By Sarah Groszewski.
I grew up in the Britpop era. I was firmly in team Blur and had Blur stickers from Smash Hits magazine over my pencil case so getting to interview Alex James ahead of his forthcoming date at Southampton Summer Sessions on June 13th was pretty special. We kicked off with some small talk about Saints (him), local Southampton gems (me) and, of course, the main event, Alex James’ Britpop Classical…
Sarah: So, why Britpop Classical?
Alex: It all came about from a bit of a disaster. We had a headliner booked for 2024 (for Big Feastival on Alex’s farm in the Cotswolds) and they dropped out with not long to go, I can’t remember why. And that was an absolute disaster because if you haven’t got a Saturday night headliner you haven’t got a festival. I had to jump on a Zoom with a load of panicky execs and the booker who said “trust me Alex, Ministry of Sound Classical, you’re going to love it, it’s 90 minutes of hits. Trust me.”
“I had very little choice so I had to grab it. I watched it, and it was 90 minutes of hits, it was incredible, the best headliner we’ve ever had. The repertoire, the material, the musicianship, the whole production. It was just absolutely brilliant, it really connected with the festival crowd. Blew the roof off! And I kind of had an on the spot epiphany, went running backstage asking who was in charge and said we have to do a Britpop version of this!
“How it works is it’s a rock band with me on bass, a symphony orchestra, chorus of session singers, and then a few special guests for a bit of star power, and 90 minutes of absolute bangers.
“I’ve plugged into the whole Ministry of Sound team, it’s the same orchestra, the same conductor. I had a few meetings with the production team and after 3 meetings we’d got it down to four and half hours of hits that we absolutely have to use, which is completely the opposite problem to normal. I persuaded Big Feastival’s backers to book it but you never actually know if something is going to work until you try it. It was quite terrifying actually – nothing ever gets written down in pop music, it’s all completely done by ear. And everything is written down with orchestras, otherwise it’s just pure chaos, it has to be. It’s two completely different schools. It’s like putting Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in a Michelin star kitchen or trying to do kebabs at Claridges. It’s like, this could be amazing, it might be a disaster.
“I learned all the basslines, and it’s a lot to learn. Then I turned up to the rehearsal, and you get one rehearsal because the cost of staging 60 people on stage is significant. That’s a lot of musicians, a lot of technology. And so I turned up to the rehearsal of this big production facility in West London and opened the door to this huge studio, literally tripped over a harp and some tubular bells. There’s a whole orchestra there and I’m thinking yikes! It was really nerve wracking. We started with Creep (by Radiohead) and halfway through I noticed I was crying and I don’t think I was the only one. It was just so emotive.
“We did it at Feastival and oh my goodness! It was incredible. Thank goodness because I’d bet the farm on it, but it really, really landed and it was great fun so I thought why not trot it out on tour?
“We did a bunch of concert halls and symphony halls back in spring but this is the start of the summer run after Farmfest. I’m just absolutely loving it, it’s brilliant.
Sarah: How do you find the difference between the festivals and the concert hall venues, do you find the audiences are different?
Alex: “The idea behind it was that I needed something to rock a crowd at a festival. If you can hit a big crowd with something they’re familiar with they’ll start jumping up and down and singing along. The whole thing starts with the orchestra going into this huge crescendo and then we all fly into the riff from Ocean Colour Scene (sidenote – at this point he starts singing the riff. This is possibly the most exciting musical moment of my life.) And then Simon from Ocean Colour Scene bounces on, sings it, then he goes off and Saffron from Republica comes on and we go into Ready to Go, then there’s a crazy Elastica/EMF mash up, and then mashing up Blur Song 2 with Nirvana because this is kind of where it all started for me and where it all finished for me, Britpop. And at this point the audience just goes ‘what the…?’
“So by the time we get to the big hitters and the singalongs later on, everybody is just singing along. It’s not like people are asking Where’s Damon, where’s Jarvis? They’re all just singing they wanna ‘live with Common People’. There’s a lot of people on the stage, you get a lot of energy from it. I think if you play any of those songs with an acoustic guitar you’d get goosebumps so when you add all the dynamics and nuance of the orchestra, and so many singers on stage – I’m loving it!
Sarah: I can feel the energy and excitement and enthusiasm and it’s so nice to hear that. How did the original artists react when you said you were going to do a classical version?
Alex: “You don’t need to ask permission to perform anyone’s song but it’s great that some of the original artists are keen to be involved. Gary from Reef on Place your Hands brings the house down every night, so you know it’s great we’ve got some of the original singers. I can’t speak for other people but when I hear Vampire Weekend doing a cover of a Blur song I think great!”
Sarah: it’s flattering isn’t it?
Alex: “Yeah. And these songs do seem to mean more to more people now than they did. There are not as many new bands breaking through now as they were, but music still seems to be as central in everyone’s life as it always has.
“When Blur got back together in 2023 I was staggered by how much my kids’ mates were into it and how many of them bought tickets to come and see us. It was the same with the Oasis show, it was a different generation but there were people coming with their parents and these songs just become part of the national consciousness.”
Sarah: I’m 42 so I’ve been around a while but this Britpop generation grew up with us. These were the songs we had at our weddings, that our children grew up hearing, when we left uni. And technology has changed now so we can stream these songs in a way we weren’t able to back then, when we had to go and buy the record or CD so now we have complete access to these songs from throughout our whole lives so our children are more familiar with them.
Alex: “Yeah, I tell my kids this, when I was young I used to dream of having a jukebox. Nobody had enough money to buy all the records, you had to save up and make choices and it has changed. I literally got beaten up because I liked Wham and the Smiths, and I had Wham and the Smiths written on my school bag. I think nowadays it’s fine to like Wham and the Smiths.”
Sarah: And you can pick and choose your music, you don’t have to commit to a whole, album so you can pick the songs you like and it diversifies the music you can listen to.
Alex: “Nile Rogers did Feastival a few years back, I’d been trying to get him to do the festival for years, and he turned up with a box set of everything he and Chic had ever done on vinyl. Oh my god, just listening to those records on vinyl got me through lockdown, brilliant.”
Sarah: How are you finding touring with the classical musicians? Are you managing to live the rock and roll lifestyle or are they a bit more subdued?
Alex: “Brass sections are always a bit of a handful, ha! But do you know what? Dealing with an entire orchestra is more straightforward than dealing with one guitar player. They turn up when they’re supposed to turn up, they do what they’re told. It’s a very different dynamic, there are literally 50/60 people on stage, there’s a lot of energy. Just the musicianship that you get, it staggers me that you can literally put anything in front of this orchestra and they absolutely nail it. We’ve not reimagined these songs, we’ve gassed them up with orchestra juice. A lot of the Blur songs had brass sections and strings so that was something that was characteristic of that time. You can make everything so much more dynamic, give it more nuance and oomph.
“It’s a shame because all the little venues that Blur used to play – in fact I’ve been in Southampton a lot, even when I was growing up in Bournemouth I was in a band and we used to do gigs in Southampton. Every night there were multiple gigs going on in Southampton but a lot of the places that Blur used to play, you know all the sweaty pubs? Some of the best gigs I ever saw, they were all funded by the record company. Taking a band on tour is expensive, you’re losing money until you’re playing decent sized venues, and that was all funded by record companies who got their money back from record sales and they can’t afford to do that anymore. Those little venues were the heartland of why the little bands were coming through.
“It’s a long time since I’ve been to Southampton but up and down the country a lot of those little, independent venues are just not there anymore. Symphony halls and concert halls – it’s precarious for them now too. But actually what is great is that there is an incredibly vibrant festival scene every summer which is what makes gigs like this so brilliant. It is the chance for new music to be heard and for people to see stuff.
Sarah: I’ve been to a few of these summer sessions gigs and they’re so accessible for people, easy to get to. Getting to and from London can be hard for us from Southampton.
Alex: “And they’re great, Billy Ocean is coming I hear. It’s brilliant, there’s nothing like sharing that experience of live music that everyone is familiar with you know? I don’t think it gets any better than shared experiences like that.” #
Sarah: But it is a shame that the smaller venues are closing down. Thinking back to my youth when I used to go to the Joiners…
Alex: “I’ve played there!”
Sarah: Yes I spent a lot of my youth inebriated in there and I just can’t imagine venues like that not being there anymore (The Joiners is very much still present but a number of small venues in the city have been forced to close).
Alex: “All those little pubs are where you’d find all the coolest people in the city on any given night. Those pubs are not just about the gigs, it’s about the connections.”
Sarah: And the atmosphere is just different isn’t it? Concert halls are incredible, festivals are incredible, but those dingy pubs where there’s an inch of piss on the toilet floor and you can get a pint for £2 were the best.
Alex: “Where it’s too loud and too smoky!”
Sarah: Yes! Having to come home and wash the smoke out of my hair and a kebab on the way home. Those were the best days.
Alex: “Apparently of the biggest ticket selling concert venues in the world 4 out of 5 of them are in the UK, only Madison Square Gardens isn’t in the UK. So there is a huge, huge appetite for live music in the UK. Plus thousands of festivals including the best one in the world so Britain is still a world beating trailblazer in terms of music.”
Sarah: Does it feel like coming home when you play in England?
Alex: “Yeah, especially on the South Coast, it’s amazing. I really can’t wait. It feels like coming home strapping on the bass no matter where I am, it’s like a comfy pair of shoes.”
Sarah: What’s in the pipeline after Southampton?
Alex: “There are a few festivals round the UK then all back to mine for Feastival, which is easy to get to from Southampton by the way! It’s a really nice gentle one for families, there’s so much for families and it’s just up the A34.
“Then we’re out to Australia with Britpop Classical. That’s the thing about Britpop. Ready To Go wasn’t even a hit when it first came out and didn’t hit the top 40 but it’s grown and grown. They’re all global hits so you can just turn up anywhere with them and everyone sings every word. Long may it continue!
“It’s incredible how well the Pulp songs land. Disco 2000, especially Common People, it’s such a good festival anthem because it builds and it builds, and by the end everyone is just going mental. I think the music you love when you’re a teenager will stay with you forever, it’s baked onto your hard drive. There’s the people who loved it the first time and the people coming to it now who think ‘yeah that’s alright’.
Sarah: What’s the song that you’d have loved to include on the setlist that you haven’t been able to?
Alex: Oh there are so many. I guess we’ll just keep refreshing the set as we go. It’s quite a sophisticated job fitting the songs all together with different tempos and key changes and you need to build to a big finish. It’s not like there’s a shortage of songs, and there are some hidden gems from that time too.”
- Britpop Classical comes to Guildhall Square in Southampton on June 13th as part of the Southampton Summer Sessions. The show brings the unforgettable anthems of the 90s to life, featuring a full rock band alongside the London Concert orchestra, and a number of special guest appearances including Phil Daniels, Saffron Sprackling from Republica, Gary Stringer from Reef and DJ Dan. Tickets are on sale now.
- The Big Feastival takes place at Alex James’ Farm in the Cotswolds on 28th – 30th August and tickets are on sale now.
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