Blur star Graham Coxon recently noted the infamous battle between Blur and Oasis. At the height of the Britpop craze, their rivalry set the news agenda when their respective singles Country House and Roll With It were released in the same week.
Graham Coxon opens up on the matter
Blur, who made headlines on the News At Ten in 1995 when they clashed with arch-rivals Oasis in a battle for the Number One spot, are reuniting for two huge shows this summer.
When the two bands previously clashed, accepted wisdom stated Oasis were the grittier, working-class musicians, as opposed to the middle-class, artier Blur. But Graham had met singer Damon Albarn at Stanway Comprehensive School in Colchester, Essex. His dad Bob was a bandleader in the Army and mum Pauline worked for Nestle.
“The class battle between Blur and Oasis was an unfortunate simplification,” he told the Express. “Any differences we had weren’t in terms of class, but that’s how it was put across. My parents were both working class and I was an Army kid, so I didn’t grow up in the lap of luxury.
“The working-class versus middle-class portrayal of our bands was really part of the simplification of north versus south.”
It has been noted, while Blur won the singles battle, narrowly beating Oasis to number one, cultural critics have tended to suggest the Oasis album it came from, (What’s The Story) Morning Glory?, ultimately eclipsed Blur’s own LP, The Great Escape.
