While We Were Getting High: Britpop and the 90's Explored in Photos

February 28, 2022

Where were YOU in the 90’s? Off shopping for (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? and checking out shows by Blur, Oasis, Pulp and dozens more?

Fellow Britpop lovers will want to pick up a copy of While We Were Getting High: Britpop and the 90’s, a collection of images by NME photographer Kevin Cummins.

Every generation wants their own Beatles, Stones, or Pistols — a sense of belonging to something brand new and cool. Britpop came along ripe for youth to latch onto a new assortment of bands, fashion and vibes, easily marketable by media.

According to Cummins, selecting images for this book proved more difficult than for any of his previous ones. This hardcover is loaded with some fabulous band shots, peppered with conversations by prominent Britpop musicians, including Noel Gallagher of Oasis, Sonya Aurora Madan of Echobelly, Martin Rossiter of Gene and Brett Anderson of Suede.

25 years on, it’s hard to separate Britpop from today’s political climate. The symbolism of the Union Flag is more loaded and exclusivist than ever. Was Britpop a precursor to the Brexit mentality?

According to Blur’s Damon Albarn, “Every scene needs someone to articulate it, and some people are always going to hate us for that, but there would not be Britpop without us.” While We Were Getting High is a nostalgic Britpop time capsule, brilliantly documented in photos.