By the mid to late 1980s, I was a lost man……this is not a confession of a man who was having a nervous breakdown, but merely one who felt alone and bereft of his first love – music!!
By 1987 and 1988 I had come to the conclusion that I had outgrown rock and pop music, and was destined for a life listening to classical music on Radio 3. Progressively as we moved through the Thatcherite 1980s style deterioated and then virtually died at the 
end of the decade. There was almost a direct correlation between the more affluent and comfortable we became, the less taste we displayed, epitomised by the bling, Porsches and Moet & Chandon champagne indulged in by the Yuppie bankers and traders. This trend also consumed the music scene, where we were subjected to the trashy, lowest common denominator chart music produced by the Stock Aitken and Waterman factory!! At the same time, the clubs did not prove to be a refuge either, as the house and garage movement was taking hold in many urban venues. My first exposure to this was when I wandered into the Camden Palais one Friday night in 1988, expecting to be visited by ghosts from the early days of Steve Strange’s New Romantic movement, only to be confronted by whistle blowing, manic dancers cavorting around to music that appeared to be devoid of guitars and vocals!! Although fascinated, it felt like I had wandered in off Camden High Street, 
into an alien urban jungle world!! Infact the World’s End pub down the road by Camden tube station was a perfect metaphor for what I was experiencing!!
Anyway I was far too busy in 1988 enjoying myself, partying and being a Quasi Yuppie to worry about the fact that I could no longer relate to contemporary music. The following year I spent a year in Australia, enjoying myself, partying and being a Quasi Traveller and Backpacker!! Frankly neither the Yuppie suit jacket nor the Backpacker kagool fitted me particularly well. After five years in London, I returned to my home city of Nottingham to a quieter existence….almost simultaneously my interest in music was re-kindled by a single sound that I heard which totally inspired me……the sound emanated from the group Suede. Immediately I related to their music, and my faith in humanity started to return and to be restored!!
In retrospect, I now understand that at that time in 1992 in my 30th year, I had entered the second phase of adulthood, where you 
stop trying to re-invent the world and start to realise that everything is a re-invention of what’s gone before. And so it was I subconciously related to Suede who were of course heavily influenced by the Glam Rock scene of the early to mid 1970s that I had so loved, and in particular David Bowie and Bryan Ferry’s Roxy Music!! And of course Brett Anderson’s Suede put their own spin on their Glam Rock forebears. Along with Damon Albarn’s Kinks inspired Blur, they started the Britpop crusade, opening the way for Oasis, Pulp and Supergrass in particular. After an eternity ( well a decade!! ) of nondescript, bland and mundane music, how we all made up for lost time and basked in the sunshine of those Brit Pop summers of 1995 and 1996!!
Suede, Blur, Oasis, Pulp and Supergrass of course were not totally original, heavily influenced by the best of the 1960s and 1970s such as the Beatles, Kinks, Small Faces, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Slade. But that didn’t matter, as a hybrid of the cream of those two decades the Britpop 
groups put their own interpretation and slant on things, and more importantly a smile on our faces. But it was Suede that were for me the singular catalyst for Britpop, and for that I will always be eternally grateful to Brett Anderson for bringing me out of the barren wilderness that had been the 1980s music scene!!
And the good news for all Brett Anderson and Suede fans is that he is due to release a new solo album, ‘Black Rainbows’, on 26th September. Brett Anderson, who has recently been playing live again with Suede and will do again this summer, recorded the album in January and will release a single from it, ‘Brittle Heart’, on 15th August.
You can capture, preserve and re-live the memories and music of the Britpop Bands like Suede, Blur, Oasis and Pulp, by ordering your favourite Britpop vinyl record or CD, framed and mounted, as a picture disc. ORDER NOW by clicking on…….. http://www.myfirstrecord.co.uk/
Alternatively this would make a unique present or original gift for a special celebration ie a 30th, 40th or 50th Birthday, a Silver Wedding Anniversary, Father’s or Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day!! THE PERFECT PERSONALISED PRESENT!!
For all other Britpop merchandise and memorabilia, plus the latest news on the Britpop bands, click on……
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