So, to 1995 then and if I’m just relying on my memory then presumably this is going to be one long procession of Britpop acts. Now that prospect may fill you with joy or dread depending on your musical persuasion but statistically that can’t be the case so what else was happening? Well, it’s a bit like 1977 when punk was meant to be at its peak but in fact the biggest selling records of the year were all by decidedly mainstream artists like Wings, David Soul and Leo Sayer. Fast forward to 1995 and for those three artists read the likes of Celine Dion, Michael Jackson and pissing Robson & Jerome! For all the talk of Britpop, only one artist from that movement had a single in the Top 10 sellers of the year – Oasis with “Wonderwall”. Those two singles at the heart of The Battle of Britpop? They trail in 12th and 20th. So was it all just a media concoction? You can’t deny the sales that Oasis generated – “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory?” went 16 x platinum in the UK, sold 22 million copies worldwide and as of October 2018 was the 5th best selling album of all time in this country. And yet…it wasn’t the best selling album of 1995 being beaten to that accolade by…yep, those guys again…Robson & Jerome. The other big sellers of the year album wise are more rock and pop royalty in the form of Queen, Michael Jackson and Simply Red though sneaking in at No 10 were Pulp who became massive in 1995, the 18th year of their existence.

However, there were some seismic events in the world of music in this year. Manic Street Preachers guitarist Richey Edwards disappeared in February never to return and has been legally dead since 2008 though many a sighting has been reported in the intervening years. There was a drummer exodus of Manchester bands with Reni quitting The Stone Roses in March and Tony McCarroll being sacked from Oasis in the April. Not to be outdone, Robbie Williams left Take That in July causing such a meltdown in the country’s population of teenage girls that a helpline was set up to help them deal with what had happened (supposedly). The Summer also witnessed that chart battle with the story infamously being reported on the BBC’s main evening news programme. For all the band members who left or disappeared in 1995, the year ended with a massive return as The Beatles released a ‘new’ single for the first time since they split in 1970. “Free As A Bird” was a 1977 John Lennon demo reworked by the three remaining Beatles as part of the Anthology project.

As for TOTP and Radio 1, the BBC continued to wield its axe. In January it was announced by controller Matthew Bannister that ‘old’ music (i.e. anything pre-1990) would no longer be played on its flagship pop music radio station. This was followed in February by the announcement that Bruno Brookes’ contract would not be renewed when it expired in the April meaning he would leave Radio 1 after 11 years. Another line up change saw Chris Evans replace Steve Wright as the Breakfast Show host. Meanwhile, over at TOTP, Head Producer Ric Blaxill continued to ring the changes with a new set, theme tune, logo and title sequence introduced in February.

In the wider world, 1995 saw Eric ‘Kung Fu’ Cantona assault a spectator after being sent off for Manchester United against Crystal Palace in January (though it did nothing to affect his popularity as it turned out the fan was a right scrote). Cliff Richard became Sir Cliff Richard and Princess Diana did that interview with Martin Bashir when she famously said that there were three people in her marriage. The entertainment world lost a whole host of people this year with the deaths of Larry Grayson, Peter Cook, Kenny Everett, Marti Caine, Paul Eddington and Arthur Mullard.

As for me, I remained working in record shops for Our Price, starting the year in Manchester but moving back to Stockport in the February after the Market Street store finally shut down after years of being under threat of closure. In many ways, 1995 was the busiest time to be working in a record shop with the Oasis sales phenomenon and the national spotlight that The Battle of Britpop bought – I recall being paranoid about potentially running out of either the Oasis or Blur single that week. It was possibly the most enjoyable though for the same reason. This might prove to be one of the best years for revisiting in quite some time.

Disclaimer

I make no claim to the rights of this show and all ownership and contents including logos and graphics belongs totally to the BBC or copyright holder(s).

All opinions on the music and artists featured are my own. Sorry if you don’t agree