Review: Alex James’ Britpop Classical, Southampton Summer Sessions - In-Common

By Sarah Groeswski.

Alex James’ Britpop Classical headlined the second night of Southampton Summer Sessions, supported by DJ Dan (13/6/26).

I’d never heard of DJ Dan before, but a bit of research told me he’d be right up my street as the creator of Propaganda, the UK’s Biggest Indie Night.

There couldn’t have been a better warm up act for Britpop Classical! He was clearly having the time of his life on stage, taking requests by Instagram and playing some of the most memorable Britpop music of my generation’s youth. I spent my uni years dancing to Mr Brightside in the legendary student haunt Lennons, so dancing to it under the summer sun all these years later made me feel 21 again.

DJ Dan played to backdrop of music videos which got everyone talking. I personally loved seeing The Smiths as we sang along to one of my all time faves This Charming Man, but it was the football songs that really got the crowd going. Three Lions, World in Motion and Vindaloo made even those of us who are ambivalent about the football get into the World Cup mood and a mass singalong commenced. Who doesn’t love a bit of Fat Les during World Cup season?

Alex James and his musicians arrived exactly on time and opened with a banger – The Riverboat song by Ocean Colour Scene.

From the outset the band and orchestra were incredible and perfectly nailed the Britpop spirit we all know and love. There were raised hands, pointed fingers and pints being held aloft as though it was 1996 again. They were then joined by Saffron from Republica for Ready to Go, and straight into a string of the most well known Britpop hits by Supergrass, EMF and a truly incredible mash up of Song 2 and Smells Like Teen Spirit. Gary Stringer from Reef joined for Place your Hands and he was a huge hit with the crowd.

The highlight for me was when we got back to the Blur eras. The opening notes of my favourite Blur song Boys and Girls had everyone jumping up and down as though we weren’t all now a fair few years older, and the energy of the crowd by this point was electric.

Phil Daniels joined for Parklife and put a huge smile on everyone’s faces, and we all sang along to Country House. Until this point Alex had stood, doing what he does best and commanding the bass to the side of the stage, looking out across the stage full of carefully curated musicians like a proud father and watching it all come together.

As the Blur songs started he came into his own, his hips wiggling a little more, smile even broader than before, and it was like watching a really personal moment in his career. Although it’s Alex’s name against this tour, and he’s clearly so excited about it as a musical project, he was very much the mastermind behind a great night allowing the musicians and guests to shine, rather than hogging – or even taking much of – the limelight himself.

After the Blur moment they moved on to Pulp classics Disco 2000 and Common People which once again sent the crowd into a frenzy, and ended with Wonderwall and Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis. Being part of a crowd who were all singing along to these anthemic classics that were such a big part of my youth was such an invigorating experience, made even more spectacular by the full orchestra, laser lights and a continuation of the video montages that had been the backdrop for the night. They returned for a single song encore, The Universal, and it was the perfect and slightly emotional end to a brilliant set.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from a classical version of Britpop but it was a combination that worked perfectly. When I interviewed Alex last week he mentioned how hard it was to narrow down which songs to play, and it was really obvious that there was a lot of thought put into how to guide the crowd through this Britpop journey and bring us the most engaging and well loved songs.

This is my third year at Southampton Summer Sessions and it’s one of my favourite events of the summer. It’s really well organised, great facilities, including a no and low alcohol bar, so accessible for transport and so many great artists.

As usual, I bumped into a few familiar faces which shows how much the community comes together for events like this.

I’ll be back next week for OMD and am already excited to see who is on the line up for next year!

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