Britpop & National Identity

Note: Although there were hundred of British bans involved in the Britpop era, either successful or otherwise, this study will focus on what Dower calls: “The Holy Trinity of Britpop: Blur, Oasis and Pulp.” (Live Forever: 2003) This is largely due to the fact that they were most successful bands of the genre, and that both Pulp and Oasis, both from working class, Northern backgrounds, epitomised the identity of the genre.
It could be argued that British national identity has long been evident in the music produced in the UK. Whether this manifests itself in the musings of Morrissey and The Smiths on tracks such as “Shoplifters of the World Unite,” or the angry anarchy of The Sex Pistols, musicians in the Britain appear to be able to ‘put their stamp’ on music in a uniquely original way.
Britpop began as a revolution. Borne out of “Crap politics and crap music.” (09/02/03: Gordon) It largely came to Britain as a part of early 1990s grunge music. Nirvana dominated the alternative subculture, and Kurt Cobain was a poster boy for a generation. Bands such as Pearl Jam had also become increasingly popular and Seattle was the capital for alternative guitar based music. At this point British bands such as Suede and Blur were enjoying what could only be termed as “moderate” success, and were touring the US in an attempt to gain recognition. The indifference they faced was enough for them to vocalise their feelings that the British music industry had been saturated by American artists. This outcry was swiftly followed by a front page spread in the now defunct Select magazine, which proclaimed: “America out – Suede, Blur, and the Battle for Britain,” and the furore that was Britpop began
It was undoubtedly down to the media that Britpop quickly became another form of branding for Britain. After an article in the November issue of American magazine Newsweek dubbed the movement the era of “Cool Britannia,” (McLaughlin: 2002) “Britpop” as a national identity became linked with the idea of a New Britain. Gordon argues that it was: “melodic, brash, confident, iconic, and celebratory. And it was defiantly British.” (09/02/03: Gordon) Perhaps the reason this is most evident is the fact that most bands in the genre did not in fact produce what would be labelled as general “pop” music. In their labelling of the genre, the media also harked back to a time when guitar-based bands such as The Beatles had been pronounced as pop, and a similar explosion of young talent (new artists such as Damien Hurst, and fashion designer Stella McCartney became prevalent in the 1990s) appeared on the art and fashion scene.
“Cool Britannia” as an identity was established by the Government. In 1997, New Labour established a landmark victory and promoted themselves as a new start for a Britain that was fast becoming ravaged by unemployment and poverty. New Prime Minister Tony Blair attempted to build on his image by holding a reception at Downing Street for the great and the good on the British art and music scenes and both the Government and the media used the event to highlight the fact that the public should be proud of what was becoming established as a cultural high point for the arts in Britain. (The fact that Noel Gallagher, one of the most well-known faces at the reception has since admitted being so drunk and so high on drugs that he can remember little about it seems to have been ignored by Labour’s public relations teams.) But McLaughlin argues that “Cool Britannia” was nothing but “the re-branding of Britain (2002) and was ultimately unsuccessful because the British public saw through the scheme as a vain attempt at promoting the Government through national identity.
Britpop had a much stronger affect on national identity through the music itself, and the 1995 “battle of the bands” epitomised this. From the council estates of Burnage, Manchester, Oasis came from a working class background of unemployment and no prospects. In fact large amounts of their first album, Definitely Maybe, were written by Noel Gallagher while he worked in menial jobs and unemployment. Songs such as Cigarettes and Alcohol celebrated spending dole cheques, and later Don’t Look Back In Anger would look at the fractured relationship between the Gallagher brothers and their absent father. Gallagher himself says: “For me, a lot of young people had accepted Conservative rule and dole culture – daytime telly, smoking spliffs for a living and going to the odd football match. Britain was dead in the 80s.” (Dower, 2003) Oasis were pitted against Blur, billed as “posh boys,” largely due to a university education and the fact they were from London. Lead singer Damon Albarn added to this image by writing his opinions on working class life in songs such as End of the Century and Parklife, as opposed to writing about actual experience. When Roll with It (Oasis) and Country House (Blur) were released on the same day in 1995, the media quickly took up on the story, and the event was even covered by the News At Ten – something previously unheard of within the music industry.
However, Gordon argues that this media coverage turned the battle of the bands from a musical debate into a class war. It is worth noting that the majority of the main subjects in Britpop came from Merseyside, Essex, Sheffield, Manchester, and Bristol, known for their industrial backgrounds and, after the Thatcher government, high levels of unemployment. He argues that ultimately this is what Britpop became known for – highlighting working class Britain and bringing it to the forefront of national identity. Whereas the accepted standpoint of the 1980s was aspiration: aspiring to have the biggest and the best of everything – Gordon argues that Britpop “struck a blow against the repressive forces of political correctness, class division and petty snobbery. Britain loosened up, and embraced the insouciant swagger and bravado of the Gallaghers.” (09/02/03) In other words image of a different kind became important. “Yuppies” of the past with mobile phones and designer clothes were banished in favour of the baggy sports clothing favoured by Oasis and Blur (as characterised in their stage outfits at their Maine Road events and the Parklife video respectively), and of course, the obligatory Parka jacket that many working class children had been forced to wear to school. Young people began to use this style of dress as a way of portraying their musical choices and in turn, their national identity.
It is also worth noting that the furore surrounding Britpop, Cool Britannia, and ultimately British national identity brought the attention of British music to America, essentially the “Holy Grail” of the music industry. Previously, the most successful British band in America had been The Beatles, and rock and roll bands of the 1960s such The Rolling Stones, bands that Oasis in particular had often cited as a crucial influence. The comparison was made by many, as Dower claims: “Suddenly places that had been marginal, people that had been marginal were producing the most exciting British music since the 60s,” (Live Forever: 2003) and this comparison was inevitably used on both sides of the Atlantic to portray Britpop as the dominant national identity – the essence of Britain as “a place to be,” that had only been apparent in the 1960s.
In conclusion, Britpop accentuated British national identity be making the arts within the UK something to be proud of. It allowed Britain to be seen as cutting edge and at the forefront of the industry, usually something only afforded to America. The furore also developed national identity in the UK to mean much more than aspiring to be wealthy and upper class, essentially something that much of the British public are not. Instead, Britpop allowed the nation to embrace the working class identity, a vital part of the make-up of Britain as a whole, and a more realistic version of the country’s identity. Ultimately though, the era of Britpop was fuelled by competition. And when the competition began to fade away and the drugs became more common, the image of the genre fell apart along with the national identity. Britpop had been a success and its class diversity had been something to be proud of. But as Robert Del Naja (also known as 3D) of Massive Attack, a band at the forefront of the movement argues, “The UK today is not so different from the increasingly urbanised, bland, synthetic place that Albarn, the Gallaghers and Cocker railed against in the 80s.” (Dower: Live Forever: 2003) Gordon supports this claim by suggesting that when Britpop “ended with a clink in 1997, a boy-band groomed Robbie Williams ready to usher in the full blown age of celebrity.” (09/02/03) What came with this celebrity was an era of Big Brother, Heat magazine and the Asbo (which arguably at least one of the Gallaghers’ would have been sporting if Britpop was introduced today.) Although Britpop enhanced a national identity for a short time with elements of pride and hope, the shame of a Government that still could not control the country, a youth that still faced unemployment as call centres were redirected from Britain to India, and a music industry that had fallen back “on the default setting – which is bland pop.” (Louise Wener of Sleeper in Live Forever: 2003) there was no longer anything for a disaffected youth to be proud of. Although Britpop won the battle for national identity for a short time, it will take another genre of music to win the war.