Last month, I posted a what-if compilation of The Beatles and what could have been their LP release of 1969, with additional singles. They were one of the bands mentioned by multiple artists during the Britpop era as a major influence. They even got back together (sort of) to release two new(six) songs during the mid 90s. So, wouldn’t it be interesting to put together a compilation of artists that were an influence on that period so this is what I put together.
Britpop was a harking back to the great British song book of the 60s, 70s and 80s. It was also a rejection of American grunge music, so many of the songs writers from this period looked to write about Britishness in their lyrics. The 60s influences (especially Blur) ranged from The Kinks (especially when they were banned from the USA and their songs became more British in their lyrical content), The Beatles, and Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd. From the 70s, Noel Gallagher took inspiration from Slade. Art rockers such as Roxy Music were an influence on Suede. Bands from the late 70s such as The Strangers and Wire were such an influence on Elastica that the band lost plagiarism court cases due to the similarity of their songs to those of these earlier bands records. The indie scene of the 80s and very early 90s played a part in creating Britpop. The Madchester Scene where bands such as the Stone Roses and Happy Mondays played a part, incorporating dance beats and jangly guitars into their sound. With all this thrown into the mix, Britpop emerged.
Whilst not all of these songs were the most inspirational in terms of Britpop, with The La’s and the song ‘There She Goes’ being called by Rolling Stone magazine, the foundation of Britpop, I did not want to use songs that were used on other compilations I have put together for this years celebration. If this compilation had actually been released back in the 90s, and I am surprised nothing like this was, then The Beatles and Pink Floyd would have been nowhere near it with those bands and/or record labels would not have released these songs for a compilation such as this. I also feel that compilers back in the day would have picked a Beatles song by John Lennon, but I went with ‘The Inner Light’, a George Harrison number as I needed to have something with an Indian influence to cover Kula Shaker.
Disc 1
- My Generation (Mono) – The Who
- The Last Time – Andrew Oldham Orchestra
- Arnold Layne – Pink Floyd
- The Inner Light – The Beatles
- Autumn Almanac – The Kinks
- Lazy Sunday – Small Faces
- Street Fighting Man (Single Mono Mix) – The Rolling Stones
- Starman (Single Mono Mix) – David Bowie
- Cum On Feel The Noize – Slade
- Do The Strand – Roxy Music
- 20th Century Boy – T.Rex
- No More Heroes – The Stranglers
- Take My I’m Yours – Squeeze
- Radio, Radio – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
- I Am The Fly (Single Version) – Wire
- Groovy Times – The Clash
- Cleopatra – Adam & The Ants
- Harmony In The Head – The Buzzcocks
Disc 2
- The Eton Rifles – The Jam
- Bloody Revolutions – Crass
- Treason – The Teardrop Explodes
- Do Nothing (Single Version) – The Specials (feat. Rico & the Ice Rink String Sounds)
- Senses Working Overtime (Single Edit) – XTC
- Our House (Radio Edit) – Madness
- The Cutter – Echo & The Bunnynmen
- This Charming Man – The Smiths
- 24 Hour Party People – Happy Mondays
- I Wanna Be Adored (Single Version) – Stone Roses
- Brassneck – The Wedding Present
- Def Con One – Pop Will Eat Itself
- Timeless Melody – The La’s
- Dragging Me Down – Inspired Carpets
- L.S.I. – The Shamen
- Cut Your Head – Pavement
Disc 2 could not be reproduced on Spotify due to one or more songs not being available.
The front cover images is adapted from pinterest user, Tim Benson. Virgin Records released several compilations during this era so I used their logo here.