How have your favourite Britpop stars changed over the years?

18 July 2023, 13:31

How have the great 90s stars changed in looks and attitude? Radio X compares and contrasts.

1. Jarvis Cocker of Pulp

   

   Jarvis at the height of Britpop, and again as part of Pulp's 2023 reunion shows.

2. Blur then and now

   

   This fresh-faced, mop-haired youths are about to take on the world with their uniquely English songs… ...And here they are again, at Radio X Towers in May 2023, launching the new album The Ballad Of Darren.

3. Sleeper then and now

   

   Sleeper were best known for the hits Sale Of The Century and What Do I Do Now? They were fronted by the charismatic Louise Wener, who once wore an ironic t-shirt claiming they were "Another Female-Fronted Band"...

   Nowadays, Wener is better known for being an author, having written the four novels, including Goodnight Steve McQueen. But wait! Sleeper came back in 2019 with a new album, The Modern Age and followed it up two years later with another, This Time Tomorrow.

4. Liam Gallagher then and now

   

   Here's the younger Gallagher at the time of the release of the debut Oasis album Definitely Maybe. And here he is, twenty-nine years later. Different jacket, same (ish) haircut. Older, and no doubt wiser.

5. Noel Gallagher then and now

   

   Noel Gallagher, back when he was a guitar roadie for Oldham's very own Inspiral Carpets......and here he is 33 years later - a lot of water under the Britpop bridge.

6. Gaz Coombes of Supergrass

   

   The fresh-faced trio featured singer Gaz Coombes picture in the mid 1990s, around the time of their debut album, I Should Coco. They always looked like they were aged 12, even when they were actually in their 20s... …And here’s Gaz Coombes onstage 27 years later.

7. Richard Ashcroft of The Verve

   

   The Verve fromtman (no "The" in those days), pictured at the time of the band's debut album, A Storm In Heaven. And here's Ashcroft performing a solo show at the Royal Albert Hall in 2023.

8. Rick Witter of Shed Seven

   

   York's finest were fronted by Rick Witter (third from left) and known for such Britpop classics as Going For Gold and Chasing Rainbows... and the band are still going strong.

9. Sonya Madan of Echobelly

   

   Fronted by the charismatic frontwoman Sonya Madan, the band were best known for the track King Of The Kerb and their second album On. Echobelly are still a going concern and playing shows, but Madan and guitarist Glenn Johansson also have an acoustic side-project, Calm Of Zero.

10. Suede

    

    Here's Brett Anderson at the start of Suede's career... and touring the band's ninth album Autofiction.