Blur vs Oasis: Looking Back at The Battle of Britpop
cover art by Mikayla Alpert
“He’s a very clever dude, because we’re still sat here, how many years now, still talking about the Blur and Oasis thing.” - Noel Gallagher
The Rise of Britpop
Is it Blur and Oasis, or Oasis and Blur? Britpop was more than only a genre emerging in the 1990s, inspired by the likes of The Beatles and The Kinks. Britpop was a movement, and it increasingly challenged two indie bands to fight for the spot at the top while the whole of Britain watched. North vs. South, working-class vs. posh art-school kids — it’s a classic take on an origin battle story for the British press. Blur had gained huge success with their 1994 album Parklife, the project that cemented them as one of the greatest UK bands at the time — while Oasis fans anticipated their debut album Definitely Maybe. Until the Spring of ‘95, things were going well between the two bands, that is until Oasis scored their first number one hit with “Some Might Say”. As Damon Albarn, lead singer of Blur, told NME: “I went to their celebration party, y’know to say ‘Well done’ and Liam came over and, like he is, he goes, ‘Number fuckin’ one!’, right in my face. So I thought, ‘Ok, we’ll see…’”. The Britpop scene defined a distinctive era in the UK scene as even two decades later, people still have their opinions on who really won the Battle of Britpop. Oasis’ Definitely Maybe upon its release, had been the best selling UK debut album. Their press officer, Johnny Hopkins, intended for them to become an international rock n’ roll group as he wanted to stray away from Britpop as much as possible. Incoming was the 1995 Brit Awards, the event where Blur and Oasis discovered their own common cause: they both wanted to be the biggest bands in the country.
“Country House” (1995) vs. “Roll With It” (1995)
Blur and Oasis both chose which songs they would release as singles. Blur’s “Country House” and Oasis’ “Roll With It” were the chosen weapons to fight this competition for the Top of the Pops. Both singles ultimately do not showcase either of the band’s strengths quite well. Blur’s “Country House” was simple but effective as it sounded like it had the potential to become a number one hit. It is certainly not the best song they have ever produced nor the best song on the album, but it was effective with a catchy melody that they knew the public would love. They embraced their stereotypes of southerners of a posh and pretentious London band with their increased use of art-pop aesthetic in the music video.
Oasis chose to film their music video for “Roll With It” with a live audience to showcase their authenticity to the public. The initial plan of release on Blur’s side was that Oasis would have their number one hit and then Blur would or vice-versa. If Blur were to have released their single a week after Oasis’, they would have landed a number two spot on the charts for weeks leaving Oasis as a number one. If they released their record a week after Oasis, not only would they be competing with Oasis but also with the sales of a new number one hit. Damon Albarn decided that if they released the same week as Oasis, they too would have a chance at a number one. The Battle of Britpop commenced as the two singles were planned to be released on the same day. It was just like The Beatles vs. Stone Roses all over again, and the media was being spoon-fed the battle of the decade.
Blur “Country House” 1995
Oasis “Roll With It”1995
Oasis - Roll With It (Official HD Remastered Video)
The Battle Commences
The media was covered with this infamous rivalry, you couldn’t stray away from it — every news channel and magazine had featured the feud. Record stores were filled with the Britpop records while customers chose their winning record at the checkout almost like bidding their vote at a polling station. The Battle of Britpop was a focal point for this generation in the UK music scene. Blur won the battle with “Country House” outselling Oasis’ “Roll With It” by 60,000 copies. Alex James, bassist of Blur, shares in NME that “it’s not Blur versus Oasis, it’s Blur and Oasis against the world”. James saw this era not as a rivalry, but as a defining moment in the Britpop movement.
Oasis did not stop here as shortly after they produced their best selling record, reaching international success with “Wonderwall” (1995). Not only did this record trump Blur’s album The Great Escape (1995), but also made them capitalize stardom in the United States.
In 1997, America saw the emergence of grunge music with artists such as Nirvana gaining popularity from the Seattle Scene. Blur began to kick back with their release of “Song 2” (1997), grasping a pastiche sound to gain the attention of those American audiences who grew to like the sounds of Nirvana’s grunged-out atmosphere. It had become clear that Blur had won the battle, while Oasis were winning the war.
Top of The Pops 1995
With Blur’s “Country House” landing its spot as number one on the UK charts in 1995, shortly after, they went to perform their top-selling single on Top of The Pops. The band knew that the song wasn’t their best work and it didn’t fully encapsulate who they were as artists. Guitarist, Graham Coxon, was especially unhappy with the way the record played out.
Blur’s record company threw them a grandiose party at SoHo House in London. Coxon said in The Guardian in reference to the celebration, “I felt like I was forced to enjoy the moment...it felt like a hollow, pointless victory”. He felt like “Country House” was a shit record with a basic rhythm line, he knew that they could have done so much more with a “number one hit” record. Feeling these emotions, he tried to jump out of the sixth-storey window however, it was Damon Albarn that talked him out of it. The feud went on even during Blur’s Top of the Pops 1995 performance after their victory of “Country House” as Alex James wore an Oasis t-shirt on stage. The war truly never stops.
After The Win
People claimed that there would never be a band like The Beatles ever again. In the 90s, we saw two bands both reaching an incredible amount of success. Together they made an unofficial movement in music history as the Battle of Britpop overtook the indie music scene in the UK. Through the beginnings of the Britpop era, art for art’s sake still existed — reflected in Blur, Elastica and Pulp’s music. It wasn’t until their 1995 hit, where the battle began to become the biggest band battle in the country. It soon turned into a race that was surrounded by sales and money-marketing. Oasis believed “Roll With It” was a smashing hit and deserved the number one spot while Blur’s “Country House” was justified as a clear winner. Oasis and Blur were both very clever through their careers as we are still sitting here 25 years later, chatting about the infamous duel.
As Noel Gallagher states, “you know what annoys me most about it all? It’s ‘Blur and Oasis’. Why do they get their name first? It’s fucking Oasis and Blur!”