Which song took Britpop mainstream?
So when did Britpop go mainstream?
Journalist, and DJ Stuart Maconie used the term Britpop in 1993, but it was not until 1994 that Britpop started to be used by the UK media about contemporary music and events.
Two magazine covers featuring a Union Jack flag background have also been described as key moments in the Britpop era, the first from Select magazine in April 93 features Suede's singer Brett Anderson. The second, from May 94's Face magazine features Damon Albarn. The image, coupled with the "Brit up your ears" tagline, positioned Blur as central to a new, confident British pop scene.
In terms of music, when the Parklife album was released, its first single, Boys & Girls was played on the radio on an almost hourly basis.
This album like its predecessor modern life is rubbish, had something quintessentially British about it, not seen since the Clash, the Jam, or maybe even the Kinks "Village Green Preservation Society" album.
For me, the release of boys and girls was the moment the normal people realised that something interesting was happening in the British music world.
Oasis' "Live Forever" is another song often also cited as the other track that truly established the movement's presence in mainstream culture. The song that caused an argument between Noel Gallagher and Bonehead when Noel first played it for him, as Bonehead couldn't believe that Noel had written such a great song. Now while I think it was the Blur song that took the Britpop movement mainstream, it is Live Forever that now defines that moment to so many people, as demonstrated from this year's reunion concerts.
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