The 1990s were full of great musical rivalries. FromMichael Jackson vs Princeto Mariah Carey vs Whitney Houston. But one of the greatest rivalries of them all wasOasis vs Blur. These days, that iconic beef, best known as “The Battle of Britpop,” is all but settled, as Blur frontman Damon Albarn has admitted defeat, and it’s clear why.
Sixteen years afterOasis broke up, the band is in the midst of a historic reunion tour spanning the UK and North America. So far,critical reaction to Oasis’s return has been overwhelmingly positive. On top of that, the band’s average monthly listeners on Spotify have nearly doubled to almost 31 million since the tour began.
Still, the Oasis vs. Blur rivalry, filled with classic English wit — and some very harsh statements that went too far — wasone of the most intense and long-running spats in music history.
Seeds Of A Showdown
The rivalry between Britpop titans Oasis and Blur has been ongoing for 30 years, but the seeds were planted in 1994 when Oasis’ debut album,Definitely Maybe,and Blur’s third album,Parklife,were both released. The British press started framing the bands as leaders of the Britpop movement and pitting them against each other.
The narrative being pushed by the press was that Oasis were gritty working-class Northerners who were brazen and plain-spoken, whileBlur were educated and somewhat privileged art school Northerners from Londonand Colchester. The profiles weren’t entirely accurate, but they were close enough.
The Gallagher brothers certainly didn’t do much in the way of dispelling this characterization, asthey frequently exhibited erratic behaviorin the form of public bickering, physical altercations, and onstage antics by Liam that included spitting, knocking over his microphone, and making lewd gestures.
The Battle Of Britpop And Beyond
In 1995, Blur planned to release their single, “Country House,” in September, but when Oasis scheduled the release of “Roll with It” from(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?for August 14th,Blur moved their single release date to the same day. While Blur’s single charted higher in the UK, Oasis ended up selling more albums that year.
Blur frontman Damon Albarn was outspoken about Britpop andoften came across as arrogant during interviews. The Gallagher brothers tended to be crass, and, at one point, Noel Gallagher went too far, saying that he hoped Albarn and fellow Blur bandmate Alex James would contract AIDS, which intensified the personal level of the rivalry.
Gallagher eventually apologized for the underhanded comment, butthe two sides continued to bicker back and forthfor the rest of the ‘90s. Tensions eventually fizzled out, though, and few incendiary comments have been made publicly since the turn of the millennium.
These days, there’s not much to fight about. The Gallagher Brothers arerich and successful beyond their wildest dreams,and their reunion tour has been a smashing success. Meanwhile, Damon Albarn, whose band Blur has been outsold by Oasis, has no need for self-pity.
Blur is still going strong, and, in 2001, Albarn andTank Girlco-creator Jamie Hewlettcreated their “virtual band,” Gorillaz. Made up of animated musicians, the band has been releasing chart-topping albums and playing sold-out shows around the world for over 20 years.
