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The Birth of Cool Britannia

The real story behind the birth of Britpop and how three of the biggest bands of the 90s – Suede, Elastica and Blur – changed British music forever.

The iconic music documentary series returns to examine the real story behind the birth of Britpop and how a handful of like-minded musicians, struggling to find an authentic voice, would pave the way for a revolution in British music. It is an intricately connected story of three of the biggest bands of the 1990s – Suede, Elastica and Blur – and how, for a brief moment in the middle of that decade, they changed British music forever, kickstarting a movement that still reverberates to this day.

With intimate interviews with Brett Anderson, Justine Frischmann, Mat Osman, Justin Welch and numerous other key players, this is the inside story of the friendships, the fall-outs and the changing line-ups that fuelled a new movement in British music. It’s a family tree that extends from the Smiths to M.I.A., but at its heart is Suede: the band who – for better or worse – started it all.

This is not the familiar story of 'Cool Britannia', of Blur v Oasis, Champagne Supernovas and Knebworth; it is the untold story of how we got there, all the way from a suburban house in Haywards Heath.

59 minutes

Last on

Sat 9 Apr 2022 22:25

Music Played

  • Elastica

    Connection

  • Suede, Brett Anderson

    Trash (Edit)

  • Public Image Ltd

    Public Image

  • Marie LaforĂȘt

    Marie douceur - Marie colĂšre

  • The Smiths

    What Difference Does It Make?

  • X‐Ray Spex

    Germ-Free Adolescents

  • The Durutti Column

    Otis

  • Tropics

    After Visiting

  • Siouxsie and the Banshees

    Clockface

  • Primal Scream

    Loaded

  • Blur

    There's No Other Way

  • The Durutti Column

    Requiem Away

  • Screaming Trees

    Nearly Lost You

  • Suede

    The Drowners

  • Suede

    Animal Nitrate

  • Pulp

    Do You Remember The First Time?

  • The Auteurs

    Lenny Valentino

  • Blur

    For Tomorrow

  • Elastica

    Stutter

  • Menswear

    Daydreamer

  • Oasis

    Supersonic

  • Supergrass

    Alright

  • Sleeper

    Inbetweener

  • Blur

    Parklife

  • Suede

    We Are The Pigs

  • Wire

    Three Girl Rhumba

  • Elastica

    Waking Up

  • McAlmont & Butler

    Yes

  • Blur

    The Universal

  • Suede

    Trash

  • Suede

    Beautiful Ones

  • Pulp

    This Is Hardcore

  • Blur

    Beetlebum

Credits

Role Contributor
Director Nico Wasserman
Producer Alexander Leith
Editor Cassie Durham
Production Manager Claire McCluskey
Executive Producer Alan Holland

Broadcast

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