Even for those of us who bought Oasis and Blur records at the time, the whole battle was silly. There was a class aspect to it that was fascinating to see to an outsider such as this Yank, but, really, neither side was really fighting for their best work. "Country House", Blur's catchy single with the Benny Hill-style video, wasn't going to change any lives, and "Roll With It", quite possibly the most Slade-y Oasis single of many, wasn't either. Leave to a group of plucky indie survivors to puncture a hole in that Britpop balloon now.
While Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey are rightly occupied with the return of Heavenly, they've still got time for Swansea Sound. That outfit -- Amelia and Rob, with drummer Ian Button, guitarist Bob Collins, and vocalist Hue Williams, late of The Pooh Sticks -- are offering up a limited 7-inch single this week in an attempt to re-start the most legendary battle in all of Britpop. Oasis, busy selling out arena shows to dads and granddads, could not be reached for comment.
Still, it pleases me to hear members of bands who did great work in the same era here in 2025 demolishing the myths of the 1995 fight. In some way, the winners are these folks.
"Oasis v Blur" by Swansea Sound is up for order on Skep Wax.
[Photo: Skep Wax]