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The big boys from the north, Oasis went on to revolutionise the UK music scene with their Slade-esque rock n roll, however at the turn of the 90s the band were barely formed and lacking chief songwriter, Noel Gallagher. Plasterer, Paul Bonehead Arthurs, call centre employee, Paul Guigsy McGuigan and labourer Tony MCarrol were in a band called the Rain with signer Chris Hutton. After ousting Hutton in favour of the Burnage born Liam Gallagher, the band changed their name to Oasis, taken from an Inspiral Carpets tour poster which had them listed as playing the Swindon Oasis. While the younger Gallagher and band were rehearsing and writing songs in the basement of Manchester club the Boardwalk, the older Gallagher, Noel, was working as a roadie for seminal Manchester band Inspiral Carpets. After being fired for being a mardy git, Oasis hired Noel as their manager. After some time as their manager, in Liam Gallagher’s own words “(Noel) got on his hands and knees and said, ‘Listen I’ll do anything, just please let me be in your band.’ I said, ‘get up of your hands and knees son, you’re alright, you can do it.’” What followed was 2 years of rehearsing, gigging, and barely making a living until one fateful night in Glasgow. Forcing themselves into the line-up of a gig at King Tuts, Oasis unknowingly played to an audience containing Creation Records head honcho, Alan McGee who signed them that very night. And as they say, the rest is history…

The most successful band during this period, Blur had formed after meeting at Goldsmiths University and signed to Food Records in 1990. One of the many bands jumping on the on baggy bandwagon, Blur released their first album, Leisure in 1991 which spawned the Run-DMC sampling single, There’s No Other Way which went to number 8 in the UK charts. The band, in particular Coxon were listening to a lot of quintessential English song writers, such as Syd Barrett, and their disillusionment with American music was amplified. A feeling of why aren’t we celebrating our culture was felt, however not in a xenophobic ‘Ingerland’ sense, more so the culture of quaintness, the art school sensibilities which the great British songwriters of the 60s and 70s had. It was this sense of good willed patriotism which would influence their next three albums.