11.
Supergrass – I Should Coco
I remember this vividly. I was in London and very much a Britpop kid. Not so much Oasis but definitely Blur, definitely Pulp, definitely Suede. I almost put Parklife and Blur (1997) on the list. But when I think about which of the albums of the Britpop era I listened to the most and which felt like a real explosion going off, then it’s the Supergrass debut album. It’s such a ferocious album made when they were so young. I was 21 in 1995 and they must have been the same age. I love the pace of it and how sped-up it is. I would listen to this album again and again and again. It just hit me at the right time.
I went to see them in the Hammersmith Palais. It was like The Oxfordshire Ramones – kids with such energy and raw talent. I remember meeting them very briefly backstage – I think somebody from a music video company got me there. I was overawed by the fact that people my age were making such furiously energetic music. It does feel a bit like Bowie, but more like a punk version of Bowie, or almost a Muppets version of Bowie, in the greatest way.
The songs that stand out for me? At the time I was working in TV and definitely did not feel cool at all but I would listen to ‘Mansize Rooster’ and think, “I wanna be hanging out with these guys.” As a first single, ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ is a grabber! ‘Strange Ones’, ‘I’d Like To Know’, ‘Sitting Up Straight’. ‘Time’ is a great song. ‘Alright’ has become overplayed and the images from that video dogged them for a while, as people wanted them to be The Monkees, which they weren’t. The rest of the album is much scuzzier.
Gaz is a great songwriter. His recent solo albums have been really good. I’m very pleased to say that me and Gaz are now friends, which is lovely. I had, and still do have, such a man-crush on Gaz Coombes.
