When we started this glorious new millenium we’re not sure many people would have believed that music over the next 10-15 years would increasingly hark back, rather than go forward. We seem to be experiencing reunions across pop, rock, dance and Britpop and there is no sign of it ending.
We’ve had all the cheesy bands like Steps, Liberty X and A1 (no, we don’t remember them the first time, either) having a bash, as well as Take That (once with Robbie, once without), the Spice Girls (truly dire at the Olympic closing ceremony – thankfully following the demise of their eponymous musical and with stories that Victoria allegedly hates Geri’s guts, it looks like that horse has been flogged to its final death).
As well as pop, we’ve also had rather more unexpected reunions, with many Britpop bands that once scoffed at the idea, now seemingly jumping at the chance to headline a festival in 2013. And festival season is well underway. A glance at the line ups shows that many of the original Britpop bands have been welcomed back with open arms by thousands of old school fans who have lapped up the chance to see them. It’s possibly down to the fact that a lot of people with the money to go to festivals these days, commercially sold out as they are, are the ones who first went in the early 90s, during Brit Pop’s heyday.
It is hard to resist the siren song of The Stone Roses after all and they’re the latest band to jump on the, er, bandwagon with sell out gigs aplenty. Cynical types may say it’s for the money, and with many bands seemingly choosing to reform, do a quick tour, rake in the royalties and then split again, it’s hard to dispute that.
But The Roses are headlining The Isle of Wight Festival in 2013 and look like they’re forgotten that, just two years ago, they once said that it was ‘tragic’ for a band to reform for money. It could be that the warm reception given to them by fans at their inaugural concerts as a reformed band in 2012 piqued their dormant love for music and touring or it could be the cash that is starting to flow in again. Either way, we don’t care, we get to relive the heady days of the 90s when music was fresh and new and festivals were fun and a hell of a lot cheaper.
Now that Blur and The Stone Roses have done the deed, fans are waiting with baited breath to see whether the Gallagher brothers can patch things up long enough to hold a reunion. It’s not looking hugely likely, although Liam has been quoted in the press recently making vaguely positive noises, so who knows? Other Brit Pop stars of the 90s have, of course, gone on to other highly successful projects, not all to do with music.
Shed Seven never lost their loyal hardcore of fans and reformed back in 2007 to do the odd gig. But they’ve obviously been off doing other things at the same time, one member has been busy developing Speedquizzing, a popular mobile pub quiz app – all between gigs of course. Louise Wener from Sleeper is a successful novelist and Tim Brown, former bassist with the Boo Radleys is now, rather prosaically an IT teacher in Northern Ireland. Still, you never know, the stage could tempt them all back yet…