Supergrass BBC Radio Sessions 1994 - 1995

 

Another favourite of mine from this time were Supergrass. This was on the strength initially of hearing Steve Lamacq playing 'Caught By The Fuzz' on Radio 1 before Blur came on at their gig at Aston Villa Leisure Centre (see forthcoming post). The song was instantly catchy, but unlike some of those instantly accessible songs that I mentioned in an earlier post, I have never tired of 'Caught By The Fuzz'. 

I tried to get a ticket to see them at the next London gig they were playing, if I remember correctly it was supporting Shed Seven, but the gig was sold out so I had to wait a couple of months before they played at the London Astoria (their first headline tour). They were brilliant, playing with a vigour that can only come from youth (and try as they might most of the bands that I was into could not muster such energy!).

Supergrass went on to enjoy a good level of success and have too done the reformation thing. Take a listen to the Wingmen's rendition of 'Pumping On Your Stereo' on the recently uploaded gig from the O2 Islington, a nod of appreciation to touring keys man, Rob Coombes.

Here is a brief collction of early session tracks recorded for the BBC.

FLAC: https://we.tl/t-exBeHi78m1

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-pJLieREyTP

This Is Britpop At The BBC

 

A bit of a departure here for which I make no apologies. I am of an awkward age. Too young for punk in its prime, I saw those bands either late in the day or at the point that their initial animosities had sufficiently abated to allow them one again to share the same stage. In between there was a musical vacuum in the UK. Just horrible.

That changed a bit in 1994/95 with the appearance of a number of young bands that put guitar, drum and bass at the forefront of their material once more. The music press ever keen to pigeonhole a scene labelled these bands Britpop and the rest is history.

For my part there was one band that got my pulse racing and that was Elastica. I loved them, the sheer neck of the band! Listen to most bands and you can recognise their influences. With Elastica, it was possible to take that to the next level... influence per song. But no matter, they were just brilliant. They had it all, the look, the sound and the attitude. 'Martens and leggings' in Owen's words!

In some ways, Britpop was the next 'punk' revolution... like its older '77 cousin, it was intense, much hyped in the press and very short lived. And yet, as was the case with punk, most of the bands involved are viewed 30 years on with great affection.

The eagle eyed amongst you may well spot an honorary Wingman.

DVD Image: https://we.tl/t-AQCc8kTcdh

Artwork: https://we.tl/t-RSl9wsEok5