Oasis or Blur? It’s a very 90’s question…or is it. With Blur having reformed and both Gallagher brothers flogging their individual solo wares, who comes on top nowadays. Well we put it to our crack team of indie heads to solve…
Bart Williams (Indie Writer)
For me, the moment Noel Gallagher stepped on stage to join Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon for a rendition of ‘Tender’ was the moment Blur won the case in the infamous “Battle of Britpop”. Royal Albert Hall was the court, its audience the jury, whilst The Modfather himself Paul Weller played judge; banging his gavel to close the case in the form of an unexpected cameo on the drums.
The past few years have seen the Oasis name tarnished through Liam Gallagher’s exhausting continuation of their legacy in the shape of Beady Eye, with the back and forth of public bickering between the Gallagher brothers only adding water to an already sinking ship.
In stark contrast, Blur have found a new lease of life in recent years, the band reuniting for huge shows around the world; reigniting the great bond between the band and their fans, with Damon and Graham arguably cooler now than ever before; their respective side-projects propelling the pair further up the cult-status ladder.
The fact that Blur are still providing the magic on stage paired with the increasingly likely prospect of the boys releasing new material concludes my argument that there really is only one band worthy of the Britpop crown in 2013.
Martin-john Mcdonnell (Indie/Alt Editor)
Personally I’ve always found it pretty insulting that Blur and Oasis are always brought up as if they were the only two bands worth a mention across the entire decade that “brit-pop” consumed. Let’s discuss some of the artists who have been cast aside in favour of glamming up the inconsequential Blur v Oasis debate.
Firstly we have Pulp. Bearing more style and wit than the Fred Perry/Pretty Green suited clan, Pulp sang of the dark, pervy and seedy. Or to put it simply, they sang of the slimy underbelly of Britain. Underground raves, swinging, class tourism and the drug paranoia of the late 90’s were all covered across the 3 classic albums that Pulp produced across their golden era. Plus frontman Jarvis Cocker is still a cool motherfucker (logistically your mother is likely the right age too, think about it) to boot.
Everyone gawps on like a gurning cokehead at a nightclub about how Blur had their Kinks style lyrics and Oasis had sheer power. Try telling that to Suede and the Auteurs. Suede and The Auteurs between them created the seeds of Britpop and then rebelled when the scene exploded. Take a listen to ‘Animal Nitrate’ or ‘Lenny Valentino’ and you’ll hear lyrical wit and guitar power all rolled into classic tunes and the best part is they changed dramatically with every album while (in the most part) keeping that essence of themselves. Try explaining artistic evolution to Noel Gallagher and he’d put his capo down one fret and call it “sonic expansion man”.
This is before we even get onto the likes of Elastica who channeled the aggression and rawness of The Stranglers and Sleeper, who once you got over the glorious looks of Louise Werner had a cavalcade of pop songs that took sneaky sarcastic swipes at the britpop fraternity. Then you have the likes of Ash, who melded punk and melody to become the ultimate singles band before they finished their teens and The Manic Street Preachers, who while not being Britpop so to speak brought political lyrics over timeless songs, i mean surely getting a song about the Spanish civil war to number 1 is cooler than singing about a very big house in the country?
That’s not to say Blur and Oasis didn’t have their moments, but I’m sorry to say the real winners were the underdogs of Britpop.
Chris Hines (Editor)
Back in the days of the great war I always sided with Blur. There was no doubt that Oasis had some fantastic singles but Blur always attracted my attention with their happier vibe and ‘what seemed like’ a far less arrogant approach; although I have seen some things since that have made me think differently.
Switching to the modern day, both bands have reached legendary status within the UK indie-rock scene so the question of who, after all these years, has won the battle is a tough one. I think no matter what my personal opinion is it’s going to be down to overall success. Therefore I’m going to present my argument with some straight up facts. Here is a quick run-down of some band vs band stats!
Number 1 Studio Albums
Oasis: Released 7 Albums – 7 Number 1’s
Blur: Released 7 Albums – 5 Number 1’s
Winner: Oasis
Number 1 UK Singles
Oasis: 8
Some Might Say, Don’t Look Back In Anger, D’You Know What I Mean?, All Around The World, Go Let It Out, The Hindu Times, Lyla, The Importance Of Being Idle
Blur : 2
Country House, Bettlebum
Winner: Oasis
Total Worldwide Album Sales
Oasis: 468,000,000
Blur: 13,350,000
Winner: Oasis
I could spend hours researching even more stats but I think with these alone it can’t really be argued that Oasis won over-all in terms of success. Even with the addition of Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz side project and Graham Coxon‘s solo efforts, the pure amount of album sales alone for Oasis shows in terms of global success the Gallagher’s have cleared up. Adding in the success of Beady Eye and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and you have quite a legacy.
Wether this overall success has garnered them any more respect than Blur because of this is questionable, as in the end they will always probably be just as well known for their constant bickering and arrogance. I guess success and money can’t buy everything.
Well you’ve seen what our Indie Panel have to say but what do you guys think. Was Oasis’ brilliance just a mirage or were Blur just Bleugh to you? Let us know below!
LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS BELOW
