Maybe because we're getting on a bit, but we still prefer the "good old days" of Britpop to today's Nu-Rave lifestyle. So when we heard about a night that was all about celebrating Justine, Lauren, Jarvis and crew, we were quite chuffed. We spoke to Allie and Peter, the brains behind central London club Burn Soo Bright. If it sounds good, their next night is Friday 1 June.
When and why did you set Burn Soo Bright up?
We held our first night last August , it's only since March this year that we've been holding regular monthly nights. The idea was bubbling around for years, as we'd noticed on nights out that other indie clubs would get a great reaction when a Britpop track was played, but would then go on to play some undanceable twaddle as the DJ tried to show off.
What is it about Britpop music that is so special? Do you play anything else?
Firstly, the great melodies - really great tunes that are soo much fun to dance around to. After that it's the lyrics - take for example the genius of Lush's "Ladykillers" or Sleeper's "Inbetweener". We don't come from the streets, so these songs reflect more of our experience of life than other genres. Also, Britpop has a wonderful optimism to it - it's very rarely sulky or all-out angry, which does appear to be quite unfashionable at the moment.
We do play other music too, from sixties pop to modern indie, but generally it has to have some of the above qualities to it. You certainly won't hear any emo at Burn Soo Bright.
What's your venue like? Where would be your ideal venue?
The Royal George is lovely, it's far more a cool retro-fitted bar than a pub - although it does boast pub prices. The downstairs we use is great - it has its own bar, is well air-conditioned, and has plenty of dancefloor space. The staff are also fantastic, very friendly and they were much more supportive than any other venue we approached about the night.
Our ideal venue would be one with multiple rooms - something like one for Britpop, another for sixties, and maybe a pop room. We've always enjoyed walking around in clubs like that, moving on if and when the DJ plays a duff track.
Tell us one artist you play who we wouldn't normally listen to, but should!
Only one? Blimey that's a tough one. Just be different we'll go for William Shatner. Yes, his old stuff was awful, and is rightly considered a joke, but his new album, 'Has Been', is genuinely brilliant. It has some great collaborations, and was produced by Ben Folds. His cover of "Common People" is our signature song - it adds just the right level or rockiness and shoutiness to the original. Also, the Nick Hornby-penned "That's Me Trying" is wonderfully heart-breaking.
What other club nights do you like going to in London?
We used to frequent Bastard a few years back - the home of the bastard pop mash-up, at Asylum under a newsagent on Charlotte Street. It was inspired lunacy, and the punters were the friendliest bunch we've ever met.
What are your plans for the future?
Pretty much our plans are to find our audience. We've found Britpop fans don't really go to independent record shops anymore, so flyers and posters don't work. Instead, word of mouth on e-mail has been the biggest success, and the blogging community have also got behind us tremendously.
We have a theme each month, and we try to play as many songs to fit the theme as possible. That way, we don't fall back on the same songs each month, and hopefully each night is unique. Trying to come up with theme ideas is one of our biggest challenges. We're also planning on expanding our website to become a proper home for all things Britpop, and we eventually want to get people to contribute articles on their favourite Britpop albums, memories of gigs from the era, or other music-themed ideas.
The next Burn Soo Bright is this Friday 1 June at the Royal George, just off Charing Cross Road. It's free in and runs from 8pm -1am.
