Britpop rules - and I close in on #22

The mid-1990s were pretty good weren't they? There was a genuine feel-good factor. Euro '96 had the country on the edge of its seats, things could only get better as Labour swept the Tories aside in the '97 election and one of the greatest music rivalries in British history was in full-flow. Britpop was at its peak and the battle-lines had been drawn: Oasis vs Blur.

Britpop still rules

I remember watching the Big Breakfast on Channel 4 (with Gaby and Chris) and it was all about 'The Battle of Britpop'. Oasis' 'Roll With It' was directly up against Blur's 'Country House'. Blur eventually emerged triumphant after out-selling the boys from Madchester by 50,000+ copies. But it was Oasis' '(What's The Story) Morning Glory' which emerged as the seminal Britpop album. And after singing myself hoarse at the Slade Rooms last night, it's clear that Britpop is still alive and well (albeit in its early-40s, slightly greyer and with the kids being looked after at home). But the ingredients were all there. 'Definitely Might Be' were the tribute act and the audience was full of Adidas Samba trainers, boot-cut jeans and lots of people with their hands behind their backs, 'Liam Gallagher-esque', belting out hits like 'Live Forever', 'She's Electric' and 'Cigarettes & Alcohol'.

I had the privilege of seeing Oasis live. I've also seen Noel Gallagher and, next month, I'm set to see Liam's Oasis-reincarnation, Beady Eye. I caught the Britpop bug from my brother Ian. A student from the mid-90s - Britpop was at its height. Oasis, Blur, the 'Phonics, Cast, Pulp, Dodgy, Ocean Colour Scene - the list goes on.

I was a bit younger and probably the only Oasis 'top-mad-for-it' disciple in my year at school. I even made my way to HMV in town at 7am on a Monday morning to be the first one to buy the single 'Go Let It Out' . Unfortunately my efforts to grow a Liam-like mop-top were catastrophically unsuccessful and I've still never owned a pair of Adidas Sambas.

Ian missed out on ever seeing Oasis live - a painful regret no doubt as the Gallagher brother feud shows few signs of thawing any time soon. Hopefully last night went some small way to imagining what seeing them live in their heyday would have been like; sort of.

So the memories of the 1990s are good ones - although I suspect if we take off the rose-tinted specs and look a little closer; England lost on penalties after what was a pretty drab tournament, it gave us the Spice Girls and a plethora of manufactured boy bands and it turns out it wasn't the end of 'boom and bust'. Still, for a few hours last night, me, Ian, Alex  and lest we forget Mark Rogers (see previous blogs about Munich to appreciate this man) got to reminisce about the days when rock 'n' roll still had characters and they knew how to make a tune.

It also led to that age-old debate - your top 5 Oasis tracks? It's a great game because no-one will ever agree and can last for hours with no conclusion. For me; Fade Away, Champagne Supernova, Don't Look Back in Anger, Don't Go Away and Little by Little.

So number 22 on my list was to go to at least ten music/comedy gigs. Well, I'm 6 down; Beady Eye and Del Amitri booked in - only 2 more to go. This is one challenge I look set to complete ahead of schedule.

I'll leave you with the only single I've ever got up at 5am to go and buy...