Introducing Britpop (Henry Soerens)

Music is key to the exploration of British culture. In America, we are familiar with British music, even if we don’t always realize it. From the British Invasion to football anthems, British pop music is constructed from catchy melodies, upbeat tempos, and thoughtful lyrics. These elements are connected using a simple formula.

This formula for a British pop song was made wildly popular by the Beatles. The Beatles used a simple format that usually consisted of two verses, a bridge, and a repeated chorus in-between the verses and bridge. It is helpful to think of this formula as a house. You need a foundation, frame, paint, furnishing, and roof. This verse-bridge-chorus structure serves as the foundation. Add in a driving bass line to create a frame for the song. Next, colorful, bright guitars are included to make the song pop. Other instruments can be used as well; the Beatles themselves used horn instruments, pianos, and later in their discography, sitars. These instruments all together serve as the paint on the frame. Lastly, vocals are layered on top to complete the formula, the way a roof is layered on top of a home. The vocals are catchy, repeatable, memorable, and most importantly, fun. While the Beatles did not invent this formula, they harnessed it as no other musical entity had before.

The Beatles took the music scene by storm in the 1960s, becoming hugely popular in their home country and then stretching out across the globe--hence the term “British Invasion.” In the ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s, other bands hailing from Britain incorporated the pop formula described, bands like The Rolling Stones, The Clash, The Cure, The Kinks, Pink Floyd, Joy Division, The Who, Oasis, Blur, The Police, and Def Leppard. So much of our mainstream music in the U.S. finds its roots in Britain. Taking one look at this list will remind one just how legendary this music has become. Modern musical artists with their roots in Britain are still ever popular, with artists like Elton John, Adele, and Ed Sheeran standing out as icons in the music industry.

It is one thing to speak of popular musical artists from Britain and their influence, but it is another thing to speak of music that is representative of Britain. There is music from Britain, and then there is “British music.” What is British Music? For many, the Britpop movement serves as a niche example of alternative indie-rock music done with a sparkling British flair.

Britpop music branched out in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the motto, “kill grunge.” Britpop was punky, catchy, bright, and upbeat. The Stone Roses led the movement out of Manchester, pronouncing themselves big, brilliant, and unstoppable. They sang of love and the “everyday romance” of life. The Grunge music movement blasted into the airwaves in the early ’90s, with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the way. British bands like Oasis and Blur wanted their music to contrast directly with the grunge style. Oasis and Blur followed the trail that the Stone Roses had blazed, becoming two of the biggest bands of all time. Oasis front man Noel Gallagher spoke of the contrast between Britpop and grunge, describing the difference in outlook and perception in the style of each movement. “I remember Nirvana had a tune called ‘I Hate Myself and I Want to Die’, and I was like, ‘Well, I’m not having that...I wanna live forever.’” Blur front man Damon Albarn had this to say about Britpop’s dissimilarities to grunge: “If punk was about getting rid of hippies, then I’m getting rid of grunge!”

Britpop represented the desires of the working class. This was a desire for a simple life, a life striving for happiness in the everyday. An outlook of boldness, brightness, and brilliance in simplicity characterizes British music. Paul McCartney’s legendary lyrics to the songs that he wrote both for the Beatles and for his solo works weren’t groundbreaking existential commentaries on the human condition. They were happy, simple love songs. They were sweet and catchy while serving a purpose; speaking to people in his life. Paul once described the process of writing his songs as a form of communication: “Our original songs were all very personal and they all had a personal pronoun in them; ‘Love Me Do’, ‘P.S. I Love You’, ‘From Me To You’, ‘She Loves You’. We were directly trying to communicate with the people who liked us.” Even in the later work of the Beatles where the lyrics became seemingly more complex in meaning and structure, the same simplicity in attitude and song structure is still prevalent.

All in all, British music has become deeply woven into mainstream culture both in Britain itself and in America. However, to get a truer experience of British music, one must dig a bit deeper. While I am no expert myself, I have listed below a few songs and artists that helped me in my exploration of British musical culture. Have a listen, and say hello to the sunshine of a good British tune!

In the style of Britpop:

Live Forever by Oasis

Waterfall by The Stone Roses

She Bangs the Drums by The Stone Roses

On Your Own by Blur

There She Goes by The La’s

Christina by Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci

Hello Sunshine by Super Furry Animals

This is the One by The Stone Roses

A couple of fun anthems:

Year 3000 by Busted

Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis

Five Colors in Her Hair by McFly

Some good artists are listed above in the third paragraph. Otherwise, a simple Google search will bring you a long way. Some keywords and phrases to search are “Britpop,” “British invasion,” and “popular British musical artists.”