The UK has a massive music scene and has done since the British pop invasion bands such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who. Since then, UK music is a vital part of the what the country identifies as. However, each movement comes and goes for example the 80s was dominated by synth bands and the 90s was pop groups and Britpop. The 00s had bands that were classed as indie but heading into the 10s this genre struggled to stay relevant but now there seems to be a revival of the British indie artist, will it hit the same heights?
What is British Indie music?
Originating from rock, indie has shown all sorts of forms in the UK mainly from bands like The Smiths, Joy Division and The Smiths in the late 80s and 90s to Arctic Monkeys, Kasabian and Bloc Party in the mid-00s. It has gone through waves of different styles from slow angst to angry guitar slamming and the UK was rife with it.
The Britpop battle between bands like Oasis and Blur really started young people enjoying rock style music in the late 90s and a fashion was started when you listened to these types of bands. The same could be said about bands such as The Stone Roses and Pulp.
Was indie big?
The point of indie was a movement. It was a way for the younger generation to be heard. Less aggressive and not as angry as the punk movement but elements of the movement were taken through to the early indie stage.
With the term indie meaning independent it was a way of artists taking an independent stance against the commercialisation of the British pop machine where bands were being churned out for the sake of it and created by corporate manufacturers. Shows like X Factor, Pop Idol, Popstars and Fame Academy were being driven in the early parts of the 2000s.
However, many indie bands fought this television obsession and were able to challenge this corporate pop in the charts. At the peak of indie (2004-08) bands like The Coral, The Libertines, Pigeon Detectives, The Kooks, The Cribs, Franz Ferdinand and many more were the most listened to on the radio as well as selling out festivals.
What changed?
The movement changed. Could it be that the bands coming through were no longer young and relevant with the movement? Possibly. However, music changed in the UK and a change to the likes of rap and grime is certainly the case for many younger people in the country currently.
Many artists of rap and grime are just like the indie movement, they are the voice of this generation, and they want to express themselves away from the corporate music industry.
Is there a revival?
There is an element that there is a revival especially with more political artists such as Gerry Cinnamon and Jamie Webster making a name for themselves. With the likes of Radio X playing artists like Sam Fender, The Lathums, The Snuts, Catfish and the Bottlemen and Wolf Alice the revival is apparent.
Even the older acts such as Liam Gallagher and Arctic Monkeys are still making music and bands like Happy Mondays, Charlatans and The Stone Roses are still appreciated by the upcoming generation.
Fashion was always a big part of the indie scene ever since it has arrived and there is certain indie look developing once again with throwbacks to the Gallagher brothers. Brands like Stone Island, Pretty Green, Colombia and Adidas are taking over the gig scene.
The music is getting better and more noticeable, the people are getting noticed more and the indie vibe is spreading once again around the UK. It is time to get the best betting offers sign up and place a bet on an indie band being UK number one very soon!
