The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock

The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock: "This is a book that attempts to cover the music scene in Britain in the 1990s, contrasting the rise and fall of an indigenous rock music movement with the rise of Tony Blair. The author chooses to focus on a group of bands - Oasis, Blur, Suede, Elastica and Menswear - that were all part of the same incestuous group (The lead singer of Elastica went out with both the lead singer of Suede then Blur for instance). The book is full of minute detail - he said, she said about each other, dates and locations for early gigs, chart positions and such like. I can only say that I think only a real fan would be interested in most of this detail - and if you were a dedicated fan you would probably know most of this anyway. The author's attempt to make links between the rise of Blair and the development (and fall) of Britpop is tenuous. It is true that there was interaction between the Blair camp and bands like Oasis and Blur, but they feel like adjuncts to the story. Yes, Blair and his people co-opted the rise of `Cool Britannia' to their cause, and Britpop was a part of Cool Britannia idea, but the author doesn't make a very strong cause for the association with Blair being a major part for the sell-out, and therefore end, of Britpop. It is as though the author wanted his book to be taken seriously, and thought a book 'just about pop music' wasn't enough, so he threw some politics in."

on my to read list. despight the review above more and more i am runnning in to discussions of "cool britania" and the blair-blur-oasis connection!!!