Worst Of These Mid-Late 90s UK Bands?

i am vaguely related via marriage to an ex-supernatural. they have at least one good song, and a couple of passable ones. Cast, Reef and the Seahorses are all unremittingly dreadful.

(none of these passable songs were singles, btw)

Reef, because they tried to "rock" and couldn`t. Space, though awful, at least had some kind of musical personality. All those BluetonesGeneCastLongpigs types just blurred into one for me.

The New Smiths™

Can't wait for the equivalent mid-late 00s poll in ten years time. Seems to me the current glut of same-sounding guitar bands is even more widespread than it was back then.

so mant awful music but i really hate kula shaker.

Can't wait for the equivalent mid-late 00s poll in ten years time. Seems to me the current glut of same-sounding guitar bands is even more widespread than it was back then.

Which era has the worst bands?

british indie rock is bad,generaly speaking, since 1990 at least.

if i had to pick one word to describe pop culture in this era in the uk it would be "cosy".

It looked as though something was happening, but actually nothing was happening.

Cast make me so very very angry with their incomparable shite-ness, so no contest for me.

Make sure every band gets one vote minimum!!

Which era has the worst bands?

This was touched on briefly a while ago here - no idea which thread - and I said that the current bands seem even more cynical. I don't think most of the bands in this here poll formed with as self-evident a scene or scenes to assimilate themselves into, and some (Stereophonics, probably Reef) probably spent a lot of time being completely baffled by their success. None of which means the music is actually any better, of course

Bluetones were alright for awhile, but in general yes, these bands were as dull as ditchwater.

if i had to pick one word to describe pop culture in this era in the uk it would be "cosy".

It looked as though something was happening, but actually nothing was happening.

-- snoball, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 8:57 PM

after the left/right antagonisms of the 80s had faded into memory, people just got used to high unemployment, low social mobility, etc... the economy recovered to a degree but yeah, nothing fundamental changed.

Seriously, nothing any of these bands did quite comes close to the sheer awfulness of the 'rum old slapper' bit in Love Is The Law by the Seahorses. Except maybe the 'kick-ass angels' bit in Avenging Angels by Space.

If anyone has a vote unswayed, here is the Seahorses doing Love Is The Law at Glastonbury, containing one of the most hilariously bad vocal performances I have ever seen.

This isn't that bad oh shit I just got to the chorus hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

OKAY WHY HASN'T THIS STOPPED YET

Who the fuck does Chris Helme think he is?!

Good grief, I'd managed to blank out all memories of that song. I didn't think I could remember anything by the Seahorses but they might have just won for me.

Always thought it was "romo slapper" and I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

Thing is, every note of that bit is composed to fuck. It's not jammed or improvised. That's EXACTLY the same as the album version. Squire never made up a note onstage in his life.

This is like the first time I heard "EMU".

We lived in a dogfish eggcase
you could barely call it home
Sorry little lot no roof on top
But the fish left us at home
Try a little more said the girl next
door it's time to roam

Mad Lizzy Crumbs blind cobblers
thumbs were a sight to behold
She was a rum old slapper and we always
tried toget her pants off when she phoned
Left her cap by the sink it's not what you think
Oh take me home

Now we know where we are going baby
We can lay back and enjoy the ride
Take in the sights and drown in our senses
Love is the law so take me deep inside

Strap on Sally chased us down the alley
We feared for our behinds
Oasis was a shop with shoes so hot
They were sure to blow your minds
Running so fast I can take the past
Oh take home

These waters run deep it's clear my little one
Blue velvet star sky not a sound
The light in your eyes the smile on your ruby lips
Tells me my lost soul is found

o_O

There's a poll there Dan, ya gotta go for it.

Strap on Sally chased us down the alley
We feared for our behinds <--- this would win, though

There definitely weren't enough songs about huge nipples in the Britpop canon. Just this and '3 in Across Her Beautiful Tit Flesh' by Northern Uproar as far as I know

Voted Space.

Have met the drummer from Cast a bunch of times and he's a nice guy. Fuck knows how they ever had a hit tho'.

One of Shed Seven applied for my old job in York and didn't get it, so I win against them.

A girl once posted a cassette copy of Delicious through my letter box to show she fancied me so I'll always have a soft spot for Sleeper for that.

I have had bad sex whilst a Gomez cassette played. They are pretty off-putting when that guy comes in with his 'blues' voice.

Always thought it was "romo slapper" and I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Me too.

Cast had that fucking awful song about flying, didn't they? And that one about walking away? A mate of mine swears Beetroot is a lost classic.

Foe some reason I get that song walk away stuck in my head sometimes. just the one line, but I think the real song may just consist of one line endlessly repeated anyway.

I saw Cast support Oasis at Irvine Beach and they were really loud. Saw them again at ti in the park in the nme tent and they were loud again. Album came out and i hated it.

I too was all set to click on Northern Uproar. But can't.

Or are they counted as part of "oasis and co"?

More like I forgot they even existed.

louise wener: actually a really sweet and lovely person (she wrote a piece about poker for a mag i was working on), although her britpop persona was appalling.

really: all these bands were just fucking vile. looking back, i'm not fucking surprised i didn't pursue my nascent career in music journalism circa 1996.

for some reason, i feel drawn to voting for reef: i can't remember a thing about them, but i'm sure i hated them with a spectacular passion. and if i didn't: fuck 'em, i don't give a shit. and enough other people will vote for kula shaker (i shudder to even think about those cunts) and FUCKING CAST.

one of the most appalling nights of my life: driving from edinburgh to livingston (yes! this was livingston's attempt to use marco's leisuredome, or whatever it was called, to reinvent itself as INDIE HUB OF THE CENTRAL BELT) with my ex-girlfriend's flatmate (the only person i knew at the time with a car; or, at least, the only one with a car and no taste whatsoever in music) to see cast for the scotsman (look, i really, really needed the money, and the bylines), and NOT GETTING IN because they'd fucked up the guest-list and someone else's name was down. the ignominy! the torture of the drive back, with ex-gf's flatmate constantly whining: "i really wanted to see them!"

that said: i can't help feeling it'd have been a worse night if i had seen them, so hey.

Northern Uproar rule for this:

http://www.n-uproar.u-net.com/

(xpost) sorry to remind you, but Reef had only one hit, the chorus of which went something like "PUT YOUR HANDS ON PUT YOUR HANDS ON!!! ARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!! PUT YOUR HANDS ON!!! AARRRGGGHHHH!!!" with the singer sounding like he was straining on the toilet.

OH CHRIST, YES, HOW DID I FORGET? damn, i voted well.

that northern uproar website is fucking awesome. frames! comic sans! a story about some cock breaking his ankle! it genuinely hasn't been looked at in 10 years, has it?

Northern Uproar rule for this:

http://www.n-uproar.u-net.com/

-- Raw Patrick, Wednesday, May 28, 2008 11:26 PM

"Chris and Leon went for a hike up Ygairne near Tryffyn in Wales, the wind was blowing at 80 mph and they had to crawl and slither to keep from being blown away.
When they got back down to the bottom, Leon slipped and hurt his ankle, but instead of going to the hospital like any mere mortals would do... they went to the pub for some liquid anaesthetic.
Not 'til the next day did Leon find out that he had actually broken his ankle!"

At the t in the park i mentioned (1995) you should have scene the queues for Kula Shaker in the king tuts tent. There was 10 xs as many people outside listening as there was inside. Tattva or whatever it was called had been a huge hit.
Admittedly I was no great fan of Britpop bar Oasis/Blur/Pulp/Supergrass but Of all the britpop bands I saw T In The Park 95 & 96 then Powder have to be by far THE WORST. AWFUL!!
Supergrass and Super Furry Animals were great in 95 though.

Best britpop band was Black Grape. And they're not really britpop I suppose. That 1st album is a terrific album. Lots of great music came out alongside Britpop and I hope that's whats remembered and not the shite in this poll.

(xxpost) I remember some Chris Evans TV show on which Reef were guests, and when they got to the bit where Evans read out some letters, the band had to introduce it by singing "IT'S YOUR LETTERS IT'S YOUR LETTERS!!! AAAARRRGGHHH!!!"

I only remember Reef now because of that joke TFI Friday thing. I know i saw them at T In The Park but it must've been forgettable.

btw Grimly, T In The Park in 95 and 96 line ups must've been your worst nightmare :)
I spent most of my time in the dance tent i think.

xx-post
Aye that thing.

I didn't even see Pulp the year they headlined as I was too busy jumping about to The Afghan Whigs.
Best band I ever saw at T In The Park was LEFTFIELD. One of the greatest nights of my life that was (no I wasnt on anything)

I'm so glad T In The Park moved as those line ups in the dadrock years were soul destroying.

Dig a bit deeper into Northern Uproar's site and you discover they had a spot supporting on Mark Owen's tour. Ha!

That seahorses thing, youtube is giving me a 500 server error. I am saved.

It was a shit track, I can vaguely remember it. There was a long guitar solo at the end, I think?

I should have put The Levellers in. They were dreadful (the singer from the seahorses is the worst singer ever, he sounds like the levellers guy)

As someone all-but-untouched by the shaky finger of Britpop, I have to confess that a lot of the vitriolic comments above REALLY make me want to hear a POO compilation of all those groups. Would it out-rock Buzz Cuts?

They were called 'Dodgy' for a reason...

Well, exactly. Now that records like that have attained artifact status, shouldn't they have leeched a bit of charm with the passage of time? Too soon?

Never

Stereophonics. Other than Cast, the rest are all fantastic. Most of the best 90s bands are in this list.

Absolutely fantastic, better than Oasis and Blur, and among the best bands ever to have existed:
Ocean Colour Scene
Dodgy
Travis
Supernaturals
Kula Shaker

Excellent but not better than Blur/Oasis:
Catatonia
Gene
Bluetones

Rather good, at least occasionally:
Sleeper
Menswear
Gomez
Seahorses
Shed 7
Longpigs
Space

Decent, but not much more
Stereophonics
Cast
Reef
3 Colours Red