a Talking Point as well. No-one understands this ...

Sleeper: The Venue, Edinburgh

Live Review by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 25 February 1995

IF NOTHING ELSE, it's one of the better conjuring tricks of the age. Sleeper, as a musical entity, are resolutely standard issue, yet are hailed ...

Sleeper: Done Lying Down

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, March 1995

Sexy, sassy and certainly not afraid of shocking, Sleeper's Louise Wener is a guitar goddess with no need to compromise on her way to the ...

Suede: Introducing the band techs

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 4 March 1995

Behind every guitar hero, there's a guitar tech sorting out his inputs from his outputs. TOM DOYLE meets the men who help put Suede on ...

Radiohead, Suede: The British Aren't Coming

Report by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 9 March 1995

IS THE NEWEST WAVE FROM THE U.K. A WASHOUT? ...

Elastica: Under the Influence — Elastica: Sheffield University

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 27 March 1995

Elastica, the vanguard of the new new wave bands, smash and grab their way through classic punk pop in Sheffield ...

Elastica: Elastica (Deceptive BLUFF 014)

Review by Stuart Maconie, Q, April 1995

Brisk: never has such blatant thievery been such fun. ...

Menswear: This Year's Model

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, April 1995

When record companies went window-shopping last year, they all wanted to buy Menswear. Without even releasing a single, the band's reputation stands more upon the ...

Suede: The London Suede: Manhattan Center Ballroom, New York NY

Live Review by Jason Cohen, Rolling Stone, 6 April 1995

"THIS IS A boring old one," Brett Anderson says with a shrug, and then Suede ignite 'Animal Nitrate', a typically brazen concoction of straight-razor guitar, ...

Elastica: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 8 April 1995

It was a long journey from simple demos in '92 to Number One album in '95, but producer MARC WATERMAN was there piecing together ELASTICA's ...

Oasis: Sheffield Arena

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 24 April 1995

Oasis play the rock 'n' roll game in a one-night stand at the Sheffield Arena. ...

Elastica: You're Never Alone With Elastica

Report and Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, May 1995

...Elastica. With impeccable Suede, Blur and, ahem, Stranglers connections, 1995's Great British Export-in-waiting put the "New" in New Wave. And, Iggy Pop tells Adrian Deevoy, ...

Pulp: Cocker The North

Interview by Max Bell, Vox, May 1995

Jarvis Cocker, the only kid in his Sheffield classroom who wore lederhosen, didn't have a girlfriend till he was 19. Now he's a pin-up and ...

Oasis: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield

Live Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 6 May 1995

JESUS pigf***ing c***bubble Christ on a three-way tandem, this is a great moment in life.   ...

Pulp: Anson Rooms, Bristol

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 6 May 1995

THERE'S A new spring in Pulp's stride. Maybe it's the afterglow of romping to victory in the Sound City pop quiz earlier today, but Jarvis ...

Supergrass: Lycanthropissed-up!: Supergrass: I Should Coco (Parlophone)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 13 May 1995

A scary rock 'n' roll wolfchild who roams the streets, high on drugs and booze, in search of whatever cheap thrills the night has to ...

Marion, Menswear: Passage Du Nord Ouest, Paris

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 13 May 1995

VIVE LA PRANCE! ...

Oasis: The Trouble Boys

Report and Interview by Jason Cohen, Rolling Stone, 18 May 1995

OASIS CROSS THE ATLANTIC WITH A HOT RECORD, TWO BATTLING BROTHERS AND ATTITUDE TO SPARE. ...

Shed Seven: Astoria, London

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 20 May 1995

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN ...

Pulp Diction

Profile and Interview by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 27 May 1995

Starring: JARVIS COCKER as THE JUNKSHOP ROMANTIC STEVE MACKEY as THE PLAYBOY RUSSELL SENIOR as THE ALIEN CANDIDA DOYLE as THE CARE BEAR KID NICK ...

Elastica: Atlantic Quaffing

Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 10 June 1995

Suede, Blur, Oasis… all have slumped at the Breakthrough Bar, unable to make it big in America. So what makes ELASTICA think they will succeed? ...

Radiohead: Head Cases

Interview by Caitlin Moran, Melody Maker, 10 June 1995

Radiohead's The Bends is one of the albums of the year. We already know this. We also know that Thom Yorke is the next richeykurt ...

Supergrass: Diary of an LP

Interview by Tom Doyle, Melody Maker, 17 June 1995

From four-track bedroom demos to finished masters. SUPERGRASS' debut LP, I Should Coco, has been guided by the hand of producer SAM WILLIAMS. TOM DOYLE ...

Blur: Boys will be lads — Blur: Mile End Stadium, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 19 June 1995

A right old knees-up with Blur and their guests at Mile End ...

Gene: Olympian (Polydor) ***

Review by Jason Cohen, Rolling Stone, 29 June 1995

BARELY A year old, Gene have already attracted the standard amount of instant acclaim in merry old England. In this latest case the critical clamor ...

The Boo Radleys, Jeff Buckley, The Cure, PJ Harvey, The Prodigy, Pulp: Pulp, PJ Harvey, the Cure et al: Glastonbury Festival, Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 30 June 1995

City of 100,000 dancing lights: Caitlin Moran on a Glastonbury weekend that will be remembered chiefly for the coming of Pulp ...

Supergrass: Mojo Rising: Supergrass

Interview by Mark Cooper, MOJO, July 1995

Now trespassing in the charts, three princes of rascal rock… ...

Pulp T.V.

Interview by Andrew Smith, The Face, July 1995

Ladies and gentlemen: introducing Sheffield's own Jarvis Cocker, man of the common people, unlikely sex symbol, top pop personality and the best TV presenter we never ...

The Verve: Northern Soul Asylum

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 15 July 1995

The Verve have split the voters ever since they appeared in '92 as The Band Most Likely To after Suede. Some loved their experimental prog-rock ...

Blur: The Return Of The Fab Four

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 12 August 1995

That rumble at the earth's core can only mean one thing — BLUR are back! With new single, 'Country House', out in ten days and ...

Blur: The Return Of The Fab Four: Part Two

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 19 August 1995

Last week, BLUR talked long and hard about, well, everything, really. Everything, that is, except new LP The Great Escape, the R.E.M. date at Milton ...

Blur, Oasis: Blur: England Expects

Special Feature by Chris Heath, The Face, September 1995

BLUR'S NEW album, The Great Escape, might be based around an imaginary retreat from the heady pop melee, but for Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave, ...

Ash: Better Cremate Than Ever?: Ash: LA2, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 2 September 1995

IT'S POURING OFF ME. Pure f***ing rage. See, the enemy isn't hoary rockers. It isn't Britpoppers, soul-sincerity dullards or synthetic chart popsters, although they all ...

Blur: The Great Escape (Food/Parlophone 8 35235)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 8 September 1995

Blur put the grate in Britain ...

Blur: The Great Escape

Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 9 September 1995

DON'T PRETEND you saw it coming. In fact, don't even bother going back and combing the grooves looking for it. ...

Blur: Colditz A Knockout!: Blur: The Great Escape (Food)

Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 9 September 1995

If you thought 'Country House' meant BLUR were playing it safe, you haven't heard The Great Escape. Damon has laced his tales of commuter belt ...

Blur: The great escape — live!

Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 22 September 1995

Caitlin Moran catches up with Blur's whimsical tour of unlikely seaside resorts ...

Blur: Graham Coxon: I'm Completely at Odds With Everything

Interview by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 23 September 1995

He hated the 'Country House' video and had doubts about it as a single. He thought of sabotaging his band's attempts to win that coveted ...

Pulp: The Dandy Man Can

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 23 September 1995

Wow! Grab your shades, pull on that glitter top and slip into your favourite brown nylon flared trousers 'cos PULP'S JARVIS COCKER is in the ...

The Bluetones: Feeling Supersonic, Here Comes 'Bluetonic'!

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 23 September 1995

THE BLUETONES have neatly dodged 'new Stone Roses' tags to become the first, and arguably the best, Britpop band from Hounslow. EVERETT TRUE reckons they're the ...

Oasis: (What's the Story) Morning Glory (Creation CRE CD 189)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 29 September 1995

THIS IS A bit cheeky, even for a thieving pop magpie like Noel Gallagher, you think as the opening song on Oasis's sophomore offering resolves ...

Blur: The Floral Hall, Eastbourne

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

ESCAPE TO VICTORY ...

Echobelly: Let's Get It On

Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

Read this, it's great! ECHOBELLY, who are Number Three at the time of going to press with their new album, On, have a habit of ...

Oasis: What's The Story (Morning Glory) (Creation CD C-CRE189P 12tks/50mins/FP)

Review by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

TALE ENDING?After effortlessly conquering all our hearts with their singles-stacked, stellar debut, Oasis now face the K2 of their career, that difficult second album. Question ...

John Peel, Pulp: The Jarvis & John Show!

Report and Interview by Andrew Mueller, Melody Maker, 30 September 1995

This Saturday, JOHN PEEL will interview JARVIS COCKER on Radio 1FM and play tracks from PULP'S forthcoming album. ANDREW MUELLER goes to Peel Acres to ...

Blur, Oasis: Blur vs. Oasis: What's the story?

Report by Siân Pattenden, Select, October 1995

We know who won the Blur-versus-Oasis singles showdown. But who trounced who in the media-othon? Sian Pattenden adds 'em up. ...

Supergrass: Hey Hey We're The Cheeky Monkeys: Supergrass

Profile and Interview by Stuart Maconie, Q, October 1995

IN SPINAL TAP, that penetrating cinema verité dissection of the music industry, various scenes are offered as examples of the rampant absurdity of the rock'n'roll ...

Blur, Oasis: The Marketing Of Britpop

Overview by Jon Savage, Artforum, October 1995

RECENTLY I returned from the US into a British news media dominated by a by-election in the North West of England. The point about the ...

Sleeper: Tourbus Tales: Sleeper

Interview by Lisa Verrico, Vox, October 1995

Please give up this feature for people carrying children or heavy shopping... ...

Supergrass: The Mod Squad

Profile and Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 5 October 1995

IT'S A GLORIOUS SUMMER DAY in Oxford, city of dreaming spires in the heart of England. Three young tykes laugh and joke with each other ...

Menswear: Nuisance (Laurel 828 676-2 12 tks/50 mins/FP)

Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 7 October 1995

YOU SWE@R IT WELL Skinny f***ers. Scenesters. Suits. Star Trek. Trainers. Cheekbones. Aggro. Sex. Drugs. Rock. Roll. Menswear. No wonder PAUL MATHUR loves them ...

Menswear: Nuisance (Laurel/LP/CD)

Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 7 October 1995

IF YOU are over the age of 21 and read the NME, you should hate Menswear. And you should hate them, essentially, for being young, ...

Pulp: Top Of The Fops

Interview by Pete Paphides, Time Out, 11 October 1995

Captain's log, chartdate 1995: Pulp, Britpop's most militant misfits, are set to trounce rivals with a new zeitgeist-friendly album of caustic lyrics, hum-me tunes and ...

Menswear: 'We're Bringing Back the Generation Gap'

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

Oh, how they laughed when MM plucked MENSWE@R out of obscurity and put them on the cover in February. The laughter stopped when the Swe@r ...

Northern Uproar: "The Teenage Oasis"

Interview by John Robb, Melody Maker, 14 October 1995

NORTHERN UPROAR are the latest rock 'n' roll delinquents from Manchester. JOHN ROBB — who produced the B-side to their debut single! — hails the ...

Sleeper: Anson Rooms, Bristol University,Bristol

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 21 October 1995

THE KIPS ARE ALRIGHT ...

Sleeper: Digbeth Institute, Birmingham

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 21 October 1995

INDIE IS IN Birmingham. Indie goes down a rapturous storm. Indie makes everyone happy tonight. Indie is lovely. Indie is the fleetfooted reduced to leadboot ...

Blur, Oasis: Battle of the Bands — Old Turf, New Combatants

Overview by Simon Reynolds, The New York Times, 22 October 1995

RIGHT NOW, the British music scene is convulsed with patriotic fervor. For the first time in over a decade, young British guitar bands are penetrating ...

Pulp: Different Class (Island 524 165)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 27 October 1995

Louche canon finally on target Jarvis Cocker's lowlife lyrics have come of age on a Pulp classic, says David Sinclair ...

Pulp: Working-Class Heroes: Pulp: Different Class (Island)

Review by Simon Reynolds, Melody Maker, 28 October 1995

Jarvis Cocker, sexual outlaw, professional eccentric, godlike television personality and master of idiosyncratic dance steps you already know and adore. SIMON REYNOLDS heralds the entrance ...

Blur: Can't Fight This Fleeing: Blur: The Great Escape (Parlophone)

Review by Paul Moody, Vox, November 1995

"I'm not walking out of this/I want to stay this way forever" — Blur, 'Blue Jeans', 1993 ...

Blur, Oasis: Oasis: (What's the Story) Morning Glory (Epic); Blur: The Great Escape (Virgin), both 6/10

Review by Chuck Eddy, Spin, November 1995

THE MORE Blur and Oasis act British by pretending to be funny without punch lines on their long-awaited new albums (long-awaited in England, anyway, where ...

Pulp: Cocker Gets Cocky

Interview by Martin Aston, Attitude, November 1995

"Mis-shapes, mistakes, misfits... oh we don't look the same as you / We don't do the things you do / But we live round here ...

Pulp: Jacques Brel Art Disco I Gave You The Best Years Of My Life

Interview by David Quantick, Q, November 1995

"I'VE BEEN in the studio all the time. I mean, look at me, I'm nearly transparent! I feel bad, really – they're saying it's the ...

Menswear: Preston University

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 4 November 1995

CLOTHES ENCOUNTERS ...

Oasis: Where Were You... When We Were Getting High?

Report by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Last weekend at London's Earl's Court, OASIS played the biggest indoor concerts ever held in this country. PAUL MATHUR brings us all the backstage gossip ...

The Bootleg Beatles, Oasis: Where Were You... When We Were Getting High? Oasis: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Paul Lester, Melody Maker, 11 November 1995

Last weekend at London's Earl's Court, OASIS played the biggest indoor concerts ever held in this country. In this four-page special, PAUL LESTER reports on ...

The Bootleg Beatles, Oasis: Oasis, Bootleg Beatles: Earls Court, London

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 18 November 1995

THE STARDUST BROTHERS ...

Pulp: Sorted For Freezing Gigs!

Interview by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 18 November 1995

Phew!!! It may be bloody cold outside (minus three degrees, actually) but in the frozen expanse that is Norway, things are definitely hotting up for ...

Blur: Time for the Blur to Fly — Blur: NEC Arena, Birmingham

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 27 November 1995

Blur a flagging, studenty band? Those memories are now long gone as screaming teenyboppers everywhere fight to hear their heroes ...

Pulp: Different Class (Island)

Review by Keith Cameron, Vox, December 1995

WHERE, ONE wonders, does he do the dishes? The pre-eminence gris of kitchen-sink drama has spent so long washing other people's dirty linen, the plumbing ...

Menswear: Suits You: Menswear

Report and Interview by Simon Witter, Sky, December 1995

As overnight sensations go, Menswear’s hyper-speed rise to fame makes even Julia Carling look like a beginner. Plus their music rocks. Simon Witter talks to ...

Charlatans, The (UK): The Charlatans: Up For It

Interview by Dave Simpson, i-D, December 1995

Dismissed as Madchester's also-rans, the Charlatans gave out but never gave up. While their peers crashed and burned, Burgess and his boys simply survived. A ...

Blur, Oasis, Pulp: After Oasis, the desert

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 8 December 1995

Unless the music business pulls its finger out, we'll have nothing to look forward to once Britpop dies. ...

Oasis, Robbie Williams: No sign of peace at the Oasis

Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 22 December 1995

Caitlin Moran says blood will prove thicker than water between the battling Gallaghers ...

The Mike Flowers Pops, Oasis: The Mike Flowers Pops: From Oasis, a golden syrup

Report and Interview by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 22 December 1995

Warning: don't view Mike Flowers's 'Wonderwall' as mere easy-listening Yuletide No 1 fun. He means it, man. ...

Pulp: Upper Class

Interview by David Stubbs, Melody Maker, 23 December 1995

Forget Blur vs Oasis — this was PULP's year. Two Number Two singles, a Number One album, triumphant festival appearances, the MM hacks' LP and ...

Echobelly

Interview by Elaine Cusack, Volume, Summer 1995

ECHOBELLY ARE a busy band. A very busy band. Their tight schedule of foreign tours, press trips and record releases is set to lengthen and, ...

Kenickie: 'We Think We're Bulletproof!'

Interview by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 1996

...and KENICKIE may well be right. The coolest, funniest, sharpest, rockingest all-girl-and-boy band in Britain to The Maker out for a night on the tiles and left ...

Oasis: Feeling Supersonic, Going Stratospheric

Report by Lisa Verrico, The Observer, 14 January 1996

TO SIGNAL The White Room's return for a new series, a special New Year's eve edition was recorded three days before Christmas. Despite featuring David ...

Suede: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Susan Corrigan, The Guardian, 29 January 1996

Snarling back on to the scene ...

The Bluetones: We Have Lift Off!

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 10 February 1996

When Melody Maker first put THE BLUETONES on the front cover last September, most people wondered who the f*** they were. Now, of course, everybody ...

Shed Seven: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Ian Fortnam, New Musical Express, 17 February 1996

WITH EACH passing year, the attention span of the average punter is becoming shorter and shorter. Racing brains honed to razor-sharpness by a steady diet ...

Pulp: Sorted for Kids — Pulp: Brighton Centre, Brighton

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 22 February 1996

In a police station one night, on stage the next, and the Pulp fans have never been happier. Caroline Sullivan reports ...

Supergrass: Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 24 February 1996

Almost exactly a year ago, when The Maker put them on the cover for the first time, SUPERGRASS were pop's likeliest lads, cheeky young upstarts ...

Jarvis Cocker, Pulp: Jarvis Cocker: Serious about songs

Profile by Andy Beckett, The Independent, 25 February 1996

Andy Beckett on the wry idol who was more than ready for overnight success ...

Supergrass: Bald truth, hairy moments — Supergrass: Apollo Theatre, Oxford

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 February 1996

Supergrass were named best new band at last week's Brit awards — but why? Noisy they may be, but subtle they're not. Caroline Sullivan went ...

Blur: Stop The Band, I Wanna Get Off!

Report and Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, March 1996

Are BLUR really going to the dogs? Behind all the adoring screams, we hear internal bickering, the tell-tale snii-ii-i-iff! of media-centric decadence, a hollow champagne ...

Supergrass

Profile and Interview by Martin Aston, Select, March 1996

A STANDARD semi-detached on Oxford's fashionably downbeat Cowley Road appears an unlikely HQ for the UK's "hottest new band" (copyright the typically finger-not-on-the-pulse Today newspaper) ...

The Bluetones: Story of the Blues

Obituary by Susan Corrigan, i-D, March 1996

BRITPOP? NOT THIS YEAR, THANKS. THE NEXT BIG NOISE COMES FROM FOUR UNASSUMING HOUNSLOW LADS WITH NO BANDWAGON TO CATCH. THEY ARE THE BLUETONES AND ...

Pulp: NEC, Birmingham

Live Review by Everett True, Melody Maker, 2 March 1996

The Good Sex Guy ...

Supergrass: Interrogation Terrorists

Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 2 March 1996

Last week, we gave you The Return of SUPERGRASS. This week, we open psycho-bible The Book of Questions and fling some brain-frazzling enquiries at The ...

Blur In America

Report and Interview by Everett True, Melody Maker, 9 March 1996

BOSTON. IT'S COLD. Covered in snow. Twee. In the rarefied, tourist part of the city centre, fairy lights twinkle on the gaudy exterior of Doc ...

Lush: Brighton Beach, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 March 1996

Two trumps for a busted Lush ...

Cast: Skunk And Disorderly

Report and Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 16 March 1996

Ever been to a CAST gig? Total entertainment. Ever been to Amsterdam? Druggy hedonism meets sensual abandon. So what happens if you put Cast and ...

Pulp: Fame Fatale

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 30 March 1996

So Jarvis Cocker is innocent. But that doesn't mean he's got off the hook — we still want a word or two with Michael Jackson's ...

Pulp: Here's Looking At You, Kids

Report and Interview by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, April 1996

PULP LANDED in Sweden last night, but they're still coming down from Japan. Circumnavigational jet lag vies with cultural bouleversement for command of the mental ...

Pulp Friction

Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 18 April 1996

Frontman JARVIS COCKER wreaks revenge for the 'Common People' ...

Northern Uproar: Concorde, Brighton

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 27 April 1996

THE WONDER BUMFLUFF ...

Oasis: Maine Road, Manchester

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 29 April 1996

Oasis promoted to relegation spot ...

Oasis: C'mon America...Let's Ave Yer! Seven Mental Nights On The Oasis Tourbus

Report by Paolo Hewitt, Select, May 1996

WITHIN FIFTEEN MINUTES of their plane taking off for Kansas, Oasis have assumed battle positions. Liam Gallagher is in the toilet with a couple of ...

Sleeper: PC in our Time

Interview by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 11 May 1996

So what does it take to provoke SLEEPER'S LOUISE WENER into spouting those liberal-baiting, feminist-hating statements of old? What about old fave, political correctness? Oasis? ...

Apollo 440, The Bluetones, Blur, Dodgy, Elastica, Gene, Massive Attack, Northern Uproar, Oasis, Pulp, Reef, Robbie Williams: Britpop Football Special: Ooh-aah, Rossit-ah!

Report and Interview by Ian Watson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

Martin Rossiter as Eric Cantona? Liam Gallagher squaring off against Damon Albarn? Robbie Williams and Steve Pulp in the same footie team? No, you're not ...

Dodgy: Hanover Grand, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 25 May 1996

THE WORDS that come to mind are the ones uttered by Eric Cantona to an adoring Leeds crowd after winning the League Championship in 1992. ...

Sleeper: i-Q: Louise Wener

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, June 1996

Sleeper's leading lady has more to offer than big boots and a big mouth. Susan Corrigan examines the true colours of a lass with sass ...

The Third Invasion: Britpop Strikes!

Overview by Barney Hoskyns, Musician, July 1996

"Oasis must die. Do not buy Oasis records. They will come to rape and pillage our women and invade America."(Courtney Love on the Net, early ...

Damon Albarn, Blur: Blur: Meet Damon, The Poet

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 6 July 1996

Blur's Damon Albarn tells CAROLINE SULLIVAN he is tired of being a star, tired of Yob Pop and tired off feuding. That's why he's reading ...

Bis, Sarah Cracknell, Elastica, Garbage, Shampoo, Sleeper: The Young Pretenders

Report by Susan Corrigan, The Guardian, 17 July 1996

Susan Corrigan talks to the teenagers with stars in their eyes. ...

Peter Andre, Pato Banton, Belinda Carlisle, Cathy Dennis, East 17, Gabrielle, Mark Morrison, Shed Seven, Spice Girls, Robbie Williams: Broadcast Snooze — Robbie Williams, Spice Girls, Belinda Carlisle, East 17 et al: Capital FM Summer Jam '96, Clapham Common, London

Live Review by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, August 1996

IF YOU came all the way from Arbroath, which you probably didn't, you'd be calling it Bairns' Glasto. Only without the sex and drugs, but ...

Oasis: Knebworth, Herts — Big is beautiful as Oasis take their place in the record books

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 12 August 1996

One in 20 Britons applied for tickets to see Oasis in concert at Knebworth. Caitlin Moran joined the crowd on Saturday. ...

Charlatans, The (UK), Oasis: Blue Tones — The Charlatans: Knebworth, Herfordshire

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 13 August 1996

The Charlatans must have dreamt of upstaging Oasis. At Knebworth, they almost did. But it came at a horrible price, says Caroline Sullivan ...

Suede: He Stoops To Conquer

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, September 1996

You've heard the rumours. Now it's time to face the facts. After an absence of two years, Suede are rising from the ashes to return ...

Blur, Oasis, Pulp: The Nineties: Going for Bloke

Comment by Johnny Cigarettes, The Face, September 1996

In the Nineties, we are all everyday people, says Johnny Cigarettes ...

Kula Shaker: K (Parlophone)

Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

I'VE JUST BEEN informed by that porridge-faced wanker, Simon Mayo, that Kula Shaker are "the next Oasis". Of course, the obvious questions don't even get ...

Suede: Virgin Megastore, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 14 September 1996

UP FOR IT ...

Oasis: They Thought It Was All Over

Report by Carol Clerk, Melody Maker, 21 September 1996

THE ANNOUNCEMENT came on Friday, 24 hours of nail-biting drama. Oasis, after all, were not going to split. ...

Kula Shaker: Heaven's Promise

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, October 1996

A case of right band, wrong planet? ...

Suede: Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow

Live Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 3 October 1996

Step aside, Oasis, the hard men are back ...

Cast: Power of positive thinking

Interview by Paul Sexton, The Times, 11 October 1996

Paul Sexton talks to — no, listens to — Cast's motormouth front man on the eve of their biggest tour. ...

Suede: Royal Court, Liverpool

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 7 December 1996

STARSPOTTING. Robbie Fowler. Good. Hollyoaks cast. Bad. After the gig, back at the hotel, I get in the lift. Brett Anderson's pressing the button for ...

Sleeper: Town & Country, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 11 December 1996

LOUISE Wener is a curious phenomenon. Hers is the face that has launched a thousand front covers; her sharp tongue has spawned a million "quotable ...

Nirvana, Oasis, Pulp, Sex Pistols: True Brits

Interview by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 20 December 1996

A young New York painter looks like becoming "the first artist of Britpop". Jon Savage on how Elizabeth Peyton's portraits of Jarvis, Liam and Noel ...

Bernard Butler Moves On

Report and Interview by Dave Thompson, Alternative Press, 1997

HE'S A DIFFICULT bugger, everyone says so. David McAlmont said so, as he walked away from a potentially chart-topping partnership, complaining the guitarist was ...

Oasis: Definitely Maybe

Review by Barney Hoskyns, unpublished, 1997

WITH THE swaggering chords of the opening ‘Rock'N'Roll Star,’ Oasis announced that big, brash Brit rock was here to stay--at least for a few years. ...

The Seahorses

Report and Interview by Dave Thompson, Alternative Press, 1997

IT'S AMAZING what you can pack into a year. Take John Squire for example: he made an album and jammed with Oasis. He ...

Blur, Johnny Marr, Oasis: Britpop: Let's Stay Together

Comment by Cliff Jones, The Face, January 1997

Britpop hasn't so much gone Pete Tong as Travelling Wilburys, says Cliff Jones ...

Dodgy: Brixton Academy, London

Live Review by Dele Fadele, New Musical Express, 11 January 1997

SOME ARE born happy, some achieve happiness and some have happiness thrust upon them. Dodgy were born happy. In their minds they're the antidote to ...

Suede: Saturday Night Fever

Interview by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 18 January 1997

Last year's resurrection of SUEDE was almost as impressive a Lazarus job as the Manics' — a Number One album, two hit singles, and the ...

Kula Shaker: Abandon dope all ye who entertain

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 20 January 1997

Toff rockers Kula Shaker got away with telling fans to take lots of drugs; East 17's Essex boy Brian Harvey was crucified. That's pop, says ...

Suede: Welcome back, Brettpop

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 24 January 1997

Suede were mammoth, then they were rubbished, and now they're hot again. David Sinclair takes to their leader ...

Oasis: Liam Gallagher: The Man Behind The Myth

Profile and Interview by Paul Mathur, Esquire, February 1997

To the tabloids he's "The Wildman of Pop'. Or "Boozy Liam". Or "Lout Liam". He's the one who drinks and swears and hits journalists. But ...

Blur: "We're an art school band and always will be"

Interview by Max Bell, The Evening Standard, 7 February 1997

Damon Albarn has re-invented Blur: they don't drink (much), they don't like New Labour and they certainly don't play Britpop. MAX BELL meets the capital's ...

Blur: Blur (Reprise 9362-46236-2)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 7 February 1997

LOUDLY HERALDED as the pyre upon which their former Britpop selves have been ritually dispatched, Blur certainly takes some getting used to, though it's questionable ...

Blur: Blur (Food/Parlophone 14tks/57mins)

Review by David Bennun, Melody Maker, 8 February 1997

Get this. BLUR have gone lo-fi. They're slumming it. And they might just have made their finest album to date... ...

Republica: Ready Or Not…

Interview by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 22 February 1997

 ...here they come! REPUBLICA, that is, the UK post-punk techno-pop band who are currently taking America by storm ...

Suede's Brett Anderson (1997)

Interview by Barney Hoskyns, Rock's Backpages audio, 6 March 1997

Speaking from a Singapore hotel room, the Suede frontman talks about new album Coming Up; the band's popularity abroad; what London means to him, and looks back at Britpop.

File format: mp3; file size: 22.5mb, interview length: 24' 37" sound quality: ** (phoner)

Blur: Palace Theatre, Los Angeles CA

Live Review by Richard Cromelin, Los Angeles Times, 21 March 1997

Blur Strays From Its Roots in Palace Show ...

Suede: London Suede's New Spirit

Interview by Clare Kleinedler, Addicted To Noise, April 1997

IT SEEMS THE London Suede is the band that everybody loves to hate. No matter how many records they sell, or how many venues they ...

Blur: Blur (Virgin)

Review by James Hunter, Rolling Stone, 3 April 1997

ASIDE FROM a minor hit three years ago, with the perfect pop single 'Girls and Boys', England's beloved Blur have never quite killed alternative-era America. ...

Supergrass: It's alright to get serious, lads

Interview by David Sinclair, The Times, 4 April 1997

David Sinclair discovers a new heavyweight image being brewed by that ebullient trio Supergrass. ...

Supergrass: In It For The Money

Review by David Cavanagh, Q, May 1997

THE TOP 5 SINGLE 'Going Out,' released in February 1996, made it resoundingly clear that Supergrass are much more than a three-man Britpop Playstation. While ...

Supergrass: Super Fly Guys

Interview by Susan Corrigan, i-D, May 1997

TWO YEARS AFTER RIDING THEIR CHOPPERS TO NUMBER ONE, BRITPOP'S BOY WONDERS ARE BACK WITH A 'DIFFICULT' SECOND ALBUM ABOUT POWER, CORRUPTION AND POST-ADOLESCENT ANXIETY. ...

Supergrass: In It for the Money (Capitol) ***½

Review by Ira Robbins, Rolling Stone, 1 May 1997

SCALING A learning curve that would do the dons of their hometown university proud, Supergrass, from Oxford, England, have graduated from rambunctious adolescence to credible ...

Mansun: Attack Of The Grey Matter: Mansun: Kilburn National, London

Live Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 3 May 1997

FOUR SILHOUETTES stand perfectly still, statuesque, shrouded in red and blue light and strange, unearthly clouds of smoke. ...

Supergrass: Town & Country Club, Leeds

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 9 May 1997

Just Alright on the night ...

The Beautiful South, Big In Japan, The Bootleg Beatles, Dodgy, Holly Johnson, The Lightning Seeds, Manic Street Preachers, Smaller, Space, Stereophonics: Manic Street Preachers, Beautiful South et al: Hillsborough Justice Concert, Anfield, Liverpool

Live Review by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

96 REASONS WHY ...

Supergrass: Apollo, Manchester

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 17 May 1997

LIFE'S A SNITCH? ...

Oasis, U2: U2, Oasis: Oakland Coliseum, Oakland CA

Live Review by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 22 June 1997

Last week, Oasis played to a stadium of American U2 fans. There's dedication... ...

Geneva: Further

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, July 1997

GENEVA ARE not puddings. I approve of this. So many chap-bands today (Tuesday) are puddings. Big, soggy, lumpy puddings just sitting there, wobbling every now ...

Mansun: Kilburn National, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, July 1997

THE FOUR million music journalists present at Mansun's big "triumphant" London show, tongues loosened by EMI's beer, tell me repeatedly that it's not OK for ...

Supergrass: Live review

Live Review by Tom Cox, Uncut, July 1997

GAZ COOMBES inadvertently summed the whole thing up himself earlier this year. Speaking of his newly-shedded hair, the Supergrass singer professed his absolute astonishment at ...

Blur, Oasis, The Stone Roses, Paul Weller: Brit Pop: The Boys Club

Essay by Jon Savage, The Guardian, 4 July 1997

Pop music is booming, right? British bands are taking over the world, right? Wrong. The yobbish lads of Brit rock are about to hit the ...

The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis, Primal Scream: Alan McGee: The father of Creation

Profile and Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Guardian, 5 July 1997

Hedonism was a way of life for Alan McGee. And who would expect anything less from the man behind Oasis? But the road to pop-tycoon ...

The Verve: Academy, Manchester

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 16 August 1997

Dave Simpson witnesses the miracle works of Richard Ashcroft, reunited with the apostles of The Verve ...

Oasis: Here's Looking At You, Our Kid: Oasis: Be Here Now (Creation)

Review by Dele Fadele, Vox, September 1997

OASIS ARE CAUGHT in the eye of a hurricane. What a shitstorm the Gallagher brothers have been through at the hands of the tabloids and ...

Oasis: Be Here Now

Review by Paul Lester, Uncut, September 1997

YOU'D THINK Oasis were at war. The sense of urgency is palpable. Be Here Now. It's all in the video to the single: Oasis, the ...

Oasis: Westpoint Arena, Exeter

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 15 September 1997

Radical move to symbolism-uh! as Oasis tour goes Pink Floyd ...

The Verve: Urban Hymns (Hut/Virgin 7243 8 44913 £14.49)

Review by David Sinclair, The Times, 26 September 1997

Faith, hope and even clarity: David Sinclair applauds the bittersweet symphonies of the suddenly huge Verve ...

Oasis: live at Earls Court, London (27th September 1997)

Live Review by Will Self, Independent on Sunday, October 1997

IT WAS an emotional night for me – as it was for so many others. The minute that Liam Gallagher reached the centre of the ...

Ocean Colour Scene: Marchin' Already (MCA MCD 60048)

Review by Tom Doyle, Q, October 1997

Ocean Colour Scene: looking to the future with one foot in the past. ...

Oasis, the Verve: Earls Court, London

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

THURSDAY ...

Oasis: Earl's Court, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Melody Maker, 4 October 1997

TICK. TOCK. The giant clock behind Noel, who is 29 years old, and Liam, who is 24, runs steadily backwards. There's always been a big ...

Oasis, The Verve: Oasis/The Verve: London, Earl's Court

Live Review by Phil Sutcliffe, MOJO, November 1997

AS PAUL Du Noyer wrote recently, somewhere along the road to epoch-making Oasis "took it as their job to cheer the country up". To which ...

Oasis: Westpoint Arena, Exeter

Live Review by Terry Staunton, Uncut, November 1997

CERTAIN elements of the tabloid press can't be too happy. Whispers around the Street of Shame suggested that some hacks were being despatched to Devon ...

The Verve: The History Man

Report and Interview by Tom Doyle, Q, November 1997

Richard Ashcroft: he goes back, you know. Once, on a groovy tide of stormy "head" rock, his band The Verve rose. Then, victims of depression, ...

Jarvis Cocker, Pulp: Pulp: Sorted for Pipe and Slippers

Profile and Interview by Ben Thompson, Telegraph Magazine, 8 November 1997

At the age of seven, Jarvis Cocker realised he was not immortal. Now the Pied Piper of his generation has decided the end is nigh. ...

Blur, Oasis, Pulp, Spice Girls, Suede: Rejoice! Rejoice! Britpop is dead

Comment by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 28 November 1997

The jig is up, the hype exposed, and now Oasis, Pulp and the rest will have to do a proper job ...

The Verve: The Boston T-Shirt Party!

Report by Paul Mathur, Melody Maker, 29 November 1997

Welcome to the beauty of the new soul rebels. We join THE VERVE in America and discover the Wigan warriors are ready to take on ...

The Verve: Bittersweet Success

Interview by David Sinclair, Rolling Stone, 11 December 1997

AFTER YEARS OF NEAR MISSES, THE VERVE HAVE SCORED BIG BY STAYING TRUE TO THE DARKNESS AT THE HEART OF ROCK & ROLL ...

Blur, Oasis: Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, and Damon

Report by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 19 December 1997

Look boys, it's Christmas — time to kiss under the mistletoe and call off the damaging Blur-Oasis wars ...

Embrace

Profile and Interview by David Bennun, Loaded, Summer 1997

STEVE FIRTH takes a pull on his fag and stares out blankly at the sodden fields of Glastonbury. ...

Oasis: Put It Next To The Other Three

Interview by Adrian Deevoy, Q, January 1998

What a shoddy old year it's been for Oasis. Only six million copies of Be Here Now shifted. Only voted The Best Act In The ...

Oasis, Supergrass: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 3 January 1998

DURACELL-ING THEMSELVES SHORT? ...

Shed Seven: The Italian Mob!

Interview by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, 28 February 1998

All we wanted was to have a few laughs, japes and capers in Venice. But oh no, SHED SEVEN say they're now serious musicians. Aha, ...

The Hybirds: The Hybirds

Review by Angus Batey, New Musical Express, March 1998

SOMETIMES THE simplest words are the most powerful. Plain statements. Single syllables. Don't pull your punches – hit 'em hard. ...

Pulp: "Nice one, Jarvis!"

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 27 March 1998

Jarvis Cocker, latter-day folk hero, talks to Caroline Sullivan ...

Pulp: This Is Hardcore (Island CID 8066)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 27 March 1998

OF ALL the Britpop stars, it was always going to be Jarvis Cocker who would grapple most readily with encroaching maturity. Having dealt unflinchingly on ...

Pulp: Talkin' Lewd

Interview by Stephen Dalton, New Musical Express, 28 March 1998

...But it's not just rude things JARVIS COCKER and PULP are talking about. They're also chatting about the new album, losing a band member, losing ...

Pulp: People's Poet: Pulp: This Is Hardcore (Island)

Review by Nick Hornby, Spin, May 1998

On the long-awaited sequel to Pulp's breakthrough album, Different Class, England's unofficial laureate Jarvis Cocker perfects his poetry of the prosaic. By Nick Hornby ...

Beck, The Verve: The Verve, Beck: Haigh Hall, Wigan

Live Review by Dave Simpson, Melody Maker, May 1998

HAIGH DUDE! ...

Shed Seven: The Great White Shack Hunt

Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 9 May 1998

So you thought SHED SEVEN were boring? Hah! Well that was before the band's first ever interesting interview. Hold on to your seats, you're in ...

Embrace: The Good Will Out

Review by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, July 1998

Belated, soul-stirring debut from justifiably hyped Yorkshiremen ...

theaudience: Crowd Trouble!

Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 25 July 1998

THEAUDIENCE have it all.The big-mouthed gorgeous singer and the melody-packed tunes most bands would blow up a granny for. We meet them in Oxford and ...

Pulp: Finsbury Park, London

Live Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 27 July 1998

"IS THIS the way they say the future's meant to feel?" asked Jarvis Cocker as his hands, seemingly independent of the rest of his body, ...

Pulp: Jarvis Cocker

Interview by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, August 1998

The Pulp frontman takes a stairlift to heaven as he reflects on post-coital guilt and post-Britpop blues ...

The Bluetones: The X-rated Files: The Bluetones

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 1 August 1998

MARK MORRISS lifts up his shirt and winces. It's not a pretty sight – a jumbled wash of red, black and blue, like a colour ...

Rock'n'roll Infanticide

Essay by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 7 August 1998

Pop is on sick leave because the nation's youth hasn't done its music homework. Tom Cox tells aspiring young bands to nab their parent's record ...

Pulp Friction

Profile and Interview by Mark Mordue, Sydney Morning Herald, the, 18 September 1998

JARVIS COCKER wanders through London's Tower Books and Records like a spy in a foreign country. Close by, music fans are harvesting the racks of ...

Republica: Speed Ballads

Review by Ian MacDonald, Uncut, November 1998

Second LP from Big In America, 'Ready To Go' hitmakers ...

Eels, Pulp: Pulp/Eels: Hereford Leisure Centre

Live Review by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 17 November 1998

HAPPY! SAD. H-h-h-happy! Sad. You know those theatrical mask things, one with a smile big enough to house a Manic's packed lunch, the other with ...

Kula Shaker: Peasants Pigs & Astronauts (Columbia) ***

Review by Phil Sutcliffe, Q, March 1999

FOR A WHILE in 1996 it looked as though Kula Shaker were being watched over by the pantheon of gods and other bods portrayed on ...

Blur: 13

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 5 March 1999

Down and outstanding ...

Blur: 13

Review by Keith Cameron, New Musical Express, 10 March 1999

TWO-AND-a-half minutes into the tenth track on his band's sixth album Damon Albarn is heard to ponder: "Where is the magic?/I've got to get better". ...

Blur: The Prehistory of Blur: 'We Were Very... Purple'

Retrospective and Interview by Stuart Maconie, Q, April 1999

A mohican, Artaud, pyjama bottoms, The Cardiacs, sackings, Pernod, dressing up as the Ayatollah Khomeini: all of this and more in the story of Blur ...

Blur, William Orbit: Blur: 13 (Virgin)

Review by James Hunter, New York Observer, 5 April 1999

Blur's Tender Mercies Shine Through Sheen of 13 ...

Suede: Head Music (Nude)

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 29 April 1999

BROADER IN musical conception than their previous albums, Head Music reflects two basic changes in Suede's working methods since Coming Up. The most obvious is ...

Suede: Glorious Kinky

Interview by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 30 April 1999

It is ten years since Suede released their seminal debut album. Caroline Sullivan meets one of the most influential bands of the nineties ...

Suede: Head Music (Nude)

Review by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 1 May 1999

Loaf-fi Allstars! ...

Cast: Magic Hour (Polydor) ***

Review by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, 15 May 1999

CAST, BLESS them, have always been pissing in the wind. Why does it seem to go Pete Tong for our Eighties heroes? Well, here's one ...

Cast: Magic Hour (Polydor S47176-2) **

Review by Ian Gittins, Q, June 1999

They aim. They shoot. They miss. Bugger. ...

Suede: Head Music (Nude NUDE14CD)

Review by Tom Doyle, Q, June 1999

No Ch-ch-changes — Standing still isn't always as easy as it looks. ...

Blur: The Death Of A Party

Retrospective and Interview by Stuart Maconie, Select, August 1999

WE JOIN the story in the autumn of 1995. 'Country House' has beaten 'Roll With It' to Number One and the critics are in short-lived ...

Elastica: Six Track EP (Deceptive) *

Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 27 August 1999

FOR ALL THE TREMORS, speculation and mystique you might generate by disappearing off the face of the earth after a classic debut album, there's always ...

Supergrass: Supergrass (Parlophone)

Review by Charles Shaar Murray, Daily Telegraph, September 1999

WE HEAR AN awful lot about how Oxford is still the gateway to eminence in thrusting new young Britain, but what about Wheatley Park Comprehensive? ...

Pulp — A Quiet Revolution: Queen's Hall, Edinburgh ****

Live Review by Dave Simpson, The Guardian, 2 September 1999

Blinds have more fun ...

Supergrass: Supergrass

Review by Johnny Cigarettes, New Musical Express, 18 September 1999

CALL IT PRE-MILLENNIAL psychosis, call it nervous exhaustion or call it self-pity, but you can count the pop people who haven't battled some kind of ...

Noel Gallagher, The Jam, Oasis, Paul Weller: Paul Weller and Noel Gallagher: Sex, Drugs, Rock'n'roll... and Babies

Interview by Barbara Ellen, The Observer, 31 October 1999

Both "spokesmen" for their respective generations, it's perhaps unsurprising that the men behind the Jam and Oasis became friends. Here, they talk frankly together for ...

Heroin: The Secret Drug Of The'90s

Report by Tom Doyle, Q, December 1999

It offed grunge. It killed Britpop. It claimed actual human lives. Heroin began the '90s as a retro drug with insalubrious associations. It ended the ...

Supergrass: "It Felt Really Smart to be Doing it Again"

Report and Interview by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 22 December 1999

A BLINDING THIRD ALBUM. A WORLD TOUR. COLLABORATIONS WITH THE MUPPETS AND ALI G. ALL IN A YEARS WORK FOR SUPERGRASS, AS GAZ COOMBES TELLS ...

Oasis: Noel Gallagher: Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants track by track

Interview by Neil Mason, Melody Maker, January 2000

...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 1: From Rain to Definitely Maybe

Retrospective by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 19 January 2000

With Oasis' return imminent, the first instalment of our four-part history of the band traces their rise, from the Noel-free live debut to the era-defining ...

Oasis: What you on about?

Review by Caroline Sullivan, The Guardian, 28 January 2000

Caroline Sullivan is not convinced by the comeback single ...

Oasis: First Union Center, Philadelphia

Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, February 2000

Oasis's American concerts provided tantalising glimpses of their sprightlier, less bald new direction. Lucy O’Brien was there. ...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 3: From Noel's Brief Exit to Be Here Now

Retrospective by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 2 February 2000

The third instalment of our four-part history of Oasis charts "the tabloid years", when they became more famous for their actions than their music. ...

Oasis: Standing on the Shoulder of Giants (Big Brother) **

Review by Tom Cox, The Guardian, 4 February 2000

FOR HAS-BEENS APPARENT, Oasis still possess remarkable powers of intimidation, but in the build-up to Standing on the Shoulder of Giants they've cunningly switched tactics. ...

Oasis: The Oasis Story, Part 4: From The Masterplan to Go Let It Out

Guide by Robin Bresnark, Melody Maker, 9 February 2000

In the final part of our Oasis history, we recall the departures of Bonehead and Guigsy and look forward to Standing On The Shoulder Of ...

Oasis: Fan-ish Inquisition, Pt. 1

Interview by Ted Kessler, New Musical Express, 19 February 2000

Go Letter It Out. The New Oasis. Your Questions! Their answers! Oh no, it's…the fan-ish inquisition. In the first of a two-part interview with Oasis, ...

The Bluetones: Bolt From The Blue

Interview by Steven Wells, New Musical Express, 19 February 2000

Take one top Rottweiler, introduce it to an indie band, throw in some irresponsible comments about the "dilution of English culture" and await the inevitable ...

Oasis: Titanic!

Interview by Paul Lester, Uncut, March 2000

OASIS, if you hadn't noticed, have just resurfaced. But will they sink or swim? After the druggy excesses of Be Here Now, following the departure ...

Oasis: Liam Gallagher

Interview by Carol Clerk, Uncut, April 2000

THE LOCATION IS LONDON'S flashy Landmark Hotel, a place where palm trees loom over drinkers in the lobby and there's a better class of toiletry ...

Elastica: The Menace

Review by David Stubbs, Uncut, May 2000

Stretching the imagination: Frischmann's answer-album to Blur's relationship-dissecting 13 ...

Graham Coxon: The Leadmill, Sheffield

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, Melody Maker, 11 July 2000

MAYBE THE whys and wherefores don't matter. Maybe it's pointless trying to figure out the real reasons for people coming here. Nobody could really have ...

Mansun: Little Kix

Review by Stephen Dalton, Uncut, September 2000

THREE IS the magic number for Britrock alchemists ...

Oasis: Wembley Arena, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, October 2000

MY GOD, they plod. The paucity of ideas would be staggering, were it not so dull. ...

Coldplay, Craig David, David Gray: Letter From London: Garage and The New Soft Rock

Report by Phil Sutcliffe, Los Angeles Times, December 2000

"TO ME, ALL MELODIES were pure embarrassment," said Radiohead's Thom Yorke recently as he struggled to explain the making of Kid A. It hardly seems ...

The Boo Radleys, The Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Oasis: Various Artists: Creation Records - International Guardians Of Rock'n'roll 1983-1999

Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, December 2000

Best of the late, legendary indie label ...

Tindersticks: Subterania, London

Live Review by Chris Roberts, Uncut, May 2001

"WE HAVEN'T found our feet yet, have we?" mutters Stuart Staples mid-set. A voice from the crowd is shy but clearly audible: "Yes, you have!" ...

Catatonia, Cerys Matthews: Cerys Matthews: "I'll end up a spinster, like my role model Anne Widdecombe"

Interview by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 20 July 2001

A year ago, after a rumoured nervous breakdown, a rift within the band and a cancelled tour, the music press had consigned Cerys Matthews and ...

Oasis: "We're punk rock – none of that weird fooking Radiohead bollocks"

Interview by Sylvia Patterson, New Musical Express, 29 September 2001

Over the last ten years, Oasis have maintained their position as Britain's most controversial rock'n'roll group. Since giving them their first front cover in June ...

Pulp: Jarvis Cocker: Sorted For Trees and Weeds

Profile and Interview by Ben Thompson, The Independent, October 2001

AMID THE RUMPLED grandeur of West London's Cobden Club, the familiar angular figure of Jarvis Cocker stands out like a sore index finger. His ...

Pulp: We Love Life (Island) *****

Review by Simon Reynolds, Uncut, November 2001

After scrapped sessions and a delayed release date, Cocker & Co follow up 1998's This Is Hardcore, with Scott Walker at the controls ...

Pulp: Octagon, Sheffield

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 25 November 2001

THERE ARE TWO classic symptoms of nervousness. One is to dry up and fall silent. The other is precisely the opposite: to gabble like Kathy ...

Pulp: In a Class of His Own: Jarvis Cocker

Live Review by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 2 December 2001

Jarvis Cocker could have been trapped in his role of English eccentric, a blend of Morrissey, Ray Davies and Alan Bennett. But he has found ...

Elastica Limits

Profile and Interview by Andrew Smith, Observer Music Monthly, 10 March 2002

As Britpop's queen, she had everything: In Elastica, she had a best-selling group and in Damon Albarn, a boyfriend lusted after by thousands. But then ...

Oasis: Liam Gallagher: Mad for it

Interview by Ted Kessler, The Observer, 16 June 2002

Liam Gallagher has it all: the looks, the voice, the blondes, the tabloid headlines. So why is the new album his last chance of rock ...

Oasis: Heathen Chemistry

Review by Craig McLean, The Observer, 23 June 2002

Noel and Liam — unchained ...

Gene: Maxwell's, New Jersey

Live Review by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 25 September 2002

WHEN I first heard Gene, it was 1995, and I was a senior in high school. ...

Pulp: Pulp: Je Suis Un Rock Star...

Interview by Sean O'Hagan, The Observer, 22 December 2002

IN THE BBC CANTEEN, where passing celebrity chefs must recoil before a menu that has stubbornly resisted the onward march of culinary ponciness, Jarvis Cocker ...

Blur, Oasis, Pulp: Britpop: And The Beat Goes Off

Retrospective by Philip Norman, The Sunday Times, 17 February 2003

Britpop recalled the halcyon days of the Beatles and the Stones – but the party didn't last ...

Blur: This Is A High For A Refreshed Blur

Live Review by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 12 May 2003

Blur: The Astoria, London ...

Blur, Justin Timberlake: Justin Timberlake: NEC Arena, Birmingham; Blur: Astoria, London

Live Review by Simon Price, Independent on Sunday, 17 May 2003

Non-threatening boys: come and get 'em ...

Luke Haines: Goodbye To All That

Interview by Roy Wilkinson, The Word, June 2003

Luke Haines is music's Graham Greene, a scowling misanthrope with a highly-placed following and a withering perspective on his homeland. How has the who who's ...

Beck, Blur: Beck: Main Stage, Reading, Saturday 6.35pm; Blur: Main Stage, Reading, Saturday 9.30pm

Live Review by Paul Moody, New Musical Express, 30 August 2003

Battle of the Old-Timers: Funky robots take on a chaotic Blur ...

Pulp: Hits

Review by Devon Powers, PopMatters, 5 September 2003

PULP HAVE a greatest hits record, and it’s about goddamned time. The enigmatic group, fronted by the inimitable Jarvis Cocker, are by far the oldest ...

Supergrass: Watching the 'Grass grow

Interview by Ian Gittins, The Guardian, 24 April 2004

A decade in the music business hasn't hurt Supergrass. In fact, they're quite happy with their status as Britain's fifth favourite band, finds Ian Gittins. ...

Oasis: It's judgment day in the oasis of trendiness: Oasis at Glasto

Live Review by Caitlin Moran, The Times, 26 June 2004

ONE OF THE best things about Glastonbury is the way that it serves as a giant sun-burnt exit poll on the cultural developments of the ...

Oasis: History boys

Comment by John Harris, The Guardian, 15 May 2005

Oasis's sixth album is out at the end of the month. John Harris wonders whether it can really be the promised return to form ...

Oasis: Don't Believe The Truth

Review by Nick Southall, Stylus, 31 May 2005

IT SEEMS TO BE that the ever-cyclical, ever-fickle music press is at that point in its orbit where Oasis are deemed cool again. People are ...

Oasis: Hampden Park, Glasgow

Live Review by Pete Paphides, The Times, 1 July 2005

THESE DAYS, the Zeitgeist might prefer to be seen on the town with the likes of Coldplay – but for a band shadowed by past ...

Supergrass (2005)

Interview by Gavin Martin, Rock's Backpages audio, August 2005

Combes brothers Gaz and Rob ruminate on their then-current album Road to Rouen, their fraternal relationships, the stresses within the band, and a whole lot more.

File format: mp3; file size: 50.9mb, interview length: 53' 04" sound quality: ****

Blur, Oasis: Britpop: Remember the first time

Retrospective and Interview by John Harris, The Guardian, 12 August 2005

Without Britpop, would we have had hit guitar groups, stadium anthems or rock stars on Newsnight? Ten years on, John Harris looks back on how ...

Supergrass: Road To Rouen

Review by Nick Southall, Stylus, 17 August 2005

GAZ COOMBES HAS HAD AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX ever since 'Alright' was an enormous pop hit ten years ago; he's spent the intervening decade trying to ...

Blur, Oasis: The summer of Britpop

Retrospective by Nick Hasted, The Independent, 19 August 2005

Exactly a decade ago the British pop revival reached its zenith when Blur and Oasis battled it out for the number one spot. Nick Hasted ...

Belle and Sebastian with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra: Hollywood Bowl, California

Live Review by Steven R Rosen, Harp, July 2006

SOMETIMES, WHAT sounds like a good concert idea on paper turns out even better – historic, even – on stage. ...

Oasis: "The plan was always to become the biggest band in the world"

Interview by James Brown, Uncut, November 2006

Next month, Oasis unleash their first greatest hits compilation. In this exclusive interview, Noel and Liam tell the true stories of the songs that shaped ...

Oasis: Noel Gallagher of Oasis

Interview by Jaan Uhelszki, Harp, January 2007

OASIS MAJORDOMO Noel Gallagher is turning back the clock. Not just because he’s staring at the specter of turning 40, but because he and his ...

Damon Albarn, Blur, Suede: Brett Anderson and the real rivalry of Britpop

Retrospective by John Lewis, So London, March 2007

BACK IN the heyday of Britpop, the rivalry that garnered all the column inches was that between Blur and Oasis; the nice middle-class Essex boys ...

Blur's Alex James (2007)

Interview by Maureen Paton, Rock's Backpages audio, 25 April 2007

The Blur bassist/cheesemaker on being rebuffed by Faye Dunaway and writing his autobiography... plus he looks back on Blur, his family and personal life; talks about being a (sort of) farmer; about rubbing shoulders with the West Oxfordshire glitterati; about pals like Damien Hirst and about London's clubland; about his love of P.G. Wodehouse and his great friend Marianne Faithfull... and quitting booze.

File format: mp3; file size: 61.4mb, interview length: 1h 03' 59" sound quality: ***

Blur: Alex James: Where There's Muck, There's Blur

Interview by James Medd, The Word, July 2007

Britpop pin-up, champagne-guzzler and gentleman farmer... Just how much of Alex James's extraordinary life has gone into his new book? ...

Oasis: The Making Of 'Don't Look Back In Anger'

Interview by Rob Hughes, Uncut, August 2007

How Noel Gallagher's 1996 Lennon-loving No. 1 fuelled the brothers' simmering rivalry and became the new yardstick for British stadium rock. ...

Damon Albarn: From Pop to Opera

Profile and Interview by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 2 November 2008

He's indifferent to money and drugs. He hates the celebrity circus. And he famously said no to Tony Blair — but yes to getting drunk ...

Blur Are Back

Report and Interview by Pete Paphides, The Times, 10 December 2008

SIX YEARS AFTER they last played together, 13 since their epic chart duel with Oasis and almost three decades after the band's dominant figures met ...

The Auteurs, Black Box Recorder, Luke Haines: Luke Haines: Bad Vibes – Britpop and My Part in Its Downfall (Heinemann)

Book Review by Robert Sandall, The Sunday Times, 4 January 2009

ROCK HISTORY, like other sorts, tends to get told from the point of view of victors rather than losers. By popular acclaim, the big winners ...

Blur: From the life of Leisure to inside the Think Tank...

Retrospective and Interview by Nick Hasted, Uncut, July 2009

As BLUR prepare for 2009's biggest comeback, Uncut goes behind the scenes of the sessions that produced their classic albums and reveals the conflicts that ...

Blur, Oasis: Look Back In Anger: Britpop

Retrospective by Jude Rogers, New Statesman, 13 August 2009

Fifteen years ago, a teenage Jude Rogers was enchanted by a new pop sound and a new politics, both of which promised to change the ...

The Cribs, Johnny Marr, The Smiths: The Cribs

Interview by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 11 September 2009

In a revealing interview, Johnny Marr and The Cribs discuss what went wrong with indie, why LA destroys creative thought, the curse of the lad, ...

Suede: Suede Brush Up

Interview by Jude Rogers, The Guardian, 21 October 2010

Drugs, M.E. and despair sent the poor urchins of Britpop their separate ways in 2003. Now Suede have come roaring back to life. ...

Suede: Generation of Swine

Retrospective and Interview by Martin Aston, MOJO, June 2011

Four pale, skinny suburban fops, inspired by Bowie and The Smiths, at the start of 1994 SUEDE were British pop saviours, poised for greatness. But ...

Damon Albarn: Dr Dee live, Manchester International Festival

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Quietus, 5 July 2011

Stephen Dalton at the Manchester International Festival finds Damon "the Martin Amis of Britpop" Albarn's musical about the life of Dr John Dee to be ...

Pulp: Hyde Park, London

Live Review by Neil Kulkarni, The Quietus, 6 July 2011

Neil Kulkarni breaks his no-festival rule and braves the corporate overkill of Wireless to see his Pulp. His verdict? They "now stand mighty amidst the ...

Noel Gallagher: High Flying Birds, Musical Kettles And Exploded Psych

Interview by John Doran, The Quietus, 8 October 2011

John Doran is caught napping by Noel Gallagher, who is finally getting to indulge his creative impulses with the High Flying Birds and Amorphous Androgynous! ...

Elbow: Guy Garvey: Elbow ambassador; Joni Mitchell torch-carrier

Interview by Kate Mossman, The Word, January 2012

ANY WOMAN interviewing guy GARVEY will inevitably drift to thoughts of what he would be like to live with. This is because every anecdote that ...

Pulp: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Stephen Dalton, The Times, 1 April 2012

FOR ALL our faults, it says something great about this nation that Jarvis Cocker remains the best-loved survivor of the Britpop boom, a man so ...

Blur: Blur 21 – The Box

Review by Andy Gill, The Independent, 28 July 2012

Blur are marking 21 years, and possibly their final days, by re-releasing almost everything they have ever recorded. Andy Gill discovers a host of unheard ...

Blur: Maida Vale Studios, London

Live Review by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 5 August 2012

AFTER BLUR'S 6 Music gig – the first of two shows they're playing for BBC radio tonight, to begin what they have suggested may be ...

Luke Haines: 'I've Been Lucky All The Way Through'

Interview by Jude Rogers, The Observer, 18 November 2012

Former 'saviour of UK rock' Luke Haines has never followed the unwritten rules of pop, as a surreal concept album proves ...

Suede: Cheating The "Living Death": Suede Interviewed

Interview by Luke Turner, The Quietus, March 2013

They triumphed with their live return, and now they're about to release killer new album Bloodsports. Luke Turner speaks to Brett Anderson and Mat Osman ...

Northern Uproar: All That Was Has Gone

Retrospective by Mick Middles, The Quietus, 30 July 2013

ONE MIGHT HAVE reasonably expected Northern Uproar to hail from some grisly and iconic mill town wedged into a Pennine Valley. Perhaps they would be ...

Suede: The Wild Ones

Retrospective and Interview by Jude Rogers, Q, August 2013

Suede kick-started Britpop 20 years ago, but their arty glam-indie rock was soon overtaken by the more laddish likes of Oasis and Blur. Today, singer ...

Blur, Elastica, Oasis, Pulp, Suede: Modern Life Isn't Rubbish: The Trouble With Britpop Nostalgia

Comment by Luke Turner, The Quietus, 10 April 2014

The mainstream media are currently engaged in a collective misty-eyed throwback to the 'glory days' of the mid 90s. Luke Turner, who was a teenager ...

Blur: Who On Earth Are Blur? An Interview

Interview by Jude Rogers, The Quietus, 27 April 2015

Will the real Blur please step forward, asks Jude Rogers after speaking to them (individually) recently. ...

Peace: Brixton Academy, London SW9

Live Review by Lisa Verrico, The Times, 13 October 2015

ARE PEACE more than a Britpop pastiche? The answer probably depends on your age. ...

Pulp: Different Class

Review by Simon Reynolds, Pitchfork, 3 July 2016

On 1995's Different Class, Pulp and Jarvis Cocker were arty outsiders worming their way into the lives of ordinary folk, and they became pop in its most ...

Oasis' Remastered Masterpiece: What's the Story?

Retrospective by Wayne Robins, Copper, 30 November 2020

THERE IS A Saturday Night Live sketch from 1996 in which then Prime Minister John Major (Mike Myers) partakes in the traditional 15 minutes of ...

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