The Top 40 Singles Chart used to matter, really, really matter. And never was this truer than on the 14th August, 1995, what NME and the media branded as a "Heavyweight Championship", The Battle Of Britpop cast Blur and Oasis as a modern day Beatles vs. Stones, even u as the lead story on ITV's 10 O'Clock news. Blur had come out on top, outselling Oasis by 58,000.
'The Great Escape' received widespread acclaim and eventually went Triple Platinum, but that pales behind the album '(What's The Story) Morning Glory?' Released to mixed reviews – it was variously described as "laboured and lazy", "drab", and "laddism of a tiresomely generic kind" – the Fastest selling album in British history. Ten weeks at number one, seven months in the top three. Number four on the US Billboard 100. 16 million copies sold. By the third single, the ubiquitous 'Wonderwall', their transformation into a worldwide rock phenomenon was well underway, a status they cemented by playing to 250,000 people over two nights at Knebworth, a mind boggling 2.5 million people having applied for tickets.
It maybe no surprise that around the same time, Blur were suffering from a very public nervous breakdown. Divisions, resentfulness, and drinking problems strained relations in the band, leading them to eventually reject their Britpop aesthetic in favour of lo-fi Americana and alternative rock. The result, 1997's 'Blur', received widespread critical acclaim but a huge fan backlash. It was also, unfortunately, overshadowed by that year's other main event: 'Be Here Now'. Dropping to a rapturous reception, with initial sales less than 'Morning Glory', it confirmed Oasis' status as 'Biggest Band In The World,' leading more than one publication to quip that they had "lost the battle, but won the war".
New material by Oasis was eagerly anticipated, tours spanned the globe, Wembley was routinely sold out. They weathered the departure of Bonehead, Guigsy, and later Alan White, while 2008's 'Dig Out Your Soul' contained their best material for years. By this time, Blur had long since released music – Graham Coxon having been booted out – But 2012 required a very different appraisal. Oasis are no more, the simmering tension between the Gallaghers having torn them apart while Blur's comeback shows and headlining slot at Glastonbury.
An infamous GQ cover featuring Liam and Noel from late 1997 - "Concorde, Coke & Cash: Who Cares What The Records Sound Like?" - The chart battle disguised a deeper, darker confrontation between class and regional differences.
Blur were dismissed as "preening, public schoolboys", the inference being that a life of privilege had left them with no authentic emotions to call upon. Even as late as 2002, Noel was proclaiming "It's fitting that he [Albarn] has ended up in a cartoon band", the accusation clear for all to see.
But Blur were intent on following a different path, one that combined a far range of influences into a more cerebral type of music.
But as the Gallagher brothers fought and eventually disbanded Oasis, this lead singer Liam and the remaining members of Oasis [apart from guitarist Noel Gallagher] to form a new band called 'Beady Eye.'
Noel Gallagher became
a solo act , called 'Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.'
Blur released 'The Magic Whip' early in 2015.
