The Battle Of Britpop was the defining moment of a musical movement in the UK in August of 1995 between the two bands Blur & Oasis. Oasis were seen to be taken as representing the North of England with “Roll With It”, while Blur represented the South with “Country House”. By some it was billed as the greatest pop rivalry since the Beatles and the Rolling Stones during the 1960’s. Professional tribute band Britpop Reunion celebrate this moment in musical history during our festival performances. You too can have this classic Britpop Battle as the theme of your 90’s School, College or University Reunion. Contact band leader Andy Starkey for price and availability of Britpop Reunion for your next live event.
What songs were in The Battle Of Britpop?
‘Country House‘ by Blur and ‘Roll With It‘ by Oasis were released on Monday 14th August 1995 and had 6 days to out sell each other with as many copies as possible before the results were released on Sunday 20th August 1995.
What albums were The Battle Of Britpop songs from?
Each single was part of the promotional push for their respective albums, “The Great Escape” by Blur and “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?” by Oasis. The press jumped on the “Coincidence” of the simultaneous releases and spun it into a competition, with the the general public encouraged to vote for their favourite band by buying the according single. The hype surrounding The Battle Of Britpop fuelled a media frenzy and the public was swept up in the excitement too. The NME celebrated this on their 12th August 1995 front cover stating “Blur Vs Oasis” and there was even an article on BBC News about it too.
To start with there wasn’t going to be a Battle Of Britpop at all as Blur were originally set to release ‘Country House’ a few weeks after ‘Roll With It’ was set for release. Then there are two different tales of what occurred next:
- Apparently the competitive streak of Damon Albarn had gotten the better of him when Liam Gallagher was larging it up to him about how ‘Some Might Say’ had reached number one in the charts. Blur had never had a number one single before so Damon convinced Food Records to move the release of Country House forward to coincide with the same date as Roll With It to get his own back on The Gallagher Brothers.
- Some of Oasis went to The Good Mixer pub in Camden (Where Blur used to hang out and Bonehead from Oasis started to play “Lazy Sunday Afternoon” by The Small Faces on a piano in there. But they changed the lyrics from “Wouldn’t it be nice, to get on with me neighbours” to “Wouldn’t it be nice, to be a f*cking cockney” just to annoy Blur. Again spurring on Damon to push for an earlier release.
How many copies were sold of each single for Blur Vs Oasis?
Country House outsold Roll With It with 274,000 copies verses 216,000 copies, so a 58,000 difference in sales. And so Country House went to number one in the UK charts and Roll With It went to the number two position. It’s worth pointing out that Blur released a 2 CD single version whereas Oasis only released one which may have helped them secure the number one slot. It is often noted that “Blur won the battle, but Oasis won the war” regarding sales of the albums the singles were promoting and then the number of albums released afterwards in forthcoming years.
The “Battle of Britpop” was a turning point for both Oasis and Blur, as well as for the genre as a whole. For Oasis, it marked their continuing breakthrough into the mainstream and the beginning of their reign as one of the biggest bands in the world. For Blur, it marked an extension of the sound from their previous album Parklife and solidified their place as one of the leading lights of the Britpop movement. The Battle of Britpop also helped to bring Britpop and indie guitar pop to the forefront of popular culture with bands like Pulp and Supergrass. With the media giving the genre a level of exposure that it had never received before.
What has happened since the britpop battle?
In the years since The Britpop Battle, both Oasis and Blur have continued to release music and tour, solidifying their place in the annals of music history. The influence of Britpop can still be felt in the music of today, with many current artists citing Oasis and Blur as major influences. The Battle of Britpop remains one of the defining moments in nineties music, a testament to the strength of the music and the cultural impact of the Britpop movement. So much so that band leader Andy Starkey created Britpop tribute band Britpop Reunion in 2015. Contact to hire a britpop band for a live event. It’s hard to believe that 2025 will be the thirtieth anniversary of the battle of britpop.
B-Sides of Country House & Roll With It.
B-Sides for ‘Roll With It’:
- It’s Better People
- Rockin’ Chair
- Live Forever (Live at Glastonbury ’95)
‘Roll With It’ was written by Noel Gallagher.
Country House B-Sides:
- One Born Every Minute
- To the End (la comedie) feat. Françoise Hardy
- Girls & Boys (Live)
- Parklife (Live)
- For Tomorrow (Live)
Country House was written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.
Before and after The Britpop Battle.
The Battle Of Britpop knocked ‘Never Forget’ by Take That off the top of the charts. Then two weeks later Country House was knocked off the number one position (Sliding down to number two) by You Are Not Alone by Michael Jackson.
