The #AlternativeWeekend started by 
Britpop was yet another made-up name for a certain set of bands, mostly around the mid-1990s. Blur and Oasis were the bands that typify it, but this country has produced so many great bands that have that certain 'Britishness'. Obviously there is a big influence from American bands, but influences have gone both ways with early rock and roll being heard by The Beatles and Rolling Stones who took it back to the USA. So here are a few bands you may or may not know.
The Bluetones
The Bluetones were around in the original Britpop era and it seems they are touring again more recently. They had quite a few hits. There is lots of humour in their songs. This one is a twist on the old Solomon Grundy rhyme. Those jangly guitars were very popular back then and may have been a hint of The Byrds.
The quality on this one is lacking, but I love the fat suits.
The Seahorses
Youtube obviously saw a connection as one of these videos came up when I searched for The Bluetones. The Seahorses were formed by guitarist John Squire after The Stone Roses split up. They have some great guitar riffs and it is a shame they only put out one album. Some people worked out that the name was an anagram of He Hates Roses or The Rose Ashes, but Squire says this is coincidence.
The band inspired a spoof band called The Shirehorses formed by Radio 1 DJs Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley.
Placebo
Placebo were part of the Britpop scene, although singer Brian Molko had an American father and was born in Belgium. His voice is very distinctive and he stood out with his androgynous looks. I think they had some great rock songs.
The Bar-Steward Songs of Val Doonican
These guys are all about the laughs and are a more recent phenomenon. I came across them via a work colleague who knew them from small festivals he attended and later played at. I saw them live (as a duo) in a local pub. Their songs are mostly parodies of those by well-known bands and are given a twist to suit the band's origins in Barnsley in the north of England. They seem to be constantly touring whilst putting out loads of music. They definitely deserve to be better known.
If you do not know, Val Doonican was an Irish singer who had a prime time TV show i nthe UK for many years.
Here is a take on The Police.
This one uses a Monkees song to express their opinion on a teen idol.
It has been fun trawling through Youtube to find these songs as I had not seen all the videos. I did not have MTV and so missed a lot. I am generally happy to just listen to the music, but the videos can be very creative.
Rock on!
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