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Was grunge really that successful in Britain?


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Old 17-03-2016, 16:08
Noxy
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I was a bit young for the shoegazing and grunge eras, but do have great memories of Britpop. However, time and time again you see quotes and articles about how Britpop was a reaction 'against' grunge in the UK. But whilst grunge was undoubtedly huge in the US, is that really true of the UK? As far as I can tell, Nirvana were the only grunge success story in Britain, certainly as far as I can remember or find out. If that's the case, I'm not sure I understand what Britpop was meant to be a reaction against?
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Old 17-03-2016, 16:36
Thorney
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Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains were all big and there was also terrible grunge lite like Ugly Kid Joe
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Old 17-03-2016, 17:23
Adamsk
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Yes and no.

Nirvana,Pearl Jam,Alice N Chains,Soundgarden Maybe Mudhoney yes.

But the others known outside that pack No.

And Shoegazing was more mide late 80's and end in the early 90's as Brit Pop came in.As were Brit POP was more Britian reaction too fight off Grunge with Blur in the 90's.

Ugly Kid Joe was more LA thrush metal with Black Comedy punk added.

If anything Brit POP was just trying hard to take British people off,American music that dominated rock music back then.
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Old 17-03-2016, 17:52
Thorney
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Thing is Blur werent really fighting off grunge to begin with if any of you have heard Popscene will know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV8CxSO5imQ

Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth (I know they are much older but they did fit) and Dinosaur Jnr also counted as grunge as well although they had a more indie sense
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Old 17-03-2016, 18:17
Adamsk
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Thing is Blur werent really fighting off grunge to begin with if any of you have heard Popscene will know.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV8CxSO5imQ

Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth (I know they are much older but they did fit) and Dinosaur Jnr also counted as grunge as well although they had a more indie sense
Smashing Pumpkins not remotely Grunge but did get cought up in it during their first three records.They kind of distance themself for the Grunge tag but was some what in the alternative rock music field with RHCP,RATM And others in that category.Sonic Youth and some of the other NYC band and Boston one did play are,part and influence in Grunges shape and sound that played it part with Nirvana.And they kind of were influenced by The Pixies and you can here that on Lithum and Breed.And I suppose in away Portland was kind of Grunge before Seattle made it more Mainstream,and gave it the name Grunge.Bands Like The Wipers,Napalm Beach,Posion Ideas,Crackerbash but they had less money than what Seattle had.But again Seattle was kind of poor aswell it was all the L.A and New York bands that had more money.
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Old 17-03-2016, 19:14
ShotDownInFlame
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Soundgarden are still doing well to this day, headlined Hard Rock Calling back in 2012, subbed Download the same year, subbed British Summer Time Fest 2014 - and the only reason they weren't headline level at either DL2012 or BST 2014 is because Black Sabbath was above them on the bill.

So I think that proves, in a way, that even today Grunge is still doing well, though I suppose that entirely depends on whether you'd class Soundgarden as Grunge or not, because aside from the "Badmotorfinger" album, I wouldn't necessarily say they were too deeply-embedded into the Grunge scene.
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Old 17-03-2016, 19:43
Adamsk
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I recommend for someone too check out No Seatlle for lost band during that time.

http://youtu.be/JetpGeqObeU



http://youtu.be/Nse5qDa3LTA
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Old 17-03-2016, 19:52
mgvsmith
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It depends on how you define success in Britain but the success of Therapy? and their initial sound was linked to Nirvana and grunge. I'm sure people can come up with similar stories.
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Old 17-03-2016, 20:01
Pink Knight
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Grunge was a big thing for me in the early 90's. Brit Pop for me was whiney nonsense on the whole.
So I just listen to what I like mainly and don't bother about the popular scene.
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Old 17-03-2016, 20:36
barbeler
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It's really brightened my evening reading people arguing about what was and wasn't grunge. As if it matters. Most of the bands mentioned were American, but for British kids it was mainly an excuse to walk around in what you might call slacker clothing to piss off all the label slaves. As far as I can remember Bush were the only successful British band that fitted that style.

I think Britpop came about partly to reclaim youth music from American rock influences and take it back to the short, snappy songs with the melody of classic British pop bands like the Kinks, the Small Faces and the early Who.
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Old 18-03-2016, 03:15
spaceygal
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I don't think they were really Grunge as such but the early albums of Stone Temple Pilots seemed to be grouped in the Grunge category. I liked their music.

I loved Grunge in the early 90's and still do. Especially Soundgarden and Alice In Chains.
I loved and still love 90's Britpop too. I wish there were still music "scenes" like this around today. Today I find myself listening more to female singers like Lana Del Rey, Sara Bareilles, Nina Nesbitt and Charli XCX as well as my old faves like Mariah, Madonna and Kylie. I still dig out my old Grunge and Britpop faves too though.

Btw, one of my fave rock bands (not Grunge) of the 90's was Faith No More. So versatile, so underrated, imo!
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Old 18-03-2016, 04:54
dee123
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It's really only Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Mudhoney. Also agreed that certain band's early work from that time could be classified as Grunge, Stone Temple Pilots as mentioned above is one of those bands.
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Old 18-03-2016, 07:36
unique
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it was popular with some people in the UK for a relatively short period, but as others have alluded to, it was by far nirvana in particular as the break out band, and others like pearl jam etc followed very much behind, although they sold decent units

nirvana was one of the bands that had cross over appeal where people not generally interested in a genre would still buy and listen to. such as people no interested in folk may listen to dylan, or bob marley with people who aren't interested in reggae, whilst most of the other acts mentioned here didn't have the same crossover popularity wise

this is based on observations of record and t shirt sales and displays in stores and seeing the t shirts people wore. around that time, a lot of people were getting into dance music, but nirvana/grunge was the rock based alternative for those who weren't so interested in dance. the grunge look took over from the goth/punk look for a lot of people and a lot of those people then moved towards the emo/"alternative" (ironic considering they all look the same by having the same stylings), but the grunge look did hit the mainstream fashions for a while, as jeans and check shirts were cheap and easy to wear

shoegazing was a bit more niche towards indie and goth kids though
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Old 18-03-2016, 07:54
mushymanrob
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personally, i couldnt stand grunge.

commercially successful? maybe not that much

but its influence makes 'it' as a style successful?
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Old 18-03-2016, 08:12
Soupietwist
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Grunge is more about a scene rather than a sound.
The Seattle scene was a musical movement based on the isolation of it's geography - it was nothing like the Cock/Glam Rock of the late 80's (Motley Crue, Poison, Skid Row etc...) which was mostly about shagging and partying. There was a bond between the bands that came from Seattle. When Nirvana broke though it opened the door.
If you look and listen to the big 4 (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden & Alice in Chains) you'll hear a completely different sounds.

Pearl Jam are still a massive band, they sold out the MK Bowl a couple of years ago and are always tipped to headline the big festivals.
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Old 18-03-2016, 08:14
unique
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personally, i couldnt stand grunge.

commercially successful? maybe not that much

but its influence makes 'it' as a style successful?
it was definitely commercially successful in the UK. asides from the sales of the music, sales of check lumberjack shirts shot through the roof as a result and large numbers of t shirts from nirvana and grunge acts were sold. nevermind sold 1.8 million copies in the UK
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Old 18-03-2016, 11:31
Noxy
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it was popular with some people in the UK for a relatively short period, but as others have alluded to, it was by far nirvana in particular as the break out band, and others like pearl jam etc followed very much behind, although they sold decent units

nirvana was one of the bands that had cross over appeal where people not generally interested in a genre would still buy and listen to. such as people no interested in folk may listen to dylan, or bob marley with people who aren't interested in reggae, whilst most of the other acts mentioned here didn't have the same crossover popularity wise

this is based on observations of record and t shirt sales and displays in stores and seeing the t shirts people wore. around that time, a lot of people were getting into dance music, but nirvana/grunge was the rock based alternative for those who weren't so interested in dance. the grunge look took over from the goth/punk look for a lot of people and a lot of those people then moved towards the emo/"alternative" (ironic considering they all look the same by having the same stylings), but the grunge look did hit the mainstream fashions for a while, as jeans and check shirts were cheap and easy to wear

shoegazing was a bit more niche towards indie and goth kids though
Brilliant post, and I agree entirely. I have no interested in the goth side of things myself, but I enjoy shoegazing. I think it's a marmite genre but as a lover of post-rock, it definitely appeals to me. Boo Radleys, Lush and particularly Curve all made some great music.
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Old 18-03-2016, 12:04
Glawster2002
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Grunge is more about a scene rather than a sound.
The Seattle scene was a musical movement based on the isolation of it's geography - it was nothing like the Cock/Glam Rock of the late 80's (Motley Crue, Poison, Skid Row etc...) which was mostly about shagging and partying. There was a bond between the bands that came from Seattle. When Nirvana broke though it opened the door.
If you look and listen to the big 4 (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden & Alice in Chains) you'll hear a completely different sounds.

Pearl Jam are still a massive band, they sold out the MK Bowl a couple of years ago and are always tipped to headline the big festivals.
You are right, Grunge came about largely as a reaction to 1980s American Hair Metal and all the bands mentioned have cited different influences with probably only Alice In Chains having strong roots in Heavy Metal itself.

Alice In Chain's last UK tour was the largest they have ever done, so they have also remained popular.

I do find the idea that Britpop arose to "fight off" Grunge in the UK laughable, though...
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Old 18-03-2016, 12:39
Noxy
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You are right, Grunge came about largely as a reaction to 1980s American Hair Metal and all the bands mentioned have cited different influences with probably only Alice In Chains having strong roots in Heavy Metal itself.

Alice In Chain's last UK tour was the largest they have ever done, so they have also remained popular.

I do find the idea that Britpop arose to "fight off" Grunge in the UK laughable, though...
Damon Albarn is famously quoted saying as much.
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Old 18-03-2016, 14:24
Lamin_Ator
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yyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeah
grung
grunge
grunge
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Old 18-03-2016, 14:48
Dirtyhippy
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Song 2 by Blur - parody or homage though?
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Old 18-03-2016, 14:52
Noxy
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Song 2 by Blur - parody or homage though?
Damon Albarn has said it was a parody. It also has a similar video to Popscene.
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Old 18-03-2016, 15:52
unique
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Brilliant post, and I agree entirely. I have no interested in the goth side of things myself, but I enjoy shoegazing. I think it's a marmite genre but as a lover of post-rock, it definitely appeals to me. Boo Radleys, Lush and particularly Curve all made some great music.
i wasn't into the shoegazing thing but there was some good music. theres a new boxset out which is a great place for people wanting to see what it was all about

i remember a friend in a record store had an early import copy of nevermind that he played for me, and i still remember the first time i heard smells like teen spirit and took away that copy which i still have (which doesn't have the bonus "hidden" track). it was a few weeks later that it came out over here and they were a big hit. my friends shop used to sell a lot of sub pop stuff, and that was a small niche market, so that album was a big deal
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Old 18-03-2016, 17:13
Thorney
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The lumberjack thing wasn't just grunge , college rock and slacker culture used it to with bands like The Lemonheads, Pixies, Pavement, Sebadoh and Buffalo Tom

I would say I was more into this and shoegazing than grunge although did like a lot of it.

I think Suede was the band that really changed my taste towards Brit pop although it wasn't called that then.
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Old 18-03-2016, 17:26
Adamsk
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The lumberjack thing wasn't just grunge , college rock and slacker culture used it to with bands like The Lemonheads, Pixies, Pavement, Sebadoh and Buffalo Tom

I would say I was more into this and shoegazing than grunge although did like a lot of it.

I think Suede was the band that really changed my taste towards Brit pop although it wasn't called that then.
Got some great bands here I also love Shoegaze.

Talking about The Lemonheads,Pixies,Pavement,Sebadoh and Buffo Tom and Dinosaur Jr.

Archers of Loaf,Silkworm,Steam,Sonic youth,Eric's Trip,The Inbreds,Ween,Beck,Drop Ninteens,Treble Changer,Superchunk,Llama Farmers,Scarlet,Salted,Sugerboom,The Grifters,Nada Surf,Engine Kid,Idlewild,Seaweed,Yakasuir.
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