It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a quarter of a century since the infamous Battle of Britpop saw English rivals, Blur and Oasis go head to head in the charts when their respective singles, Country House and Roll With It were released on the very same day.
Despite the Gallagher brothers’ notoriously contentious spirit, it’s fair to say that this particular battle was started by Blur. Oasis had planned to release their single Roll With It in August 1995 but, at the last minute, Blur announced they would be releasing their track Country House on the exact same day. It was a decision that sparked a pop culture phenomenon as the working-class Manchurians - Oasis - and college-educated Southerners - Blur - captured the world’s attention with their brash and brazen crusade for the top spot.
Ultimately, Blur took out the crown in August of 1995 when Country House hit number one on the U.K. singles chart after outselling Roll With It by 50,0000 copies. Blur may have won the battle in this instance but the war was far from over. That didn’t stop the boys from enjoying a well-earned victory lap Top of the Pops performance that aired on Christmas day and was introduced by non-other than Bjork. Enjoy below!
Blur | “Country House” [Top of the Pops, 1995]
Of course, it was never going to be that simple; retrospectively, the Britpop giants were only just getting started. Oasis rebounded from the loss with the global smash, Wonderwall solidified by follow-ups Champagne Supernova and Don’t Look Back in Anger all from the honeypot that was 1995’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?. In 1997, Blur hit back with a self-titled album that came with their own grungey global smash, Song 2.
As the years have passed, the flames have smouldered somewhat. In an interview with Vogue (see here), Liam Gallagher named Blur as his “secret guilty pleasure”; and Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher even performed a duet of Blur’s Tender at a London charity event in 2013.
Recently announced, the band have a new album on the way, Bustin' + Dronin' arriving September 23rd on CD and Vinyl. Pre-Order, here.
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