Back in June, I produced a compilation looking at songs released by bands who made an impression on the charts in or just before the Britpop era, I thought it would be interesting to complete a counter compilation which looked at one of the later releases from bands associated with the era. This was inspired by me finding out that Elastic released a single called ‘The Bitch Don’t Work’ which came out in 2001. I thought the band split up after the release of the previous years ‘The Menace’ album so what other tracks were out there that I could pull together for a compilation. Well, this is what I came up with.
To qualify to be included in this compilation, the bands needed to have split up after the Britpop era (which I class as between 1994-1997), so bands that disbanded during that time (e.g. Lush) are not included.
Side A
- Measured In Blood – Strangelove
- Waster – Reef
- Solve That – The Supernaturals
- Lava Flow – Space
- When I See Red – Echobelly
Side B
- Vostok – Geneva
- Falling Down (Radio Edit)
- If I’m A Friend – Gene
- Cobwebs – Cast
Side C
- Why Can’t I Be You – Shed Seven
- Car Crash – Supergrass
- London Crawling – Rialto
- Getting Your Way – Mansun
- Forever In My Dreams – Pulp
Side D
- The Bitch Don’t Work – Elastica
- (We All Need A Little) Lifting – Dodgy
- Sparkle (Acoustic) – Marion
- Apple Core – Catatonia
- Oxygen – Suede
- Kingsize (Radio Edit) – The Boo Radleys
Measured In Blood – Strangelove
Just sneaking into the compilation as this song came out in 1998, ‘Measured In Blood’ was one of the B-Sides to the bands last single, ‘Another Night In’. Strangelove formed in Bristol in 1991, and had been waking waves in the mid 90s, especially when their song ‘Time For The Rest Of Your Life’ , which was Q Magazine’s single of the year. They disbanded in 1998 just as they seemed to be on the point of breaking through (their singles were breaking into the UK Top 40) as front man Patrick Duff felt the band had run its course. As of 2024, they have not reformed.
Waster – Reef
For those who lived through this period and watched Channel 4’s ‘TFI Friday’ will remember Reef as the band who had the lyrics of their song ‘Place Your Hands’ changed from ‘Put Your Hands On’ to ’It’s Your Letters’. Formed in Glastonbury in 1994, the band hit big when their first three albums broke into the UK top ten. ’Waster’ was their last single before they disbanded in 2003. The band reformed in 2010 and continue to perform to this day.
Solve That – The Supernaturals
Formed in Glasgow in 1991, the band are most probably best remembered for the 1997 song, ‘Smile’ The single was not as big a hit as I thought it was, just breaking into the UK top 25. It was used as part of the advertising campaign for Smile bank, the UK first fully digital bank. ‘Solve That’ was a B-Side to their last single, ‘Life Is A Motorway’. The band broke up in 2002 but reformed ten years later and have been together ever since.
Lava Flow – Space
Formed in Liverpool in 1992, Space were quite big in the Britpop era with their two albums of the period breaking into the Top 5 of the UK charts. A falling out with their record label lead them to be dropped with their proposed third album being shelved. ‘Lava Flow’ was the B-Side to their last single before they split up in 2005. However, the band reformed in 2011 and have been together ever since.
When I See Red – Echobelly
Formed in 1992 when singer Sonya Madan and guitarist Glenn Johansson met in a pub, the band hit the hights with their singles ‘Great Things’ and ‘King Of The Kerb’ but the momentum was lost after the band suffered from line up changes, legal and health issues. They took a break in 1997 before returning in 2001. ‘When I See Red’ was a B-Side to the penultimate single, ‘Tell Me Why’ with the group formally disbanding in 2004. Madan and Johansson would reform the band in 2009 and they continue to perform to this day.
Vostok – Geneva
Formed in Aberdeen in 1992, Geneva did not release any records until 1996 with third single, ‘Tranquilliser’ being the most successful by reaching number 24 in the UK charts. ‘Vostok’ was a B-Side of their last single to be released in their initial incarnation. The band split in 2000 but reformed in 2018 and have been together ever since.
Falling Down (Radio Edit) – Oasis
Formed in Manchester in 1991, Oasis burst onto the scene in 1993 with their no nonsense approached to playing, anthemic songs and sibling rivalry. Oasis were massive. All of their studio albums reached number 1 in the UK charts, and they even sold significant numbers in the USA. Their singles also sold significant numbers with only three of them not breaking into the UK top 10. It all came crashing down in 2009 when the bickering between the Gallagher brothers became too much and Noel left the band. This is the radio edit of the final A-Side, ‘Falling Down’. As of 2024, they have not reformed.
If I’m A Friend – Gene
Formed in 1993 out of the ashes of another band called Spin, Gene were classed as a Britpop band but they did draw comparisons between themselves and The Smiths because of lead singer, Martin Rossiter, was said to sound a bit like Morrisey. Their first two albums both broke into the UK top 10, with their singles from this period never went higher than number 14. Momentum was lost between the second and third albums. Their last album was released in 2001 and last single in 2004. ‘If I’m A Friend’ was a B-Side to this last single. The band disbanded in 2004 and as of 2024, they have not reformed.
Cobwebs – Cast
Formed in Liverpool in 1991 by ex-La’s bass player, John Power, Cast’s debut album ‘All Change’ became the highest selling debut album on the Polydor label at that time. A string of memorable singles followed including ‘Alright’, ‘FInetime’ and ‘Walkaway’ and the momentum continued with their second album, ‘Mother Nature Calls’. However, by the time of their last album, ‘Beetroot’, there was an attempt to change the sound and this did not go down with other members of the group and their disbanded in 2001. ‘Cobwebs’ was a B-Side for their last single, ‘Desert Drought’. The band reformed in 2010 and have been together ever since.
Why Can’t I Be You – Shed Seven
Formed in 1990 and hailing form York, Shed Seven were initially signed to Polydor but relations soured after the label decided to release best of in 1999. The band were not happy about this, feeling that it was too early into their careers for the retrospective of this nature but went along with it on the condition that two new songs from the compilation were released as singles. ‘Disco Down’ was duly released but the second was not as the label reissued three year old sing ‘Going For Gold’ instead. The band quit the label and found two more homes before deciding to call it a day in 2003. ‘Why Can’t I be You’ was their last single. The band did reform in 2007 and continue to perform to perform to this day.
Car Crash – Supergrass
Formed in Oxford in 1993, Supergrass became household names after their single ‘Alright’ reached number 2 in the UK single chart. The continued to release records up until 2008 when they split from long time label Parlophone after it had been taken over by a venture capitalist group. Singing for Cooking Vinyl, the band began recording their seventh album tentatively titled ‘Release The Drones’ but they split up before it could be finished. ‘Car Crash’ was the B-Side of their last single, but the band did reform in 2019 to play live but they have been on hiatus again since 2022.
London Crawling – Rialto
A late comer to the Britpop party, Rialto were formed in 1997 in London. Members of the band had previously worked in Kinky Machine, who had released two albums earlier in the decade. Even though they had started to place some singles in the charts, the band were dropped by their label before their debut album was released in most territories. Finding a new label, they failed to build on their initial sales and broke up in 2002. ‘London Crawling’ was their last single, which was a rerecording of the last song released by Kinky Machine.
Getting Your Way – Mansun
Formed in 1995 in Chester, main songwriter Paul Draper had been producing releasing tapes for sale across the north of England and been in a band called Grind before he and Steve King formed Mansun. Debut album, ‘Attack Of The Green Lantern’ was intended to be something very rare in this era, a concept album. However, it did not quite work out that way as Draper ran out of steam. The band split up in 203 after sessions for their forth album dragged on due to health issues and inter band divisions preventing recording from being completed. The final sessions were released as an album called ‘Kleptomania’ with ‘Getting Your Way’ was the opening track on the album as well as the B-Side to the only single released from this sessions. As of 2024, the band have not reformed.
Forever In My Dreams – Pulp
Formed as far back as 1978, Pulp had been recording artists for ten years before they started to dent the charts starting with their single ‘Razzmatazz’ in 1993. By the release of the 1998s, ‘This is Hardcore’, showed a more jaded band with a harsher sound. Wanting to release something more positive, they enlisted Scott Walker to produce but the album failed to meet expectations in terms of sales. Pulp disbanded in 2002. ‘Forever In My Dreams’ was a B-side to their final single of this era. The band have reformed a couple of times since, even releasing a one off single in 2013 called ‘After You’. They are still performing as of 2024.
The Bitch Don’t Work – Elastica
Elastica was formed in 1991 in London by Justine Frischmann and Justin Welch, whop had both been early members of Suede. Being signed to Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq’s record label gave them exposure, as well as Frichmann’s relationship with Blur front man, Damon Albarn. Their debut album was the fastest selling debut since Oasis’s a couple of years earlier, but they were dogged by accusations of plagiarism regarding a number of their songs. The band spent five years trying to record a follow up and by the time ‘The Menace’ was released, the bands time had passed. After failing to write enough material for a third album, the band released one final single, ‘The Bitch Don’t Work’ in 2001. As of 2024, the band have not reformed.
(We All Need A Little) Lifting – Dodgy
Formed in Hounslow in 1990, they released their first single on their own label in 1991 but it was once they had signed with A&M that they started to break into the charts. Classic era singles ‘Staying Out For The Summer’ and ‘Good Enough’ followed but a line up change and leaving their label lead to the band releasing their ‘Real Estate’ album on their own imprint once more. ‘(We All Need A Little) Lifting’ was their final single in this incarnation but the band reformed in 2007 and have been performing ever since.
Sparkle (Acoustic) – Marion
Formed in 1993 in Macclesfield, the stated off being lumped with the already old hat ‘Madchester’ scene and then thought of as a northern Suede, which the band felt did not help them. Their debut album, ‘This World & Body’ from 1996 reached number 10 in the UK charts, but the 18 month tour that followed it broke the band with front man Jamie Harding descending into heroin addiction. The band split up in 1999 with the acoustic version of their song ‘Sparkle’ one of the B-Sides on their last single. The band have reformed a disbanded a number of times since, and released some new music in 2016. As of 2024, they are still performing together.
Apple Core (Full Length Version) – Catatonia
Formed in 1992 in Cardiff, Catatonia were lumped in with the Cool Cymru movement. Formed by Cerys Matthews and Mark Roberts, the band received some media attention after they released their debut EP, ‘For Tinkerbell’. Sales and media attention steadily increased until they released ‘their ‘Mulder & Scully’ single, which reached number 3 in the UK chart. The band continued to release albums almost yearly but this took a toll on Matthews who went into rehab in 2001. The band split and the full length version of album track ‘Apple Core’ was the B-side to their last single. As of 2024, the band have not reformed.
Oxygen – Suede
Formed in 1989 in London, Suede were one of the original Britpop bands even though the band would not thank me for saying it. Their debut self titled album was the fastest selling debut album single ‘Welcome To The Pleasuredome’ by Frank Goes To Hollywood ten years earlier. Original guitar player, Bernard Butler left during the tense sessions of the second album but the band came back with a-vengeance with their third album. However, the momentum was lost with Anderson deadening into drug addiction. 2002’s ‘A New Morning’ album took two years to record and £1 million to make but sale were poor. The band decided to split in 2003 with the release of their singles compilation. On there was one new song, ‘Attitude’ with with ‘Oxygen’ being one of the B-Sides. The band reformed in 2010 and have been performing and releasing new music ever since.
Kingsize (Radio Edit) – The Boo Radleys
Formed in 1988 in Wallasey, The Boo Radleys made records that have been categorised as noise pop, dream pop and shoe gaze before ‘Wake Up Boo!’ came out in 1995. This slice of pop perfection was their biggest hit but it lead to main songwriter Martin Carr not wanting to repeat himself so they proceeded the ‘C’mon Kids’ album. It was a commercial disappointment and this continued with 1998s ‘Kingsize’. The band split up after the release of this album, with ‘Kingsize’ meant to be they last single A-Side. The release was cancelled but the band did return and put out new music in 2022, without Martin Carr.
Even though tapes were on the way out by the time the last of the songs on this compilation was released, it just seemed to be the perfect image for this cover.
Unlike the ‘Early Alternatives’ compilation from June (https://www.thesquirepresents.co.uk/various-artists-early-alternatives/), this would fit nicely onto a CD but being me but I have compiled this as though it were a vinyl release.