The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the demise of English rock - Softcover

Harris, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007134738 ISBN 13: 9780007134731

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2010

Synopsis

'The loveliest – and certainly the most human – book about pop music I've ever read ... A delightful and humane soap opera, a real page-turner, full of rounded and entirely recognisable characters.'

Jon Ronson, Daily Telegraph

THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF BRITPOP – BLUR, OASIS, ELASTICA, SUEDE & TONY BLAIR

Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism – this was 'Cool Britannia'. Records sold in their millions, a new celebrity elite emerged and Tony Blair's Labour Party found itself, at long last, returned to government.

Drawing on interviews from all the major bands – including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede – from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement. John Harris was there; and in this gripping new book he argues that the high point of British music's cultural impact also signalled its effective demise – If rock stars were now friends of the government, then how could they continue to matter?

Britpop in numbers:

·There were an astonishing 2.6 million ticket applications for the Oasis gig at Knebworth in 1996. 1 in 24 of the British public wanted to see them play. In the end the band played to 250,000 fans across two nights with a guest list that ran to 7,000.

·’Definitely, Maybe’, Oasis's debut album, went straight to No 1, selling 100,000 copies in 4 days and outselling the Three Tenors in second place by a factor of 50%

·On its first day in the shops Oasis's second album, ‘What's The Story, Morning Glory’, was selling at a rate of 2 copies a minute through HMV's London stores.

· By 1997 Creation Records (which had been founded 12 years earlier with a bank loan of £1,000 by an ex-British Rail Clerk Alan McGee) announced a turnover of £36million thanks almost entirely to one band: Oasis.

About this title

Review:

‘THE LAST PARTY is a title that deserves to stick around the book charts.' Mark Lawson, Guardian

'THE LAST PARTY is that rare thing, a book principally about rock musicians that is a compulsive page-turner.’ The Sunday Times

'Compelling ... it reminds us what a corrosive and mean place the pop world can be.' Mojo

'A fine, bittersweet read.' Q Magazine

From the Back Cover:

Beginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Its spark was the music that became known as Britpop, which soon spawned the monster called 'Cool Britannia'. Records sold in their millions, a new celebrity elite emerged and Tony Blair's Labour party found itself, at long last, returned to government.

Drawing on interviews from all the major bands – including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede – along with music business players and political insiders, 'The Last Party' charts the rise and fall of Britpop: its trailblazing beginnings, its mega-selling peak, and its eventual drug-fuelled demise. John Harris was there; and in this gripping new book he argues that the high point of British music's cultural impact also signalled its effective demise – for if rock stars were now friends of the government, then how could they continue to matter?

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0007134738
• ISBN 13: 9780007134731
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 480