Manliest/Least Manly bands/singers/bandmembers in Britpop?

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Inspired by the current Definitely Maybe vs. Parklife vs. Dog Man Star vs. Different Class thread.

Who's the manliest man in Britpop? Least manly? Note that this is not meant to be offensive in any way; there is nothing wrong with (not) being manly.

I'll vote Stone Roses for most manly. Least manly will take consideration.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Sunday, 1 May 2005 20:55 (twenty years ago)

i vote coxon for least manly

― Slumpman (Slump Man), Sunday, 1 May 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

Dickon Edwards of Orlando for Least Manly.

Most Manly- All of Kenickie!

― bbc6 personality (bbc6 personality), Sunday, 1 May 2005 21:13 (twenty years ago)

Most manly? Those gents in Northern Uproar seemed "manly" in the "we're hard, we are" sort've way. Not a lot of estrogen between them.

Least manly, I thought the early pics of Bernard Butler were strikingly girly.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:00 (twenty years ago)

Witness...Northern Uproar with Girls!

http://www.n-uproar.u-net.com/images/bandjapan_1.gif

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

Meanwhile, check out Bernard...far left.

http://www15.ocn.ne.jp/~akra/suede-band01.jpg

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

whoops, his left, I mean (your right).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:04 (twenty years ago)

oh he looks so unfortunately unattractive.

― Jessie the Monster (scarymonsterrr), Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:47 (twenty years ago)

Northern uproar.

― Kris England, Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:48 (twenty years ago)

Oops. Missed the picture.

The blokes in Powder looked a lot like Suzi Quatro's backing band (which is very manly indeed).

Least manly...um, another vote for Graham Coxon.

― Kris England, Sunday, 1 May 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

most manly- Britpopcop aka the drummer in Menswear. (Matt, was it? He works for a management agency like Coalition or Sanctuary these days, where manliness is an essential job requirement)
Ian Brown- for his musky odour.
Nick Banks- for being distantly related to Gordon.
The bloke from Orlando (or was it the other made up romo band whose name everyone's forgotten) had feet longer than Sideshow Bob's. Is that un-manly or not?

― snotty moore, Sunday, 1 May 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

sasquatch-y.

― latebloomer: But when the monkey die, people gonna cry. (latebloomer), Monday, 2 May 2005 05:23 (twenty years ago)

Brett Anderson least manly of course.

As for most manly, people with less education often tend to have too much testosterone flowing in their brain for their own good, and I guess that goes for Liam Gallagher as well.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 09:21 (twenty years ago)

But the Placebo guy is even less manly than the Suede guy, isn't he?

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 13:33 (twenty years ago)

Brian Molko could probably claw your eyes out though.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:36 (twenty years ago)

When did that become manly?

― Eppy (Eppy), Monday, 2 May 2005 13:39 (twenty years ago)

When did Placebo become Britpop?

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 16:18 (twenty years ago)

Why, for that matter, are Suede considered BritPop? In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the first thing I ever read about Suede (probably in Melody Maker) referred to them as "post-Shoegazer". They were the original rivals of Blur (prior to Oasis), largely based around the alleigance of Justine Frischman. But, beyond that, Suede seem to have precious little in common with the other celebrated BritPop bands.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 16:44 (twenty years ago)

How are Placebo and Suede *not* Brit-pop? They were song-oriented mid/late '90s alt-rockish guitar bands from the UK; what else does it take? (I think we had this discussion before, actually. And I don't think anybody ever really answered the question.) (And not to disagree with Alex, but Suede never sounded very shoegazey to me.)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 16:55 (twenty years ago)

(Or to put it another way, to Alex and elwisty, what are the traits that Brit pop bands *are* supposed to have in common, that Suede and/or Placebo don't have?)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

"As for most manly, people with less education often tend to have too much testosterone flowing in their brain for their own good"

Ah, Geir, you misguided git. Never hung out with a bunch of drunk grad students, have you?

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

And not to disagree with Alex, but Suede never sounded very shoegazey to me.

I didn't think they did either. Calling them "post-Shoegazer" just seemed like lazy journalism to the Nth degree.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:07 (twenty years ago)

When I think "BritPop" -- and I very well may be mistaken -- I think of the more slackjawed outfits like Oasis and Northern Uproar,...bands who seemingly prided themselves on laddishness, Beatle appreciation and lager-consumption....things I normally wouldn't associate with Suede and/or Placebo.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

Suede - had a sound that deliberately pilfered from the history of British rock (Smiths + Bowie?). Along with Denim, St Etienne and The Auteurs were the trumpeted by the UK music press as a British riposte to grunge. Suede were oppositional not just to Grunge but also the more parochial likes of shoegazing, baggy and whatever Kingmaker were.

Britpop though a rather nebulous term I would feel encompasses a certain type of British band, one whose oeuvre is defined by a lyrical (perhaps there is more going on musically but I wouldn’t like to say) interest in definably British subjects. From The Kinks Are The Village Green Preservation Society through The Drowners ep to The Kaiser Chiefs there is a line, sort of.

Placebo on the other hand have an American lead singer, their music strays towards a post grunge glam thing and their lyrics seem however oddly to touch on rather more universal themes… Teenage Angst, Nancy Boy’s…

Ask John Harris he's the man in the know when it comes to all this.

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:09 (twenty years ago)

suede may have not been originally considered brit-pop but, i assure you that "coming up" sells into that market full-on... it gives me the dry heaves when i listen to the downward spiral from s/t to coming up. fucking tragic.

as far as the manliest in brit-pop... IAN BROWN, and a bit of a sex god too. :)

least manliest... bernard butler.

oh and...

Calling them "post-Shoegazer" just seemed like lazy journalism to the Nth degree.

I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY... NME are the gods of lazy journos.

― benoit, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:10 (twenty years ago)

alex, brit-pop to me was all that staggering posturing that took place during the real overdose of it (the scene)... such as menswear and the lot. take one part of my favorite band from the past, add very little to it and a lot of posturing and eyeline and ta-da! i am sure that most if the people who remain from that era probably wince at that term because they were mostly better than all that scene.

― benoit, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:15 (twenty years ago)

As it wasn't a "genre" (or sub-genre) i particularly followed/cared about, I can't see how people could lump bands like Suede and Pulp (fey, arty, lightweight, airy, wry, slinky) with bands like Oasis and Cast (lumpen, funkless, testosterone-heavy).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:19 (twenty years ago)

But, being that all bands concerned were (a) British and (b) played pop music, I suppose it suffices for a catch-all term.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:20 (twenty years ago)

There were three distinct strands of Britpop really, weren't there? The Select magazine "Who Do you Think You Are Kidding Mr Cobain?" issue in '93, with Suede, Pulp, The Auteurs, Denim etc.

Then imperial phase Britpop circa 1994/95, Parklife, Definitely Maybe, Elastica, Supergrass, Menswear etc, reaching a crescendo with the Blur/Oasis spat.

Then the dominance of Oasis in 1996/97 and the Noelrock/Dadrock bands that Alex seems to be describing: Northern Uproar, Cast, Ocean Colour Scene (Plus Kula Shakur who weren't that laddish but had the 60s appreciation down pat).

Placebo are kind of Britpop I think, but not quite due to (a) Brian Molko's voice and (b) being primarily influenced by the Pixies rather than the Kinks. (xposts probably)

― Richard C (avoid80), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

i know that oasis and to a lesser extent Cast were lumped in with that scene but, i never thought that they necessarily were. I considered Brit-pop to be the fey, arty, blah, blah, blah, stuff. I think after a while any band that came out in the 90's from the Uk that carried a guitar and a love for the heroes were lumped into that term whether it fit or not. The Charlatans in particular are put into that genre now and they were originally considered the "Baggy" set...

"But, being that all bands concerned were (a) British and (b) played pop music, I suppose it suffices for a catch-all term."

just saw this post and well... yes. at least as far as cataloguing a history of bands.

― benoit, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:25 (twenty years ago)

richard, ahhh, you summed it up the best! i can only type so fast and sometimes the tale comes a little late to my fingers.

― benoit, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

Britpop changed in 1995 - 1996. The early bands were arty and clever then Oasis cam along and everything changed. In a few years it went from the quirky indie as hell likes of Denim to the stadium filling Oasis monster. Radiohead crept up on the inside lane. The two things mated and gave birth to COLDPLAY.

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)

Oasis sounded way more fey than they pretended to(but you gotta find one of those threads from last week where British people strangely keep calling them a "loud guitar band" to learn more.)

>When I think "BritPop" -- and I very well may be mistaken -- I think of the more slackjawed outfits like Oasis and Northern Uproar,...bands who seemingly prided themselves on laddishness, Beatle appreciation and lager-consumption..<

Wait, so were Blur not a Brit-pop band either? Though I guess if the distinguishing trait is singing about village greens they were. Either way, I think it's kinda weird to base the genre on the lyrics (as elwisty seems to) or, well, the haircuts or images (as Alex seems to) rather than how the bands sounded (in which case all of these groups easily belong together - even Placebo, who I like a lot, but who are sure as hell a British band in sound and sensibility even if their singer came from the U.S.) But then, I always think that about genres (just ask a heavy metal fan sometime.) Personally, I basically think of "Brit-pop" as "post-Smiths," which = all of these guys.

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:29 (twenty years ago)

the haircuts or images (as Alex seems to) rather than how the bands sounded

I don't think Suede and Oasis sound anything alike.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:31 (twenty years ago)

Nor do Denim sound anything like Cast.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)

Nor do Elastica sound anything like Northern Uproar.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:32 (twenty years ago)

Not so much the lyrics as the sensibility because the sounds of many of these bands is rather disparate but if you go down the Post Smiths road you end up with lots of American bands that could fit the bill. I.e. someone like My Favorite or Postal Service or whoever very Post Smiths but not Brit pop in sensibility. From an American perspective how do Bush or Radiohead fit into all this. Radiohead are very post Smiths but Britpop?

x post

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:38 (twenty years ago)

I'd call the first couple Radiohead albums Brit-pop, easy; once they turned more soundscape and less song-oriented, I can see why somebody might say they moved beyond the genre. And I'd say Oasis and Suede were both jangly guitar bands drawing inspiration from '70s glam-rock and, again, the Smiths; they don't seem far apart at all to me (though I vastly prefer Suede.) Bush seem too heavy to me; they were a grunge wannabe band, like Silverchair or Seven Mary Three or Collective Soul or whoever; I don't think any of the bands I hear as Brit-pop (including the ones you curiously and probably accurately say the goofball Brit press likened to grunge above) were remotely LOUD rock; Bush were, though. (Well, okay, Placebo rocked harder than Bush, and maybe Suede did, too, so maybe it's their swishiness that makes them Brit-pop, hmmm... but still, even if they rocked harder, they didn't rock as LOUD; they didn't sound as macho. And grunge was more about being loud than hard.) And Postal Service and My Favorite just sound like indie rock bands with synths (assuming they both have synths); if anything, I hear more '80s British synth pop in them than '80s/'90s Brit guitar pop. Plus, they're not from the UK, right? Though I'm sure it's very possible Brit pop was an influence on them.

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 17:47 (twenty years ago)

Wait, so were Blur not a Brit-pop band either? Though I guess if the distinguishing trait is singing about village greens they were.

IMO, Blur only really fit the BritpopTM thing sonically on Parklife and Great Escape, and possibly Modern Life; Leisure is practically baggy, and everything post s/t obviously doesn't count. It's not just the lyrics; Beatles/Kinks were revered as tunesmiths, with lovely voice leading etc (hence why my intro music theory class analyzed McCartney songs as well as Bach), and Damon's songwriting is very much in that mold, even on a song like "Parklife" where the verse is blindingly simple, but he slips in a chorus that is pretty subtle.

― Dave M. (rotten03), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:49 (twenty years ago)

also there's the skiffle influence rediscovered; lots of loping rhythms eg. "Parklife" again, "Country House" etc

― Dave M. (rotten03), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:52 (twenty years ago)

I see what you mean but I am just wondering if Americans use Britpop as a term for any British indie rock, where as in Britain it has a far more specific meaning, i.e the good ole NME are now talking up the new wave of Britpop with The Kaiser Chiefs at the helm who are a rather shonky bunch of Blur loving lads.

x post

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:54 (twenty years ago)

http://hem.passagen.se/bryony/blur7.jpg

Britpop circa 1994

http://www.leftlion.co.uk/images/content/articles/smallimages/Kaisers.jpg

Nu Britpop circa 2005

Not sure who's manliest though...

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 17:58 (twenty years ago)

Lemmy!

― obey the mole, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:00 (twenty years ago)

xhucxk might not be the ideal representative of how Americans see Britpop, or genres in general...

(god, i also forgot to mention the influence of music hall stuff, Gilbert & Sullivan, that cheekiness in the song structures themselves as well as the attitude, etc etc. it's been a while since i thought about Blur at all.)

― Dave M. (rotten03), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:01 (twenty years ago)

How Brits hear Oasis and Blur (and Slade?) differently than Americans

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:02 (twenty years ago)

Outside of these very compelling arguments concerning the proper definition of Britpop, and directly considering the thread heading, I almost agree with the seeming unanimity of opinion that Brett Anderson holds the "least manly" title - but I really think that the singer from Menswear might have him beat.

― Steve Gertz (sgertz), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:05 (twenty years ago)

>I am just wondering if Americans use Britpop as a term for any British indie rock<

Maybe or maybe not, but either way, no Americans in their right mind would call Oasis (etc) "indie rock," I don't think. (Well, Americans who used to subscribe to Melody Maker and NME might, I dunno.)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

What with the talk of Placebo could there be an American Britpop band? Or would that be some kind of paradox? Perhaps someone somewhere could make a case for Pavement or Guided By Voices or maybe The Killers being Britpop? All take pains to replicate Birtish sounds though not so much the music hall thing though Outkast have sort of done that and well thats not a path I think best gone down...

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:12 (twenty years ago)

Britpop changed in 1995 - 1996. The early bands were arty and clever then Oasis cam along and everything changed

Radiohead were also kind of considered part of the Britpop movement around "The Bends" though, and they went on to make possibly the most sophisticated of all the albums of the genre (although "OK Computer" is rarely counted as a Britpop album, it certainly influenced things to come)

Also, if there is one thing that Coldplay, Travis and Keane is not influenced by, then it is Noelrock/Dadrock. Oasis first and foremost brought more rock'n'roll into Britpop, and that way they influenced rather noisy and rock-oriented acts such as Northern Uproar, Shed Seven, Longpigs, Embrace, and, last but certainly not least, Stereophonics.

Travis may have started out as an Oasis-influenced dadrock-band on their debut album, but from their second album onwards, they went in rather the opposite direction, maybe not towards experimentation and sophistication, but certainly not towards noisy rock'n'roll either. Their ballad oriented approach was more a matter of Britpop's audience growing up and growing tired of noisy rock'n'roll.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:28 (twenty years ago)

I thought dad-rock was Bob Seger and John Cougar Mellencamp (and Noel-rock was Phil Spector's Christmas album)!

What about Elcka? Or Mansun? Were they Brit-pop? (They were good!)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:33 (twenty years ago)

I see Placebo and Mansun (and Catatonia and Belle and Sebastian for that matter, but that's just confusing the issue) as being part of a reaction to Britpop, the sexlessness and heterocentricity of it. But that means that they had to be reacting to the Noelrock era, rather than the earlier, more Bowie-friendly incarnation.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:39 (twenty years ago)

Mansun I would say was Britpop of sorts, but also sort of the start of the nu prog movement. Personally, I saw them as a really promising band that sadly never quite managed to fulfill their potential artistically.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:40 (twenty years ago)

nu prog????? never heard of that, either! never knew there was such a thing in england. you mean like how the placebo guy sang like geddy lee?

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

Brit dad rock is all the progeny who worship at Paul Wellers throne or who have a few Small Faces singles tucked away somewhere.

if anything, I hear more '80s British synth pop in them than '80s/'90s Brit guitar pop Britpop phase one (Denim, Pulp, St Et) is all the stuff which could trace it's musical DNA to the Pet Shop Boys. In fact I think that was one of the influences Brett Anderson quoted when he placed the original ad in Melody Maker when looking to form Suede.

As for village greens, apart from the Kinks has any Britpop act sung about them? I went by my village geen today and it was lovely, but nothing I'd particularly want to hear a song about.

― Billy Dods (Billy Dods), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:47 (twenty years ago)

If anyone's "Nu Prog," I'd sooner cite the Cardiacs, Levitation and Muse than any of the Britpoppers.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:48 (twenty years ago)

Catatonia and Embrace were - if anything - the point where Britpop went down the loo because it becamse blatantly obvious that these were horrible, horrible bands that became big simply by being in the right place at the right time. This, in turn, influenced the popularity of even blander bands... no personality/ nothing to say/ appeals to your grandma/ good for folks that don't buy many CDs but like the odd stadium concert... Travis and especially Coldplay being the leaders of that. But it all comes from the shit side of Britpop - Oasis started it and Ocean Colour Scene and Cast had a hand.

As far removed from Pulp and Suede as you can get. How Coldplay happened I DO NOT FUCKING KNOW. Will Pete Doherty please run Chris Martin over with a truck or something?

― Czam, Monday, 2 May 2005 18:50 (twenty years ago)

nu prog????? never heard of that, either!

Most of the acts are more than just that. Some may be partly Britpop, some may be partly EMO. Mainly just a matter of prog elements being brought into indie music for the first time since prog was kind of indie in the early 70s. (At least unless you count electronica, which has always had a lot of prog elements in it)

Examples, from a wide range of different acts, of this you will find in the music of Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Mansun, The Mars Volta, Radiohead, Muse, Spiritualized, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead etc.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 18:58 (twenty years ago)

Filter house is the new nu-prog.

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:06 (twenty years ago)

I thought Ultrasound was the nu prog. Anyay is there anything that hasn't been Nu'd yet? I'm sure NME was talking Nu-gaze last year...

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

>Mainly just a matter of prog elements being brought into indie music for the first time since prog was kind of indie in the early 70s<

Ha ha, actually I wrote about Bad Religion introucing prog into indie rock on their only great album, *Into the Unknown,* way back in 1983! And then I spent the rest of the '80s talking about Die Kreuzen and the Proletariat and DC3 (hell, half the SST roster) doing it. But as usual, if English people want to believe they had some brilliant idea that nobody had before, they are welcome to! We are used to it!)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 19:13 (twenty years ago)

TS: Ultrasound vs Unbelievable Truth

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:18 (twenty years ago)

(actually, though, bands like the styrenes and pere ubu etc. probably introduced prog rock to indie rock several years before that, even.)

― xhuxk, Monday, 2 May 2005 19:19 (twenty years ago)

would it be accurate to consider the split in schools of britpop (Suede/Blur/PulP Vs. Oasis/Northern Uproar/Sterophonics) to be somewhat similar to the split in the Morrissey/Marr partnership? i mean, if britpop=post-smiths...?

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 2 May 2005 19:27 (twenty years ago)

Postpunk was considered kind of proggy, but it wasn't. It may have been more "arty" than punk, but the songs were still fast and short, and never had much of a "symphonic" build up. And if they were more experimental than that, it was always the "avant garde" that influenced them, never classical music.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:32 (twenty years ago)

TS; Unbelievable Truth vs Unquestionable Truth Volume # 1

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 19:44 (twenty years ago)

I am intrigued by the Britpop divide = Smiths divide. But in many ways Britpop served to kill off, in Britain at least, the commercial fortunes of the old indie guard Morrissey included. Though it's impact is biggest if you look at the Brit Awards pre 1995 then post 1995

Year: 1993
Best British Male Solo Artist Mick Hucknall
Best British Female Solo Artist Annie Lennox
Best British Group Simply Red
Best British Album Annie Lennox - "Diva"

Year: 1995
Best British Male Solo Artist Paul Weller
Best British Female Solo Artist Eddie Reader
Best British Group Blur
Best British Album Blur - "Parklife"

http://www.everyhit.co.uk/awardbrit.html

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:51 (twenty years ago)

But in many ways Britpop served to kill off, in Britain at least, the commercial fortunes of the old indie guard Morrissey included.

The old indie guard sold records kind of because of what they weren't rather than because of what they were. Morrissey and people like him may have been past their artistic prime by the early 90s, but because at least they were not hip-hop or dance, a number of people kept on buying their records because they were sort of the only tolerable thing they could find.

Britpop changed all that, as suddenly a new generation, with fresh songwriting ideas and still in their artistic prime, took over the scene.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 20:59 (twenty years ago)

I thought the important thing about Britpop was that they had traditional songwriting ideas, not original ones?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:01 (twenty years ago)

A good song is not written before. The genre may exist, but the song is new and fresh.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:02 (twenty years ago)

Fr-fr-fresh?

― Dom Passantino (Dom Passantino), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:03 (twenty years ago)

Pre Britpop Hip Hop and Dance completely dominated the musical mainstream;

Year: 1993
Best British Male Solo Artist Mick Hucknall
Best British Female Solo Artist Annie Lennox
Best British Group Simply Red
Best British Album Annie Lennox - "Diva"

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:36 (twenty years ago)

Those were typical album acts, and you didn't see a lot of them in the singles charts. Neither had one single UK chart topper until Simply Red did in 1995.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:38 (twenty years ago)

Best British Video Shakespear's Sister - "Stay"
Best British Single Take That - "Could it be Magic"

Both pretty melodic IMO

― elwisty (elwisty), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:40 (twenty years ago)

But the latter was a cover, which was rather typical of melodic mainstream hit music in the early 90s.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Monday, 2 May 2005 21:47 (twenty years ago)

Hey, so were Spacehog considered Brit-pop? They sounded a bit more manly than most, as I recall. Also, paradoxically enough, more convincingly glam-ly (as in Mott-ly) though I don't think I even own anymore the one album I somewhat liked, which I wrote about (along with Elcka, and a few other bands who were never even British!) here:

http://www.laweekly.com/ink/98/41/music-eddy.php

― xhuxk, Monday, 9 May 2005 16:20 (twenty years ago)

I would vote Gaz Supergrass as "apeliest." Whether that makes him more or less manly depends on how you think about it, I think.

― Billy Pilgrim (Billy Pilgrim), Monday, 9 May 2005 16:30 (twenty years ago)

brett anderson from suede would have to be the least. I would go with james dean bradfield from the manics for the most manly, if you consider them britpop?

― vanessa novaeris (novaeris), Monday, 9 May 2005 19:24 (twenty years ago)

Least manly (as it most little-boy-ly) = Chris Gentry from Menswe@r. He looked about eight.

Manliest = Cerys Matthews. Anyone who can get so drunk that they accidently end up in France is pretty much the definition of bloke-ish to me (I have no idea if this story is actually true, mind you).

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 9 May 2005 19:29 (twenty years ago)

I wouldn't imagine Spacehog count as Britpop if only because they were Brit ex-pats who fled to NYC to make it big, and were virtual pariahs in the UK (thus severing ties to any scene). Sound wise, you could totally make the argument, but technically, I don't believe they were part of it.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 9 May 2005 21:52 (twenty years ago)

Good luck finding anyone in the UK who's even heard of Spacehog, let alone heard their music.

― Ben Dot (1977), Monday, 9 May 2005 22:08 (twenty years ago)

Hello! I know their lead singer is married to Liv Tyler (so probably a bit manly) and that I have one song on a free cassette that came with a magazine once which I think was OK. Not terribly Brit-pop though, as I recall.

― ailsa (ailsa), Monday, 9 May 2005 22:12 (twenty years ago)

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