Its 1995 and the two biggest bands in the country are going head to head in the battle for the number 1 spot. Oasis had scheduled their next single “Roll with it” for release and Blur were due to release their own latest single “Country House” the week after. Fearing being kept off the top spot and not wanting to look like they are avoiding the clash, Blur and their management decide to bring the release forward by a week in order to go head to head with Oasis and see who would get the top spot.
It was a heady time for British music: Britpop was at its peak and the two mammoths of the scene, Blur and Oasis, had at first enjoyed a friendly perhaps slightly barbed rivalry. With the scheduling of these singles however, the rivalry took a more intense and unfriendly feel, along with some background anger and annoyance over media comments from either camp about respective girlfriends, social status and talent.
It was also a time way before social media: there was no TikTok, no Instagram and no online presence for music acts to gain publicity. Everything relied on the press and the TV, the radio and papers, publicists pushing rumours and stories, interviewers looking to get the latest scoop and headline. These days one generation may not know what the other is listening to or what is going on. Back then, EVERYBODY knew about the Britpop rivalry between Blur and Oasis, your mum, your dad, your grandparents, your teachers, your baby siblings. It was in all the papers, on the radio every day and even across the evening news. No one could escape knowing about the upcoming chart showdown.
Its this background that sets the scene for the new production at The Rep. The Battle looks at this clash and explores what might have happened behind the scenes using what we do know about what happened at the time, with the gaps filled in by the imagination of writer John Niven, an ex record label exec from the time. Its a razor sharp comedy set at a time when we really didn’t have the sort of access we do now to music stars and this peek behind the curtains makes for fascinating viewing.
Matthew Horne (Gavin and Stacey, The Catherine Tate Show and loads of others) plays Andy Ross, the music exec who masterminded Blurs gate-crashing of Oasis’ release. Louisa Lytton (Eastenders and theatre productions of 2:22 and The Girl On The Train) plays Meg Matthews, with the rest of the cast made up of young theatre regulars and a few making their professional debuts. In particular Oscar Lloyd plays Damon Albarn, Paddy Stafford tackles Noel Gallagher and George Usher steps into the bucket hat and oversized coat of Liam Gallagher. All playing their roles really well.
Paddy Stafford doesn’t quite get Noel’s voice right, but his mannerisms and dry, sardonic humour are absolutely spot on. George Usher’s swaggering and bombastic Liam is wonderfully over the top and a source of much of the humour that runs through the play. Oscar Lloyd channelling Damon Albarn gets the not-so-suppressed naked ambition just right, but the standout for me was Brandon Bendell as Blur bassist Alex James. I swear if you put 1995 Alex James next to The Battle’s Alex James you would have a tough time telling who is who. It’s telling that at one point video footage is used on the big screen overlooking the stage and I honestly thought they had got Alex James in for that, it is that uncanny.
It was a packed theatre for the VIP/Press night and several Oasis and Blur t-shirts were dotted around. I could hear several people talking about the music they loved from that era and its clear that a lot of people were looking forward to revisiting their youth through the stage.
There was definitely a huge buzz around the crowd, and this was clear at the interval as people spoke enthusiastically around me about the performance so far and what they loved about it, what they remembered from the time and how it compared to those memories. It would not be fair of me to delve deeply into the story, as you really should go and see it for yourselves but I can tell you however that the audience loved what they saw, and the cast were rewarded for their efforts with what might be the fastest standing ovation I’ve seen take hold of an audience.
Of course the great thing about a play like this is the music. After all, its the entire background of the plays premise. Whilst we don’t have a lot of Blur and Oasis tunes apart from Country House and Roll With It, we do have the scene set for us between scenes by the Chemical Brothers, Tricky, Del Amitri, The Stone Roses, Pulp and others.
Fly Davis handles the set and costume design for the production and we feel right at home in the recording studios, stages, flats, bars and clubs of the time. It must have also been a mammoth effort to get era-specific clothing for the cast as well, Liam looking very Liam in his coats and shirts, Noel in his vintage Manchester City shirt and Damon wearing very on brand and accurate battered adidas casual trainers.Â
A brilliant touch as well was the exposition between scenes, set out with excerpts from radio shows from Steve Lamacq, Jo Whiley, Marc and Lard, Danny Baker and Chris Evans. These are accompanied by the most wonderful animations by Tal Rosner and John O’Conner. I couldn’t tell and don’t have the memory to say if they are legitimate lifts from radio shows from the time, but if they were not, then whoever is doing the Steve Lamacq impersonation is astonishingly similar to the real thing. They play a hugely important role in setting out the quick background of what’s going on for the scene about to start. Truly, a real highlight and a genuinely vital part of the show.
This was a particularly enjoyable show for me, who at the age of 16 bunked off from school to go to the Oasis concert a few short strides away from The Rep at the then NIA (now the Utilita Arena) for the Be Here Now tour. Yes, I even went to see the show tonight in my t-shirt from that night 29 years ago. Thank you to all involved for taking me back to my early years.
The Battle is an excellent addition to The Reps program for this year and I expect it to do brilliantly, tapping into the nostalgia and fond recollections of those of us that were there, and giving those that weren’t a (mostly true) insight into one of the great British music stories of all time.
The Battle is running at The Rep until 7 March, before moving on to tour the UK at theatres nationwide.
Book your tickets here: https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/the-battle/
This review was written by Mr Small House Big Trips.