Britpop's Greatest (Non) Hits

Any show can play the Britpop classics, and many do. However what makes our show that bit different is the detours that we make into Britpop's backwaters. The great songs that somehow never quite made it and now lay forgotten. Some of these we know because we bought them, or because they are preserved for posterity on disc 2 of a Shine compilation. (There were 10 volumes of Shine and they are in the CD bag for every show!).

However we rely on our awesome listeners for most of these forgotten bands. Someone will email or tweet requesting a band that we've never heard of and thus spark a search here at Britpop HQ. Firstly, to find the CD and then to find a band member to come on the show. Sometime it's the former band members themselves that get in touch, which makes arranging the interview a bit easier.

And amongst these forgotten bands are some real quality tunes. Listening again 20 years later you think "How was this not a hit?". Who knows, maybe the wrong management, the label screwed up or perhaps that was the week that a dozen other good indie bands released a single so you just never got the airplay or the review in NME/Melody Maker/Select etc.

The 90s is littered with a whole slew of singles that missed, albums that never got released and indie bands that got dropped when the Britpop bubble burst. You just need to read the Speedy Story to see what was happening.

So this is where we take a stand. This is where we excavate those long forgotten hits that never were and return them if not to the limelight then at least to the consciousness of the Britpop cognoscenti. 

We are going to release our own forgotten Britpop compilation CD.

Why not just make up a playlist on Spotify or YouTube? Well where is the fun in that? The CD was the music format of the 90s and that is what we shall have!

There are a few challenges to face, not least the fact that we don't know what we're doing. However this is a show that prizes enthusiasm over professionalism so we will find a way. We have already started talking to a label who are interested in getting involved and that will make things easier if it comes off but it's still very much at the stage of not knowing what we don't know.

So what happens next? The way we see it we have these steps to take:

1. Compile a long list of great, forgotten Britpop singles
2. Try and get rights/permission for as many of those songs as possible
3. Sort out the business end; artwork, pressing, distribution, promotion etc. Maybe a PledgeMusic campaign with some extra goodies.
4. Have an awesome launch party (or gig?)
5. Clear a space on the wall for the gold disc

How hard can it be? Probably quite hard actually but let's not let that get in the way right now... The aim is to have the CD out by the end of the year.

So, focus on Step 1. Compile a long list of great, forgotten Britpop singles. This is where we need your help. What should we include on the compilation? 

There are just 2 rules:

1. The band never had a Top 20 hit
2. The single itself didn't chart (Top 40)

SEND US YOUR SUGGESTIONS! 

You can leave your ideas in the comments below, tweet us @britpoprevival or email nick@britpop.org.uk. Of course if you think that you can help in any possible way, do please get in touch.

This should be fun! 

In praise of Bennet

One of the best things about talking to people about Britpop, whether through the radio shows, facebook, twitter or this blog, is that they are always keen to share their likes and dislikes. Many of the bands that we play on the show have actually been suggested by our listeners and sometimes I've been blissfully unaware of their existence before. Case in point, Bennet.

Bennet, gone but not forgotten

Now not many people have requested Bennet but those that do always make a point about what a good band they were.  Looking into them I immediately remember Mum's Gone To Iceland a number 34 hit in 1997. For those not in the UK, it is not a tale of Scandinavian emigration but rather a eulogy to a frozen food store. It simultaneously sums them up and does them a disservice. It is typical in that the riffing guitars, melodic bassline, energy, witty lyrics (it's actually a song about consumerism) and sense of humour are found across a lot of Bennet's music. The disservice is that it pigeon-holed them as something of a novelty band, and that is why I'm writing this blog piece. It's a decent enough song but they have better. It was the fifth single from the album for heaven's sake but it happened to be the only one that charted.

But let's start at the beginning. Consisting of Jonny Peer (Vocals, Guitar), Jason Applin (Vocals, Guitar), Kevin Moorey (Drums) and the eponymous Andy Bennett (Bass), the band formed in Reading in 1993. They signed a deal with Roadrunner Records in 1995 at the height of the Britpop bloom.

Probably a Bennet LP in there!

The early singles Curley Shirley, If You Met Me Then You'd Like Me and Colossal Man met with some success in the indie charts and the mighty John Peel was said to be a fan - having them in for one of his famous sessions. (If anyone has a recording of that I would love to hear it - get in touch!). Then came what for me was their finest hour Someone Always Gets There First, a poignant tale of love not so much lost as never won, set to crunching guitars and sporting a killer tune. Bearing in mind at this point in the 90s the charts were at least 50% guitar music it is a mystery how this only made in to number 69. It was even re-released after the success of Iceland but to no avail. This probably makes it into my top 10 favourite songs. It was also the first single that they made a video for - but that doesn't seem to be available online so here's the audio.

1997 saw the release of their début album, Super Natural. A quality offering with nods towards Blur and Pulp but with heavier guitars and groovier bass. I only heard it for the first time this year (another 1p album) and was seriously impressed. But don't take my word for it, look at the reviews that it got at the time:

"I'd even rate Applin alongside the likes of Jarvis in the . . . league of lyricists . . . this is a fine debut." - Time Out

"Guitar pop with a pert sense of humour." - Top of The Pops Magazine 

"What an unutterably superb record!" - NME 

Mum's Gone To Iceland was a hit, they were touring with the likes of Dodgy and Echobelly, playing the festivals - surely this was the platform for bigger and better things?

Sadly it was not to be and this turned out to be their zenith. Their next album Street vs. Science was released the following year to decidedly cool reviews and didn't sell. The band split shortly afterwards, never to be heard from again. For what it's worth I like Street vs. Science, the overall quality may not be up to the standards of their first but when it's good it's very good. I played a track from it on last week's radio show.

And that was Bennet. If you've never heard their stuff I strongly suggest that you dig out a copy of Super Natural (you can get hold of a used copy on Amazon for a couple of quid, go on you know you want to). I think you'll like it.

Update 20/09/13: Listener Mark Montague has been in touch to say that he has a recording of the John Peel session! What's more he has uploaded it, along with a live gig from the Lemon Grove in Exeter and a Radio 1 interview. Wow - nice one Mark! Listen here: https://soundcloud.com/nocrowdsurfing

For a full Bennet discography and other info, click here.