Most of us think of the Battle of Britpop between Blur and Oasis as taking place in the record charts, but what about the time the lads took it to the football pitch instead?
Britpop emerged in the early 90s and soon dominated the UK charts. Specifically, two bands reigned in this era, becoming the faces of the movement. Their fandom in the UK was split right down the middle, with die-hard fans taking one side or the other. In the magazines, a feud began to brew, and each band capitalized on this. Initially, Blur and Oasis got along and attended awards shows together.
If it’s a matter of who came first, Blur released their debut album, Leisure, on August 26, 1991. Oasis’ debut album, Definitely Maybe, was released on August 29, 1994. Both bands were quick with their releases, as Noel Gallagher of Oasis wrote most of the band’s material before the debut album, spreading the songs out throughout the band’s first three albums.
Their infamous feud might’ve ignited in August 1995, when Blur moved the release of their single “Country House” to the same date as Oasis’ single “Roll With It”. This didn’t sit well with the Gallagher brothers, as Blur’s single sold 274,000 copies compared to Oasis’ $216,000. The feud was official when Noel Gallagher told The Observer that he hoped members of Blur would “catch AIDS and die”, a comment he later publicly apologized for. Though Blur won the singles showdown, Oasis caught the world’s attention with their sophomore album, “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?”
There Was Only one Way To Settle This: A Football Match
1996 is often recognized as the year that Britpop reached its peak. In 1995, both bands released massively successful albums. Blur released The Great Escape in September 1995, peaking at No. 1 on the UK albums chart. One month later, Oasis released (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, also peaking at No. 1. Their feud was fueled by classism, with Oasis representing northern working-class rock, and Blur representing southern art-school pop. There was only one true British way to settle this: a good old-fashioned football match. For the Americans reading, I’m referring to soccer.
On May 12, 1996, the singers of both bands came together for the “Soccer Six” tournament, a charity benefit for music therapy. Though other high-profile groups were also involved in the event, the match between these publicly feuding groups garnered significant attention. Liam Gallagher played aggressively, pushing Blur frontman Damon Albarn around. At one point, Gallagher and Albarn were face to face, with the crowd going wild. This lasted until Gallagher got tired and decided to lie down.
Blur won the match, 2-0, and finished the tournament at 2-1. Liam Gallagher smoked a cigarette during halftime, threw a can of beer at a reporter after the match, and stole the foam cover off a reporter’s microphone before storming off at the end of the match. Antics you can only expect from the Gallaghers.
Many years later, in 2013, Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher joined together on stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall, officially burying the hatchet. Blur bassist Alex James famously stated, “Blur won the battle, Oasis won the war, then Blur went on to win the whole campaign.”
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